Abercrave Inn — Restaurant in Wales

The Abercave Inn||I randomly picked this cute looking pub to stay in for a night while I was in the area. Pity, I should have gone with my first find which was another pub literally 2 minutes north which we will call the AB.||When i arrived the lady behind the bar didn’t seem to know that I was due to check in which was a big odd and she disappeared twice to make sure the room was ready.||The room itself was quite nicely done with a queen sized bed and en-suite bathroom.||Firstly the room – the TV which is the size of a small computer monitor didn’t work. There was a strange looking stain of some sort on the bottom sheet – I tell myself it wasn’t blood – and in the bathroom there was only a tiny shelf over the basin. Water pressure at the basin was great but the shower was not hugely better than a dribble so I ended op not even trying. Also the macerator in the bathroom was very noisy and came on during the night by itself!||The worst thing though was the pub itself, and when I got there, there was only one person in the bar. It really does need some. TLC and I spotted a cobweb on the fake flowers! ||I wasn’t going to eat there but the menu looked nice and I was tempted by the garlic mushrooms and the lamb shank which I love. By this time I was the only person in the whole pub and when I talked to the lady she said that was normal for a Monday night.||The mushrooms came and it looked suspiciously like canned whole button mushrooms in a sauce (soup?) topped with stringy cheese. Taste was not bad but the garlic bread accompanying was the texture of croutons.||Sadly the lamb was a disgrace to Wales. It was served on a bed of mash and gravy and was supposed to come with peas. The mash and gravy were ok but the gravy didn’t taste home made but rather out of a box. The pease turned out to be peas shoots which was a bit of a surprise. The lamb shank was totally inedible as it was so dry and overcooked it was impossible to actually cut off the bone and was the consistency of jerky. I did try to eat a pice and nearly broke a tooth. When I mention it the lady seemed surprised and offered to give me a free desert which at that stage o wasn’t interested in having. The ‘chef’ came out and was also surprised at it. Did he not feel that it was way overcooked before he served it?! What a waste of what could have been a delicious lamb shank.||When I went to pay the lady then asked if she could take off the cost of the £7.95 starter mushrooms but I suggested it would be more appropriate to take off the £19.95 lamb, which she then did.||At that stage I just wanted to leave and went back to the AB up the road which had a good number of people in the bar and their restaurant was at least half to two thirds full so the locals obviously know.||My advice if you are in the area is to avoid this pub and go 2 minutes up the road for what looked to be a better experience and undoubtedly better food. I do feel bad for this place but there is undoubtedly a reason it was empty and had closed by 8 pm when I got back there when the sign said they...

We had booked a 4 nights bed and breakfast at the Abercave Inn, we arrived on the Saturday as booked we were met at the bar by a member of staff, who started to book us in, then the boss Mike spoke to us and informed us that the bar and restaurant would be shut after breakfast Monday until evening meal Tuesday and that someone had tried to contact us and left a voice mail message to warn us, we hadn't received any such message. Mike informed us we had been given a refund for the price of the breakfast and we could find somewhere else for breakfast, he did tell us that the pub across the road did evening meals and could use that if wanted to. We were then give directions and a key to our room in the annex across the road, we made our way over the road to the door of our accommodation, as we approached the entrance we could see dust, leaves and cobwebs by and around the entrance door, when we entered the room it appeared quite acceptable, as I went to open small window I noticed cobwebs around the opening, which I cleaned off , the rest of the room appeared ok apart from an old retro type chair and foot stall the chair had seen better days the leather was damaged on the arms of the chair and could be classed as a infection control hazard,we decided not to touch or use the chair. That evening we dined in the bar and the food was excellent as was breakfast the next morning. We were booked for four days but left a day early, the bed was uncomfortable and there was only a blind at the window,no curtains, which meant the bright light was coming into room really early. The room was not serviced at all in the 3 days we were there, we had to ask for toilet rolls as for a four day booking we had been left one complete toilet roll and one with about eight sheets of paper. We decided to leave early on the Tuesday on check out Mike wasnt about , the person I spoke to about why we were leaving early especially about room not being serviced, about the cobwebs etc at the entrance to the room, he seemed apologetic but informed us we should have been told that we had to leave our key at the bar when going out and cleaning staff would be aware we wanted the room serviced , something I feel could be in information folder in room, we thought perhaps staff were still working to Covid rules of not entering a room until occupants had left. We had spoken to other guest on our last day who also said they we surprised by the closure on the Monday after breakfast until Tuesday evening and they had not received any voicemail as told by Mike. Perhaps we were not told to avoid...

My family booked for a meal and I was looking forward to as we have eaten here many times but several years ago. On arrival the staff were attentive couldn't fault the service. Both my husband and I were amazed how quiet it was as every other time previous we have had to book weeks in advance and it was always extremely busy on a Friday/Saturday and Sunday... However, we nearly fell over when our first drink cost £13.30 and two were coke's £2.80 each - wow maybe I am out of touch but this seemed very expensive for a drink for my kids... (not really advocating non- drinking as this pub is out of the way and you need a driver!) Anyway on this we decided as a family of 4 to just stick to the one round as we really couldn't afford another and to be honest not willing out of principal to pay more...anyway onto the meal... I looked on line to see what they had to offer but menu not displayed and when I got there I could see why...they didn't want you to know how expensive their meals are....average £12.50 for basic meal of chicken and chips ...wow.... and not much choice - due to my diet requirements they were accommodating when I asked for a salad instead of chips but it still cost £12.50...they most expensive chicken salad I have had for ages...I would love to say it was tasty but alas this was not the case...it was average ...okay but not worth the extra money over other eating establishments I often go to...my husband enjoyed his meal of steak and chips but my son was ended up with a bad stomach (not sure if it was the food but he badly needed to use the toilet facilities within an hour of eating!..) . Any way I am going to contact the manager to suggest ideas to drum up customers as they are in direct competition with many other local pubs nearby who offer food...one is to lower the drink prices...especially to encourage the non- drinkers (drivers!!!) ...this is a major factor in getting people to the pub!....also in the day you need to lower the food prices... as most places are offering meals to around the £8.95 which is reasonable --- the food here does not warrant the hefty price cost (it may have in the past.??? but it does not now!). The empty tables here is a clue to the standard of the pub and their decline ...we will not be coming here again....and now looking towards the George/ or the Tredegar /the Gwyn ....which I have been told are lovely... cheaper...what a shame as we were actually really looking forward to our...