The story
The Black Bear Inn in Raglan is a modern British pub kitchen at Clytha Road, Bettws Newydd, NP15 1JN, and The Good Food Guide rated it Very Good for 2026.
The seasonal British menu changes weekly and leans on local producers, with a few suppliers from further afield. The card stays short so that everything is made from scratch. The Good Food Guide reviewer described a very small kitchen that turns out plenty of snacks, plus starters and mains such as Dexter beef tartare with fried bread and anchovy mayo, or haddock and mussels in herb butter sauce. The team aims to keep oysters on the menu, but they sell out, so mention them when booking. Vegan dishes can be prepared with one or two days' notice.
The wine list is largely European, with unusual grape varieties and a few orange wines and chilled reds. The by-the-glass selection is written on the blackboard and is worth checking when you arrive.
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Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
‘Overall, to find this level of cooking in such an unassuming location was a real treat,’ is praise indeed for Josh and Hannah Byrne’s warmly welcoming rural dining pub, which is surrounded by rivers, mountains and fields. Perched proudly by the side of the road – and seemingly a beacon in an area with not much else around – the Black Bear Inn has quickly built a reputation with diners who keep coming back because the food is precisely what they want to eat. From what must be one of the smallest kitchens in Wales comes a menu heavily weighted towards delicious snacks (we got a little overexcited and ordered too many), but the trio of starters and mains is well worth investigating – perhaps Dexter beef tartare with fried bread and anchovy mayo or haddock and mussels in herb butter sauce. The largely European wine list offers an astonishing range for a country pub, full of excitement, with interesting grape varieties all over the show, interspersed with some orange stuff and chilled reds. Check the blackboard for excellent by-the-glass selections.
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