Beaufort Arms Inn, The

In 2002 Eliot and Jana Lewis became the new owners of this pleasant Monmouthshire inn, determined to restore its past grandeur. Jana, with a background in design, was delighted by the challenge this imposed, and much of the work that has been done bears her mark, in particular the paintings in the corridors and rooms.

At the heart of the village since the 15th century, The Beaufort Arms is home to many memories. Until 1842 it was a well-known stop on the South Wales - Fishguard route to the Irish ports. In the 20th century British Prime Ministers, clad in tweeds and hoping for anonymity came to stay here for the fishing.

Nowadays people still come with the same purpose in mind, but a more mobile public seeking high standards in scenic surroundings, most of whom could not give a fig about anonymity, swells their ranks.

The relative formality of the dining room - and it is only relative, but enough to give that certain lift to the evening - offers a menu that lives up to expectations, offering the best of British cooking. The soup of the day really is freshly made, from an imaginative repertoire. A pate made from crab, sherry and Parmesan has the customary Melba toast and tomato chilli jam for company.

Griddled scallops with buttered cabbage and smoked salmon brings life to a normally rather dull vegetable, with the flavour of the smoked salmon picking up nicely from the scallops. Vegetarians are well looked after and a chargrilled Mediterranean vegetable tower with spring onion and coriander salsa is transformed by the influence of an aubergine tomato chutney.

From a dazzling array of main courses the steamed lamb shank faggots are well supported by a parsnip puree with baby carrots and asparagus spears. Those expecting Welsh Black beef will need to switch attention to the Welsh rack of lamb with Irish cabbage mashed potato sauce and parsley puree.

Steak comes in the form of wild boar loin steak with Lyonnaise potatoes and wholegrain mustard and cider sauce, or a fillet steak beautifully topped with foie gras on fondant potatoes with a red wine jus.

Ten years ago roast belly of pork would not even have been considered for a menu of this quality. Now, served with black pudding, buttered spinach and mustard mash it has become a popular dish.

It would of course be a pleasant thought to imagine the salmon might have swum past the door once too often, but somehow I think Eliot and Jana would not have missed that trick. Whatever its origin, served with a tartare potato cake, a warm poached egg and lemon butter sauce it is one of the highlights of the menu.

The bar menu continues to offer the same high standards in preparation and the freshness of the ingredients, with salmon and prawn fish cake, locally made sausages with creamy champ potatoes, peas and onion mustard gravy, wild mushroom and onion tartlet, the Beaufort beefburger, a fish pie made with fresh cod, haddock and salmon, cooked in the spinach, and a really succulent beef and ale pie.

The cellar offers a weekly changing guest ale, and a wine list that moves skilfully between New and Old world names, 12 of them sold by the glass. The inn is on the Les Routiers list, still in my view one of the most reliable citations of its kind.