I’ve always held a soft spot for Usk, perhaps because it’s the birthplace of my father, or It’s the nostalgia of trips to see relatives living in the dwelling of a former bakery. Whatever the reason, at just 30 mins drive from Cardiff it’s well worth a visit. A walk around this medieval town will uncover plenty of blue plaques, each giving you a history of the buildings origins, and as well as having it’s own castle, it also has plenty of places to eat and drink.

I visited 5 venues at various times of the week and will state this for each place, each visit was a walk in. I’ll try to be as brief as I can so it’s not a too long, cut out waffle and stick to useful information as always, you’ve got far more important things to be doing I’m sure.

The Castle Inn, Twyn Square.

The Castle inn is one of two pubs in Twyn Square, the other being The Nags Head which you will read about further down the blog. Both have outside seating and offer a lovely aspect of the square. I made my visit on a Saturday lunchtime, it was fairly quiet with only one other table dining at the time, the welcome was friendly, and I was given a table.

Retaining a lot of it’s fabric and character you’ll find a small bar area at the front with a more open dining area at the back with an extended more modern area further towards the rear. Dark beams span the ceiling, there’s a large stone fireplace (not in use) and it’s carpeted throughout, the addition of pitched roof windows provide extra light.

The menu has a lot of choice, there’s ‘pub grub’ and more prestige ‘main courses’ there’s a good selection of starters and desserts, you’ll find something for everyone. I opt for their lightly spiced chicken fillet burger in a homemade toasted brioche bun, and it was really good. A decent portion of chicken, lovely crisp coating, spicing just right and the addition of avocado and dirty mayonnaise combined well and gave even more flavour as well as texture and sweetness. Fries were salted perfectly and hot and crispy, coleslaw was tasty and not over done with the mayo.

I pondered dessert, some excellent upselling from the server persuaded me to try their Lime posset with shortbread and fresh raspberries, a dessert in keeping with the age of the building. This was really nice, the palette cleanser you want after fried chicken, silky smooth and a nice sourness and tang from the lime.

Service here was excellent, you could tell they really cared about making sure you were looked after, personable but hitting all the key notes. A nice relaxed atmosphere, it deserved to be busier, would definitely visit again.

The New Court Inn, Maryport Street

Despite allegedly being early 19th century, this Georgian fronted Inn is one of the newer buildings to visit in Usk. I made my visit here on a Thursday lunchtime, as expected it was fairly quiet, the interior is a mix of the old at the front (dark wood and tiled floor) to a brighter, more open feel towards the rear of the restaurant. It took a while to be acknowledged on entering, the chap next to me at the bar gave up and left, but once I was, the welcome was warm. They have a fairly small menu with 8 mains and also a ‘Grazing Menu’ with 4 choices at a cheaper price for those with a smaller appetite.

I opted for the Madras Style Chicken Curry £14.95, I had to swap my coke for an orange juice while I waited as it was flat as a pancake, this was done without fuss though. The curry itself was nice, had a good heat and was served piping hot, the chicken pieces were quite small as opposed to the usual chunks, so it was difficult to see how much you were actually getting. The rice was fluffy and well cooked, however the poppadoms were quite oily, this happens when straight out of the fryer.

It’s always difficult not to compare curry in a pub (unfairly) to your favourite authentic curry house, they’re just never as good, It was a decent pub curry though and I was satisfied, I would like to try something else on my next visit however.

Overall I enjoyed my lunch here but the place lacked a bit of atmosphere, that warmth, service was ok but not great, wasn’t even asked if everything was ok when I went to pay. Deserves another visit.

The Kings Head Hotel, Old Market Street.

I made my visit here on a Sunday evening, dark, lashing with rain, the dimly lit medieval street void of people was quite atmospheric. I was unable to take an outside shot due to it being so dark, so the photo above I took on a different day. The Kings Head dates back to 1588, and it’s cosy bar area with traditional dark wood and log fire gives you that sense of history. A further dining area to the rear is adorned in angling paraphernalia, a nod to the strong link to the nearby River Usk, they are also regulars in the CAMRA good beer guide.

The menu here is your no fuss, starters – mains – sides, with a small veggie section. The menu covers most pub food favourites, and includes locally caught Trout.

Given the weather I wanted something comforting, so opted for the lasagne, it says the Kings Head recipe is ‘hard to beat’ and I don’t think they’re wrong. Deep, full of beef mince, rich, bags of flavour, it was good! The bechamel sauce topped with Golden cheddar, with a slighlty burnt, crisp edge it was everything I look for in a pub lasagne and more. The peas and salad on the side were a bit of a token, the peas looked overly done and unappealing but I didn’t care, the side of chips I had with it (yes I had chips with it, sue me) were chunky, hot and crisp on the outside, lovely.

