Black Ox in Carmarthenshire

We had a family Sunday lunch here Sept 2024. Food was very nice , starters were a little small for the price but tasty. The roast was fantastic and plenty of veg for everyone . I don't like being negetive on reviews but I would say in the nicest possible way that the staff that served our table hadn't had a lot of experience or training which is down to the manager /employer. But they were lovely girls and nothing was to much trouble. 1 thing that I was a bit disappointed in was the waiter that brought the veg to the table was actually chewing food while putting our veg on the table . Was not really impressed with that but over all food made up for it . Price was good to . Toilets could do with a little attention .

Food was outstanding and the young lady behind the bar was extremely polite and courteous, I don't understand the bad reviews, the food was exceptional, extremely tasty and excellent portion size at a reasonable price. The chef obviously knows what he is doing.

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Beautiful food every time we visit. Always accommodating. Staff are always polite and professional. Can't wait to visit again

If like me, you have read the negative reviews on the Black Ox and thought that most of them are from competition or just disgruntled, please take heed of this review. Two weeks ago I booked the Black Ox for a birthday lunch on Sunday 07/07/2024, asked if it would be OK to bring a birthday cake etc. I was assured that everything was booked and would be fine. In total we were going to be a group of 12 which actually became 14. Three travelled from Pembrokeshire (Goodwick and Spital) three travelled from Brynamman and two travelled from Bridgend. I tried calling the Black Ox as from 10am on the 7th, just to confirm that everything was ok and to inform them that we would now be 14 and not 12. I finally got an answer at 12.05pm only to be informed that the kitchen was closed and that they would NOT be doing our Sunday lunch!! They maintained that they had my mobile number from when I originally made the booking, and that they had tried to inform me on Thursday about the situation, but that they had failed to get hold of me???? Uh come on now, lets think long and hard here. Even if I had not answered my telephone, I do like everyone else have a facility called voice mail on my phone. Thank goodness with extremely short notice, as this was a surprise birthday lunch and we had all arranged to meet by 12.30 @ The Black Ox, we managed all 14 of us to have a wonderful family time at our local pub/restaurant in LLanddarog. Thank goodness there are people around who know how to run business.

Food resembles microwave meals available in petrol stations. Also called 3 times before we actually got to eat there and the place was closed. They seem to be open when they feel like it! Frozen Chips. Miserable staff. Never again!

Well well well I wouldn’t bother ya back side what an an absolute joke staff like one legged ducks and the food well I’ve had better from Lidl, at first I thought I’d been cooked for by a 2 year old won’t be coming again I can tell ya

After spending a lovely time on the Gwili heritage railway we were looking for Sunday lunch and found this lovely pub. Was very surprised how quiet it was in there. Was going to eat outside but found it very uninspiring and needs a rethink but that is the only gripe. Hubby who usually hates carvery due to the wafer thin short measure meat, was very happy with the size of the meat portion here. Help yourself to the ample variety of vegetables and it made for a really lovely Sunday roast. The staff were so friendly.

Best roast dinner I've had in a long time.

We came to the Black Ox to meet with friends for Sunday Lunch. We chose it as they were dog friendly. The staff were amazing, they really looked after us and made a big fuss of the dogs. The Sunday Lunch carvery was superb, a great selection of Meat and sides. Will definitely visit again in the future!

Best avoided. Drink selection is poor, food took ages, bar room was freezing, food arrived luke warm.

Booked for Christmas dinner, tables not laid out nicely, no crackers, waited over 30 mins for starters and another 45 mins before mains arrived. Half the vegetables were on the plate and the rest in tureens. Had to ask for serving spoons. Food was cold, stuffing a hard ball, cauliflower still raw, some vegetables were mushy. Asked for spoons for dessert and waitress dumps a load of spoons next to one person to distribute. Two of the spoons were teaspoons. The place itself is cold in temperature and ambience. Food was cold. Serving staff need training.

Lovely and homely ambience, with such courteous service & nice food. Enjoyed the Sunday roast, with family and friends, and a nice long, relaxed lunchtime.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their Christmas food, all starters, mains and desserts were excellent. Great presentation and very tasty, I had the turkey and trimmings and the Baileys cheesecake, have no complaints. The staff were attentive and very friendly, thank you.

