I’ll be honest, I wasn’t aware of The Gaff’s existence until I stumbled upon it on a recent visit to Abergavenny, it looked my kind of place, and a peruse at the menu and a quick Google search affirmed this. I know Abergavenny is a growing culinary destination, partly down to it’s annual food festival, so was suprised I hadn’t heard of it before.

Opened in 2019, it nestles at the back of The Courtyard in 3 converted sheds, owned and run by former staff of the Michelin-starred Walnut Tree, it should be somewhere that demands high standards. Being recognised in The Michelin guide gives provenance to this fact.

On entering you are immediately drawn to how nice the interior is, laminate flooring, neutral and grey colour scheme, indoor plants, it’s airy and calming. A stern faced prolonged stare from one of the chefs in the open kitchen threatened to derail this, but we were soon welcomed in and shown to our table. They even have a lockable umbrella stand.

The tables are well laid out with minimal fuss, a novel cutlery holder holds all your cutlery, chairs are modern and comfortable. Artwork from a Herefordshire based artist Pete Bryden adorn the walls, and music fits with the vibe of the restaurant, think Average White Band – Pick Up the Pieces.

The menu at The Gaff is small plates, you’re advised to order 5-8 dishes between two and they come out when they are ready, the chefs will look to pair dishes as they come out so you’re not left with too much of a bizarre combination. On the current menu prices ranged from £5 to £17 a dish. You are offered water for the table and can choose between tap, still or sparkling, complimentary sourdough bread with olive oil, sea salt and rosemary (I believe) is also brought to your table, this was delicious.

We chose 6 dishes:

• Cured Sea Bream, ponzu dressing, pickled cucumber £9
• Korean Fried Chicken, sweet potato, gochujang £12
• Bang Bang Cauliflower £9
• Swede & Cheddar fritter, piccalilli £7
• Hispi cabbage, squash, chorizo £7
• Moroccan spiced carrots, chickpea, apricot, dukkah £7

The Cured Sea Bream and Swede & Cheddar fritter came out first. The fritters having a lovely crispy coating with an indulgent soft center, the swede being soft enough to blend nicely with the cheese. The piccalilli was tangy as you would expect, full of flavour and keeping the chunkiness of the ingredients it’s made with, balanced with the fritters perfectly.

The sea bream was clean, fresh and balanced wonderfully with the radish, spring onion and sesame.

Next came the Bang Bang Cauliflower and Korean Fried Chicken. Forget Cauliflower in the traditional sense, this one has bags of flavour, granted it’s all from the Hoisin sauce that envelops the dish but it’s all the better for it. The cauliflower itself is cooked well and is dressed with parsley and spring onion, I’m not too sure what the crispy garnish on top was (answers on a postcard) but it provided a crunchy texture that the dish needed. The Korean Fried Chicken had a lovely crisp coating and the sweetness on there from the Gochujang really elevated from what you are used to, chicken cooked perfectly. The sweet potato again, balancing the dish well.

Finally the Hispi Cabbage and Moroccan Spiced Carrots. The sweet hispi cabbage was beautifully cooked with a nice char to it that balanced the sweetness, with the addition of the soft squash and the chorizo, it was a lovely blend of the sweet and salty. The Moroccan Spiced Carrots were delicious, expertly spiced, soft, and that Apricot puree bringing a punch of sweetness that cut through the spice, the hazelnuts from the dukkah bringing texture and crunch to the dish.

Desserts were Sticky Ginger Cake, caramelised white chocolate, poached rhubarb with caramac and a rhubarb sorbet £9. The sorbet was a real palette cleanser, had a real zing to it that awakened your senses after so much food, caramac was beautiful, the cake could have perhaps had a bit more ginger but that is a minor quibble.

Crunchy Nut Cornflake Panna cotta, the description fed back from this was “This is the nicest panna cotta I have ever had”, nothing more to say really.

All of this washed down with Tydy, Sauvignon Blanc Loire Valley, I don’t drink a lot of white wine but if they all tasted like this I would drink a lot more. Exceptionally easy to drink with a real fruity taste. £29 a bottle.

The service is very good here, there were 3 servers on that night and you are served by all of them, normally I prefer to have one server however, it kind of works here. It’s a very organic experience at The Gaff and each server is as attentive and personable as the last, it’s formal without being stuffy, in fact it’s very relaxed, but maintains professionalism. Water is topped up regularly without the need to ask, plates are cleared in good time and there is little wait between each dish being brough out. It’s a perfect venue for couples and small groups that want to eat good food, drink good wine and converse.

I can thoroughly recommend The Gaff, it’s absolutely worth the trip.

As a side note, kudos to whoever decorated the toilet, I am a stickler for a well presented bathroom and The Gaff didn’t disappoint 🙂