It was fairly busy in here for a Sunday evening, there was a lovely atmosphere, maybe it was because it was so dark and wet outside, service was pretty good, no real complaints here. I would certainly return.

The Nags Head Inn, Twyn Square.

Across the square opposite The Castle Inn you will find The Nags Head, dating back to the 15th century it’s purpose in providing food, drink and accommodation to travellers hasn’t really changed ever since. The Key family have owned and run this Inn since the 60’s and are in their 3rd generation, a true family run pub.

The welcome from a definite 3rd generation Key couldn’t have been warmer, acknowledged as soon as I came in, and despite not booking, I was sorted out with a table with no fuss. I immediately felt at ease. I made my visit on a Wed lunchtime, the front of The Nags Head has a bar area and seating for dining along with a nice fireplace, it was busy and there was a nice atmosphere. A lovely arrangement of fresh flowers in the centre added a splash of colour to balance the plentiful dark wood beams.

Despite being Billy no mates in the rear restaurant area, it gave me a chance to take in the huge array of equine paraphernalia, a mini museum for those who had a better idea of what they were looking at.

The menu has a great variety of starters and mains, the latter ranging from £13.50 to £23, while I peruse the menu my tealight is lit on the table (if you’ve read my previous blogs you’ll know how happy this makes me) I go for Gloucester Old Spot Sausages and Mash with onion gravy, I am asked if I would like broccoli and swede mash as well, yes please!

What arrives from the kitchen is everything I hoped for, 3 large meaty sausages with a slightly crisped outer skin and that lovely browning all over. Smooth, buttery mash and a rich onion gravy with real depth of flavour. The swede mash is seasoned nicely and the broccoli is cooked perfectly.

This is proper home cooking at it’s best, good portions, made by someone that wants to feed their guests well. The lady from the kitchen even coming out to see if the fruits of their labor had payed off, it most certainly had. The service here was impeccable and they were really looking after their guests.

Unfortunately I didn’t have room for dessert, maybe next time, I was leaving very satisfied, memorable food and service, even popped a little chocolate on the dish with my bill…..details.

57 Bridge Street.

If you’re still with me, thanks, this is the last one….for now.

57 Bridge Street is a different vibe to the other places I have listed, the building is still historic, however this has a much more modern feel both in it’s interior and it’s message. It’s the vision of couple Claire and Phil Cooke, both having a wealth of experience within the hospitality industry opened this Artisanal Deli, Bar and Kitchen in 2018.

It was another Saturday lunchtime when I made my visit, no booking but again like everywhere I have visited, accommodated with no issue. It’s a relaxed but refined vibe in here, rustic tables and lots of country floral displays. There are deli counters and shelving stocked high with products you can’t help but eye up from your table. As you move towards the rear, sofas with cushions and table lamps give way to a huge function area with a glass roof and a champagne bar in a converted classic van.

It’s a table for 2 on this visit and we’re dining from the lunch menu which is split between small plates and large plates, with a separate daily specials menu. This place seems like you would get a different experience depending on the time you visit, lunch, dinner, and using the bar area. They also hold themed evenings, a good reason to make multiple visits.

We pick 5 small plates, the Glazed Pork Belly £9, cooked beautifully and the Granny Smith Apple Puree was wonderfully sweet. Hummus & Flatbread £7.50, the Hummus with rose harissa and Hazelnut Dukkah is the star of the show here, and you get plenty of everything, no need to ration the hummus here, dig in!

Tempura Broccoli £8.50 This purple sprouting broccoli tempura with ponzu sauce and sesame seeds will have you wishing this classic vegetable could always be served this way, really good. Smoked Salmon Rillettes £9 (off the daily specials) with the warmed sourdough and pickled vegetables were a delight. The Posh Fries £5, with truffle oil, parmesan and bloody mary ketchup were hot, crisp and seasoned. Not too much parmesan which works for me, posh fries are becoming increasingly more prevalent on menus and some tend to be overloaded with the stuff, which just tastes like you’re eating a bowl of parmesan. The bloody mary ketchup, yum!

It was pretty much full when I was here, a sign of it’s popularity and that’s deserved. A lovely venue that can pretty much cater and adapt to any event or occasion, beautifully presented, and Usk should welcome a diversity in dining and drinking options available to it.

This list isn’t of course exhaustive and there are a number of other places to eat, including:

• Number 49
• The Mad Platter
• The Dining Room @The Grange
• Fantastico
• Sprokwobbles Coffee House

I intend on visiting these individually and doing a post on each, you’ve done yourselves proud reading a blog this long.

Go to Usk, it’s full of good independents all delivering good food, have a meal there, walk the streets, take in the history. I just hope my little review has helped point you in the right direction.