Welcome to The Black Bear Inn

“ Went for mine and my girlfriend joint birthday. Seen it on TV and immediately booked it. The food was exactly what I expected. Welsh rarebit was amazing. Shame it was only one piece instead of 2 pieces as I seen. But then my fried oysters came then my pork with confeit potatoes. Lisa had cauliflower steak with celeriac puree. Absolutely beautiful flavour. My friend Anna literally couldn't talk whilst eating her chocolate tart. I could go on and on. I thoroughly enjoyed everything. ”

“ This was our third time at the black bear and each time has been great. Really great food service is excellent staff are friendly and had a excellent pint. Food was really fresh and well presented we had oysters to start yummy and not the first time they have been stunning. Couple of snacks and then the cod for a main again so well cooked really delicious, we ended up on a cheese board which we shared as a little full. The cheese again was cracking not a fun of a blue but was worth tasting and then had a hard cheese and a goats cheese bit of a kick to the goats cheese very nice. Only thing I would say is wear a jumper not the warmest venue but always a warm welcome. We had a very nice pint crisp and clean ale but it is also a variety of cocktails and wines and other choices to be enjoyed. ”

“ Fourth time eating here . Still really enjoyed it, but the service/policy needs attention. We had a 15 wait to just get drinks, had to ask for water multiple times, wasn't as friendly as previous times (perhaps due to the below). Booked a table for 6 a month ago, one of our group was ill so only 5 turned up today. Despite paying £20 each deposit, they kept the £20 for the missing person - wouldn't even take it off the bill (even though 5 of us had drinks, starters, mains and snacks) costing almost £300. Restaurant wasn't even full for the entire time we were there, and there empty tables in front of me. Understand the policy and why it's there and think it's have been different if a table of 6 booked and only 2 turned up (or not at all). But it felt unreasonable to keep £20 as a silly punishment. Edit: Restaurant has since responded with a lengthy email, but they stand by their policy. Which as mentioned in the review I totally get why. I just feel there should be some flex, especially for returning customers where the exposure was low. On reflection, I think my original review was slightly harsh so have edited it and improved the scores, but stand by the unfairness in how policy was implemented in this instance (which was raised in person at the time, and we still paid the full service charge - we didn't want staff to be out of pocket for a company policy). Ultimately I have posted my feeling and have had a very long email from the restaurant and a response to this review. I'd ask - is this really worth £20 to you? If you weren't so gung-ho in your blanket approach to policy, this would have been a 5 star review as the other issues would have been less obvious with a bit of compassion. ”

“ Lovely menu and really well cooked food. We had lots of snacks - pickled mackerel, rarebit, croquettes- and mains - beef with confit potatoes and anchovy mayonnaise. Great service and good drinks too! ”

“ Wow! What a great place. We went for a Saturday lunch and we’re blown away by the food. I had the pot roast red cabbage for main which was so delicious! And the starters were all so good! The sardines were a particular highlight for me as well as the crispy potato skins with a whipped cod’s roe dip. The biggest surprise was how reasonably priced this meal was. We had such a good time and felt like we had so much food that by the time the bill came we were shocked that it was so reasonable. We’ve already told all of our friends about this place and we will absolutely be going back. Would recommend booking like we did. There were several people chance turning up without a booking who couldn’t get a table because the place is so popular. ”

“ 5 of us enjoyed a truly delicious meal and a happy evening mid-week at The Black Bear Inn. Despite a number of seasoned foodies at our table (three run a restaurant in Amsterdam and two are food producers from the Wye Valley) we all had something to try that we had never eaten before! We were grateful for the care that was taken to provide such a wide variety of food for two of our party with specific dietary requirements. And the cider, wine AND alcohol free drinks selections were all excellent. Oh - and we so enjoyed the Flummery! Thank you for a lovely evening ”

“ We’ve always enjoyed our visits to The Black Bear Inn. It’s one of the best places in the Monmouth and Abergavenny areas. On this occasion we thought we’d try dinner out as a family for the first time with our 3 month old. Unusually she got upset and wouldn’t settle so we had to spend much of the evening solo outside setting her. After finally getting her to sleep we managed to enjoy our meal and some of the evening together. The staff were amazing and super thoughtful with some kind gestures. Our starters and dinner were as usual amazing! Thank you once again! ”

“ Food was amazing, staff were super friendly and accommodating - we had our large greyhound with us and they put us on a table in the corner with plenty of space for his bed. The lamb main course was maybe the best things I'd eaten on holiday. The welsh rarebit snacks to start were also incredible! ”