The food was cold and the chef very unhygienic, he picked up the turkey with his fingers and placed it on my plate. I complained to be told he didn’t have a fork???.

This is a traditional pub / restaurant on the main street of a Welsh village near Carmarthen. When we visited it was very quiet, but the hospitality was warm and genuine, the menu was much reduced from that shown on the internet, but the food available was very tasty, well prepared, good portion size and well presented, and the price was very reasonable. Drink prices are again very reasonable. The staff were very friendly and professional. There is not that much parking available except on the quiet main street. We were only here once on holiday for an evening meal and this is a great wee place it just needs more customers, if you are in the area do visit you will probably be surprised and not disappointing

It's a bit off the beaten track. An old pub with what must have been, before covid, a decent restaurant. It now stands a bit lost and though not run down, feels like it needs some TLC and some fresh customers. It's lacking a bit of pizzazz and the menu has been cut right back, see photographs. But the staff are friendly and trying their best with a hard location. It pulls a decent pint, it is comfortable and from a very cut-back menu, see photographs, the food is good. The staff are doing a great job. So if your in the area, pop in, sit down and enjoy some good pub grub. Well done the whole team running this pub restaurant and doing a great job in the place, you are doing good job 👍🏻.

We had a lovely meal at this pub while staying in the area: traditional burger and veggie burger. Both were perfect. Very happy with our choice.

I booked a table for tonight for 6 of us to celebrate a 60th birthday. The menu that is available to view on the website was not what we were presented with. The menu on the website offered lasagne, fish and seasonal pie but none of these were on the menu. Everyone in the party was disappointed as they had decided beforehand what they were going to order. We had to then select from what was available which wasn’t to everyone’s taste. Very disappointing

Excellent. Very good food, very welcoming and comfortable for a family of very weary travellers. Can’t say much more. Well worth a visit

Steak and chips with panko onion rings. Best chips I've had I a pub. Great service from the lovely young woman who took care of us.

The food was presented well enough, but nothing like the photo's depicting the dishes. Whilst being handed the menu's, we were told "we haven't got this, there's no pizza's and none of that either". The cutlery was just left on the far end of the table and no condiments were provided either. I know it's a pub and they're updating their menu's but we did expect an experience that was a bit more 'put together' 👍

Sunday dinner was delicious. We were the last table of the table and so they had run out of any starters and had no other choice but chicken but it didn't matter as portions are big and we were all happy to eat chicken rather than the beef ordered. Next time we will arrive earlier 😊 Bar and waiting staff were lovely and friendly

Black Ox has lovely customer service. Very lovely. Had a take away dinner and it was awful. Ordered two kids and two adult, was basically like having 4 kids portions. My nephew then found blood in his chicken. Was just disgusting if I’m honest.

Lovely food with a good variety. Dog friendly - you can have the restaurant menu but do have to sit in the bar but there is not a lot of difference. Staff very attentive and made sure we were well cared for. Deserts could have been more exciting but the starters and mains made up for it. We will be back!

Disappointed - to start the menu’s given were different. Ordered a burger and it was literally a cheap dry bun with a burnt bacon and handful of chips. No side salad or onion rings. The fork on the table was very dirty. we were very excited as we had heard a few good reviews about the place - won’t be returning unfortunately. Despite this, the waitress was very lovely.

The chef in this little village pub/eatery knows his stuff! Wow! 5 out of 5 for atmosphere, cleanliness, helpfulness of staff , lovely cosy deco, definitely worth a visit I guarantee you won't want to go anywhere else again.. the food was AWESOME we could have been dining in London the quality and flavours were unique, my husband had the steak, most tender and delicious. This is our new super find. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a fair review and no criticism to the chef, average experience, (attention to detail lacking) but nice meal and perfectly cooked rump steak. I ordered Rump Steak and triple cooked chips, I noticed there was no salad or peas on the menu to accompany this, I ordered broccoli which was an extra side, however they did not have any available. but they were actually able to provide peas when we asked (they could have offered these as an alternative). My meal arrived, the chips were standard, not the triple cooked ones which I had expected and was so looking forward to (disappointing) a very small bowl of peas arrived not really enough for the 3 people it was for, my plate ended up swimming in water as there was no serving spoon, I tipped the bowl of peas to serve, unfortunately they hadn't been drained I hadn't seen the water underneath. Putting this experience aside, The rump steak was lovely and cooked perfectly, medium rare, the Merlot, was nice and good value for money.

