The Angel, Abergavenny

Facebook page of The Angel - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Angel - www.facebook.com

A classical hotel, a former coaching inn which has retained its grandeur and style despite renovation and adaptation to the 21st Century. The Georgian frontage is impressive, dominating that part of the the High Street, while the rear is more practical – land behind the hotel has been turned into a car park, which in turn leads to accommodation astride a pedestrian entrance at the rear. The original courtyard now has benches and tables for sheltered al fresco dining, and this was full of civilised families enjoying the warm weather. The Foxhunter Bar is open to non-residents. This large bar has an historic, yet comfortable feel to it. There is a large fireplace, oak panelling around the walls and a discreet servery in the corner. Staff were extremely welcoming, pleasant and helpful, and they made sure our dogs were looked after. Various seating arrangements were available, though no bar stools; we settled on a couple of worn Chesterfields. Food was of the highest standard, a mixture of top-end pub food and restaurant style, and the prices, while higher than other nearby pubs, weren’t excessive. The beer range was conservative – two ales on, both from Wye Valley, Bitter and HPA, both in average condition. There were 6 stainless taps on the bar dispensing various fizzy fluids, but as none had a clip on, we didn’t know what these were and didn’t think to ask. I’d definitely come back to eat or stay, though there are probably better beers to be had elsewhere in the town.

Official site of The Angel - www.angelabergavenny.com

Nice and posh in here. Neo-Classical touches on what looks like a solid Georgian building. This is a large hotel with a rear bar and plenty of upmarket rooms to explore/lounge in, including one with a bloke playing a piano on our Saturday evening sojourn. Some pleasing internal architecture to admire, including (it says here) nice dado railings. The bar room where we ended up (‘Foxhunter Bar’, I think) was a shades-of-brown effort, with some nice half-wood panelling. Three ales: 2xWye Valley brews and Rhymney. I had a nice enough drop of WV Bitter, though it needed topping-up. Relatively quiet when we first got in around 9 but rammed 20 minutes later. I quite liked it here.

Official site of The Angel - www.angelabergavenny.com