The best gastropub in Wales revealed in new Time Out list
Nation.Cymru staff
Leading travel website Time Out has revealed its best gastropubs in the UK for 2026 and there is one standout choice in Wales.
The UK’s boozers will always hold a special place in the hearts of people, but the country’s gastropubs are now a Great British tradition in their own right.
Up and down the nation pubs have combined drinking with fine dining in extraordinary ways, going far beyond simply serving food that is ‘good for a pub’. Plenty of these hybrids are proper gastronomic destinations, the sort of Michelin-recognised establishments that go fork-to-fork with the country’s finest restaurants.
Time Out’s 2026 guide to the UK’s top gastropubs ranges from rural inns in Pennine forests to elegant London taverns to former country houses packed with modern art.
The travel guide has ensured all current recommendations are up-to-date but they’ve added seven new entries.
And there is one gastropub which makes the list from Wales.
The Black Bear Inn
Bettws Newydd, Monmouthshire
Time Out writes of the The Black Bear Inn: If it’s castles you’re into, this part of the UK has them by the bucketload, so factor a few historical stop-offs into your journey before winding your way down the snakelike country roads to your Welsh gastropub reward.
Welsh rarebit as an opening snack is a no-brainer, but the rest of the seasonally guided menu will be harder to choose from without FOMO. Will it be Wye lamb shoulder with confit potato, red wine sauce, kale and anchovy mayo or Cornish Octopus with rainbow chard and blood orange?
Fish and seafood are a big draw too, while the wine list has everything from Pet Nat to Cote Rotie with plenty of local cider if that’s your preferred bevvie.
Usk itself is a picture postcard Welsh town which is famous for being covered with flowers. It has won the Royal Horticultural Society’s ‘Wales In Bloom’ competition 37 years in a row.
It takes its name from the River Usk on which it sits, perfect if you enjoy a bit of salmon fishing.
(All images credit: Black Bear Inn)
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