The Walnut Tree

Not worth the hype. On the last two visits to The Walnut Tree, the food has been average. On this occasion the food lacked seasoning. The front of house lady (Pauline ?) was ‘spikey’ to say the least. Totally unacceptable. If it was my business I would fire her. She’s damaging to the business. We won’t be visiting again. Such a shame. It used to be such a special place.

Nice location, good menu choice, however: more high end restaurant than michelin star. Staff pleasant enough, service average the meet and greet needs working on, food underwhelming, wine selection by glass limited.

Had a fabulous meal here with my boyfriend when we were visiting Abergavenny. Our waiter was excellent and super knowledgeable. He took his time answering our questions about the menu and wine list. If you're used to Michelin starred restaurants in super fancy places then you'll think this 'pub' in a small village is not up to standard. The food was excellent, would 100% recommend if your are in Abergavenny.

Went here for lunch today. Beautiful food, calm and attentive service and a lively atmosphere

One of the few restaurants that were featured in Gordon Ramsay's "Kitchen Nightmares" show that still survives and succeeded and I'll say every bit of improvement that Gordon has made are still there Shaun Hill, the head chef that Gordon recruited clearly leaves his mark on the dishes that I ordered. It was lovely as it was shown in the TV and the atmosphere was cozy Definitely worth the special trip!

The restaurant offered a blend of good food and service. Unfortunately, bread and butter served here should not be served in a high standard restaurant. Despite that, my partner and I enjoyed superb starters. The main course showcased perfectly cooked fish and filet, although my fish was overly salty. Dessert, unfortunately, fell short of expectations. Overall, while it's worth a try if you're in the area, it didn't meet our expectations for a Michelin-starred experience. I wouldn't advise traveling long distances specifically for this dining experience.

Lovely set lunch in pleasant surroundings with excellent service.

A third trip here for us . This time A lovely Saturday lunch for 8 if us as a family . We were looked after really well . Other diners here - mostly groups - looked like they were here to celebrate as were we. Nothing could be faulted .. lovely flavours.

This was our splurge meal. It was also one of the best meals I had while in Wales. The food here is more about quality and less about quantity. If you are an American and reading this review, you will know what I'm talking about. We eat too much as a society. I'll admit it myself. I am used to getting and eating a lot of food. It is amazing I am not overweight. Anyway I went off on a tangent there. Sue and I read about this place in a travel book she had for Wales. We decided on the airplane that if we were going to have one really good meal while in Wales, it would be at the Walnut Tree. Not exactly around the corner from where we were staying in Barmouth, but we had plans to be down around this part of the country so it was a no brainer. We got here quite early on a weekday evening. The night was beautiful and we decided to secure a table outside. Before we left all of the tables were filled. Not sure if that was the case inside as well as the only time I was inside was when we initially walked in and asked if we could sit outside. Started out with a refreshing elderflower drink. We decided against alcoholic drinks as we were a distance away from our home base and had a long drive back to get there. The drink was the perfect drink for a warm summer night. After our drinks came, they also brought out a small fish cake to whet the whistle. A nice extra touch that was unexpected. Our food started out with a few appetizers. A Panzanella Salad along with monkfish with tomato, chilli and ginger. Good choices both on the starters. The monkfish (similar taste to lobster) was pretty damn amazing if I have to say so myself. I just did. For my main I had suckling pig, morcilla (blood sausage) and empanadilla. The suckling pig came bone in. It was fun getting every little piece of pig that I could get. Presentation was A+ and the quality was too. Nothing wrong with this meal at all. When it came time for dessert, our server (one of a few that took care of us on this night) asked if we had any room for "puddings". He pronounced it poo-dings. You have to love the Welsh accent. We did and made room for the orange and almond cake. A good palate cleanser. This was a 5 star meal if there ever was a 5 star meal. Again, you aren't going to get a ton of food here, but you will happily leave satisfied and you won't have a gut bomb to deal with. I highly recommend this restaurant.

I love everything about this restaurant. The food is amazing and doesn't cost the earth, but the price does limit the amount of times I eat here. The service is great and the cocktails are outstanding. The dessert menu is wonderful and the flavour is always there. The restaurant is pretty small but that's not a complaint, it does make the noise level high. The toilets are outside but again that's not a problem. The location is out of the way but always worth the journey.

The Walnut Tree is now under the management of reknowned chef Shaun Hill. He retired with several Michelin stars from the Merchant House in Ludlow, only to re-emerge at the Walnut Tree, presumably looking for a new challenge. I've eaten there 3 times in the past 12 months, two lunches and a dinner. All experiences have been outstandingly good and memorable. It has been voted best restaurant in the UK by Gourmet Britain recently and came 2nd to Hibsicus in another award ceremony. Rather than list what I ate, check out the menu on the website and see for yourself. I couldn't fault any of the dishes I had. The wine list is also superb. Here's a typical set lunch: plaice with shrimps and dill brawn with celeriac rémoulade confit fillet of salmon with creamed leeks grilled skirt of beef with dauphine potatoes and salsa verde buttermilk pudding with roasted figs Bakewell tart with vanilla ice cream The service is informal and friendly, and efficient. The outside loos didn't bother me that much...as it frees up more space for diners! The only suggestion I would make is that they need to improve wheelchair-access into the restaurant, which shouldn't be too difficult. The set lunch represents very good value - take a day off work, drive through beautiful countryside and treat yourself to a lovely 3 course meal for around £20.00

If it wasn't for the very very decent prices, and the superb wine list, I would say this restaurant was overrated. It was half-empty, and the atmosphere was more sedated than sedate. But the service is friendly, and there's no doubting the premium quality of the basic ingredients. Local beef and lamb are undoubtedly the best choices, for their distinctive rich flavour and for the skill with which they are cooked. I had an excellent starter of calf's brains, perfectly fried with capers (ideally to be spread on toast, but the bread was OK) and then the pork I had to follow was passable - the cheek was better than the chop. My dining partner had a rack of lamb of the highest quality. The desserts were pre-prepared and nothing to write home about. This place should either become less pretentious and serve food that's more basic and more focused on the quality of the raw material, or become more ambitious and upmarket and go for some serious cuisine. It's currently lost somewhere in between. But still worth checking out if you're in the area.

A bit of an enigma is the best way of describing this restaurant! It is set in the most beautiful of surroundings. It looks quite basic when you go in and I personally feel the restaurant could be decorated in a warmer tone but having said that. the food was outstanding as was the service. The staff were knowledgable about each of the dishes. The wine list was wide and varied. I didn't particularly like having to go outside to use the bathroom although I did approve of the White Company toiletries! Would I go again? Most definitely! If you are in the area, it is worth a trip - don't be put off by the programme Kitchen Nightmares - it is now under new ownership.

We arrived at the Walnut Tree almost an hour earlier than we had booked for Saturday lunch, but were warmly welcomed and seated straight away. The food was fantastic, from the complementary amuse-bouches followed by delicious fresh bread & brioche, to the starters and mains that were worth the rather extended wait. The pheasant and chestnut soup was so deep, rich and complex that I will remember it for a long time. The fish stew was also immensely rich and bursting with flavour. Meanwhile the brace of quail were just delicious, juicy and tasty with a savoury sauce and excellent veg. We were gutted that we couldn't squeeze in a pudding, so imagine our delight when the coffee arrived with gorgeous petit-fours (delightful chocolate, lovely gooey brownie and a shortbread each too). Although it was strange to have to leave the building to find the toilets, this is as nothing to the joy of being cooked for by people who obviously want to make delicious food, and succeed so splendidly. It's only an hour from Bristol, well worth the pilgrimage!