The Angel Hotel
The Angel Hotel is a cornerstone in the modern day culture of Abergavenny. Boasting 2 AA Rosette awards for culinary excellence, award winning afternoon tea, and a 4*hotel, it’s well known to locals as a place to visit on a special occasion for food in their Oak Room restaurant or a drink in the Foxhunter bar.
Often referred to as ‘posh’ (jokingly but also not), and it’s easy to see why at a glance of their menu.
Some starter courses reach the £16-18 mark, whilst a double G&T will set you back £14. These are London prices in a small, albeit affluent town.
A snippet of a conversation from my friends group chat over the Festive period reaffirms my point regarding the ‘posh’ joke:
The same lads from the conversation above drink at The Angel frequently, and are rather upset that the bar often don’t provide Guinness branded glasses (Dugs is Irish). The pints of Guinness are also poorly executed, even when in the correct glass. At a cost of £7 this is an area which could be improved. If the team are reading this then some feedback for you!
Image: Luke Williams aka Spooky.
It’s also worth noting that their sister restaurant is none other than Michelin starred The Walnut Tree Inn, which famously appeared in an episode of Gordon Ramsays Kitchen Nightmares in the early 2000s - I visited The Walnut Tree back in November and had a wonderful meal.
Anyway, back to the review. Thankfully I was fortunate enough to be gifted a voucher by a family member at Christmas, to redeem here. The venue truly is lavish & beautiful.
The dining room has a grand & extravagant feel, and is much bigger than I had always suspected it to be. This was my first experience dining here, although I have been in for drinks at their bar previously.
We’re offered a small plate of complimentary nibbles: leek quiche, olives, cheese & tomato twists. We order a 250ml glass of Southern Dawn Sauvignon (New Zealand) each (£12) whilst browsing the menu.
To kick things off, we have some Angel bakery bread (their bakery is located opposite the hotel) with an artichoke, ricotta & lemon dip (£3.40), alongside raw oysters with radish, cucumber, and lime (£3 each).
There is a variety of bread which is fresh. Dip isn’t something usually offered with bread, most restaurants tend to provide a quirky butter. This dip is exquisite. The artichoke, ricotta & lemon combine beautifully, and we scoop out the entirety of the bowl. The butter is slightly cold but still spreadable.
The oysters are cosmic in size and taste. Topped with spoons of radish, cucumber, lime & a squeeze of lemon for a considerably fresh punch to my palate.
An excellent start. Following this I ordered a starter of breaded plaice goujons with a Thai mayonnaise (£12).
The goujons are delicatey constructed; a thin dusting of breading on the outside, and a lightly textured fish on the inside. The Thai mayo providing an appropriate level of spice as an accompaniment.
For main course, I was torn between ordering the confit goose leg, dauphinoise potatoes, winter greens, kumquat, honey & cardamom jus (£28), and the rump of Welsh lamb, braised faggot, garlic mash, pickled red cabbage & roast beetroot (£28).
I opted for the lamb, which I request medium rare. There was a wonderful balance to this dish in terms of flavour; tender lamb, earthy beetroot, spiced & sweet red cabbage which reminds me of Christmas, hints of garlic running through the mashed potato, and a meaty flavour to the faggot, all tied together with a jus. The only thing missing for me was some texture, everything was soft on the plate.
Millie chose the Loch Duart salmon, clam bouillabaisse & saffron potatoes (£28). The pictures don’t do it justice, but this bowl was absolutely huge.
Flaky salmon beneath a crispy skin, a punchy bouillabaisse enriched with clams & mussels, with some softened potatoes nestled amongst.
To round off the evening, my dessert is Seville orange semifreddo, marmalade waffles & hot chocolate sauce (£9).
The orange semifreddo along with the orange syrup is sharp, sour & tangy.
So this tied together perfectly with a jug of rich, sweet, hot chocolate sauce provided on the side, which I doused the waffles with.
Millie’s dessert was a classic pear and rosemary tarte Tatin & gingernut crumble ice cream.
A thin, flakey, caramelised pastry, with sweet pears, topped by a ginger ice-cream which left a burn in the back of the throat (and was slightly melted due to the heat of the tarte Tartin).
2 glasses of wine, 3 starters, 2 mains, and 2 desserts totalled £119.40.
This was a fantastic meal/experience, something I would recommend for a special occasion.
I balked at the price of the food when I researched the menu prior to visiting, though I must say it’s certainly a case of you pay for what you get here (unless it’s a pint of Guinness).
Service was excellent too, thanks for a great evening to all in the team!