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hand picked restaurants

Dragons Den is the quintessential Asian restaurant, elegant and friendly, serving delicious Thai and Chinese cuisine in their upscale Monmouth location. Plenty of dragons in the decor emphasise their name, while carved wooden furniture is a wonderful change from the regular functional elements that are so common these days. Walk in for a tasty lunch with friends or head out there for a special dinner with family and enjoy some of their delicious fare, spread across three menus.

Fried squid is embellished with garlic and pepper while stir fried egg noodles with chicken, spring onions, fresh bean sprouts and soy sauce could form the highlight of the meal. More traditional elements come together in the Chinese section with appetisers of duck spring rolls followed by beef with ginger and spring onions. A range of delectable desserts can easily undo all your calorie counting commitments with options such as parfait caramel or tartufo.

One wonders if the Chris Evans' pubs are country-chic bolthole, gastropub, or restaurant with rooms. As far as the Newbridge Inn is concerned, it's a combination of all three, housed within a traditional building. The stunning backdrop of the river and the breathtaking views of the valley set the right atmosphere, making it a perfect choice to celebrate any occasion.

The menu yields a good range of locally sourced produce and may open with moules mariniéres with white wine, parsley and garlic. Two steaks are lined up for main courses - a grilled 6 oz rib-eye and char-grilled 8 oz sirloin - with a host of sides like toasted ciabatta bread with whole grain mustard mayo, and horseradish mash. Finally do save space for delightful spoonfuls of chocolate parfait topped with whipped cream and strawberries.

A selection of wines from across the globe make refreshing accompaniments to the excellent food at The Newbridge Inn.

Set in the beautiful Wye Valley, 5 miles from Monmouth, the restaurant at the Crown Hotel in Whitebrook offers guests a dining experience that is a blend of the traditional and modern prepared from wholesome and fresh local ingredients and served in elegant settings. Frequented by the hotel's guests as well as local residents, the décor is understated and modern, with walls of tasteful original artwork, simple wooden furniture and subdued lighting.

Chef James, has created a modern menu with classic French influences, consisting of meals to suit every discerning palate. They consist of vegetarian options of roast gnocchi with winter vegetables; and chestnut and thyme risotto with goat's cheese. Non-vegetarian dishes comprise starters of Cornish mackerel with white chocolate, horseradish and beetroot; butter poached lobster with ham hock and parsnip, followed by mains of pot roast partridge with bread, chervil root, turnip and chestnut; and seared fillet of beef with watercress, Romanesco, shallot and sweetbread.

A carefully chosen wine list made from a mix of the classics such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to the lesser known Riesling, makes for an interesting conclusion to the meal.

The Angel Hotel in Abergavenny is a testament to modernity, unequivocally paired with tradition, in this bustling market town. What was once a former Georgian coaching inn is now an elegant and stately triple AA starred hotel offering all the comforts that you expect in its thirty-two well furnished rooms. The restaurant is another discerning factor there and has received an AA Rosette for its sumptuous fare.

You could start with the Mediterranean fish and shellfish soup with croûtes, rouille and cheese or maybe the seared squid with shallots, garlic, chilli oil and coriander. For the main course, the roast rump of Welsh lamb, braised green beans and potato gratin is fulfilling, and the frozen hazelnut parfait, with tuiles and chocolate sauce is an enticing way to end. The bar is warm and welcoming and offers a choice of excellent wines, champagnes and cocktails to complement your meal.

Allt Yr Ynys is a well preserved 16th century manor house, located in the foothills of the Black Mountains. Its history is well recorded and has close connections with the Cecil family. Much of the oak panelling and other period features have survived making the house a wonderful place in which to stay.

First courses of pan fried whole Greenland Bay prawns with a lime butter and herb sauce or fusilli pasta with smoked local ham, Welsh cheese, garlic, herbs, tomatoes, white wine and cream make a good start to any meal. Main courses list wild boar steak on wild mushroom, orange and ginger confit with deep fried herbs, and griddled sirloin of natural fed local beef with a blue cheese and mushroom sauce.

A banana and caramel torte with coffee cream or traditional bread and butter pudding rounds the evening off pleasantly in this comfortable and homely place.

A former coaching inn that has been thoroughly reinvented as a hotel for the 21st century, though managing to retain some of the old world charm. Outside the River Monnow adds to the scenic attraction provided by the gentle hills of Monmouthshire. Les Routiers Inn of the Year 2004.

The menu does not offer any great surprises although it attempts to veer towards the adventurous side of modern with some success. A whole globe artichoke with Hollandaise sauce is fine, though anyone who finds this delicacy slightly daunting might find solace in the asparagus done as a feuillete with more of the Hollandaise or the seared Scottish scallops.

No self-respecting Welsh Borders restaurant can afford not to serve Welsh Black steaks, and there they are, with plenty of chips and Bearnaise sauce. Nothing wrong with chips provided they're the best and these are good. The canon of lamb, formerly resident of the Usk Valley comes with mango chutney, olive crushed potato, smoked ratatouille and rosemary jus, a pleasant combination of flavours. The vegetarian option comes in the form of a roasted pepper and basil risotto with a poached egg and parmesan.

When the puddings come round you won't be disappointed. The range of Welsh cheeses are notable to the point of irresistibility. The Bower Farm clotted cream served with the bread and butter pudding is in a class of its own and nobody can say that the management is not utilising Welsh products to the full.

The wine list has a passport full of rubber stamps and there are some particularly interesting French reds. House wines from £10. Relaxing over coffee after the meal may induce an inclination towards Scotland and the relatively brief but selective list of single malts.

When this ships' chandlery was initially built at Lower Dock Street in the 19th century, no one could have thought that it would house a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant so many years later; now The Chandlery Restaurant has upgraded just about everything, bringing an addition of modern sensibilities to this part of Newport.

As for food, the kitchen team believe in pleasantly blending strong ingredients and adopting modern European cooking techniques, so the sight of duck and foie gras pressed into a terrine, or the delicious crab and saffron tart give first hints on what to expect. Then move on to explore new territories of flavour with a roast loin of Welsh mountain lamb together with braised shoulder, and seared rainbow trout with king prawns. After a hearty meal such as this some interesting dessert ideas like set vanilla and ginger cheese cake, or a selection of Welsh and Continental cheeses seem unavoidable.

So whether it's a business lunch, a romantic evening out or a celebration, The Chandlery Restaurant could well prove to be the smart choice.