Our family group had an enjoyable Sunday roast here, prior to going on the nearby Gwili steam railway. Portion sizes were generous and the price was fair. However, the place was quite busy and this resulted in the service being a bit erratic. Unfortunately , though, the main reason for not giving top marks is due to the wooden seats not having cushions and, therefore, being hard and uncomfortable. A shame really as it took the edge of what was, otherwise, an enjoyable family lunch.

There is a limited Sunday menu - slow cooked beef with Yorkshire pudding or chicken with stuffing. We went with the beef which was tender and tasty. It was accompanied by lots of veg. Would recommend. On another note, the website asks you to book and seems to allow you to book online, but there is no reply using the online form on the website or using the email. So just phone them up.

Excellent slow cooked beef with a large Yorkshire pudding and an assortment of vegetables, including carrot, parsnip, green peas, cauliflower cheese, roast potato, mash potato and suede. The beef was tasty, succulent and very tender - cooked to perfection. Staff were friendly and service was fast and efficient. The pub was warm and cosy. The starter of Brie bites with spicy sauce was also very tasty.

We were really disappointed with our meal, and on hindsight I’m sorry I did not query the weight of my steak and the gammon, on the menu it states 300 grams (10 oz) No way were either meats that weight, raw or cooked. The place was very cold, which made eating uncomfortable. All I can say is that I don’t think we will be eating there again,

Lovely place with multiple areas to sit. Great menu and bar. Music fun too some nights!

Went to the Black Ox for Sunday lunch. The food was good, but not great, the portion sizes were very good, with excellent beef, but mediocre veg. The mash was unpleasant and the roasties could weren't crispy. The staff were lovely and we received good service, although having to queue at the bar (you can't pay at the table) to pay the bill spoilt the experience a bit for me. The chairs in the restaurant are really hard and uncomfortable. The meal was very reasonably priced at £16 for 2 courses or £18 for 3 courses.

Very delicious gastro food as promised, friendly service and a Wales v South Africa game as well ! Highly recommend!

A little Jem in the Carmarthenshire country side is The Black Ox situated close to Carmarthen along the A40 easy access in the village of Abergwilli family run pub with food that is to die for nice large portions per person large menu I can personally recommend, you must go try the friendly service and food you will not be disappointed.

Thoroughly enjoyed Sunday lunch - meat was lovely and tender with a good choice of vegetables. Will definitely return😊

Lovley food staff friendly and helpful. Not been before but will definitely be going again.

Nice food, good portion sizes and friendly service. Wine choices could be better but otherwise a very nice place for a Friday night meal with friends

Fantastic food staff brilliant use this lovely pub again and again

We called up last minute, they were busy but made room regardless, we had two Sunday roasts, the service was amazing, friendly relaxed hosting, and the food was just exceptional huge roast dinners, really well cooked meats, with generous extra veg included and all the essentials. The presentation was great and quality was fantastic. All in all a wonderful visit, delicious food and very reasonable price. We Look forward to coming again!

Delicious roast beef dinner. Couldn't fault the meal at all. Table for 2 which we were lucky to be able to move forward an hour (they were fully booked). Staff lovely, quick service. We will definitely be back

A quiet Friday night. Limited wine menu but good pub menu. Husband had a steak which was very good and my 'special' seabass was delicious. We will call again

New to the area and my first meal here. I chose the Paella which unfortunately was very disappointing. Apart from about 6 prawns the dish had no other meat or fish + no frozen peas. Far too much lemon flavour and all in all pretty tasteless. Staff very welcoming though seats in the eating area very hard and uncomfortable.

Lovely welcome first class food.

Friendly service, lovely atmosphere and seriously delicious roast dinner, highly recommend eating here! Top quality food👌🏽😍

Great food. Fantastic burger deal on Wednesdays

Great food & reasonably priced. Highly recommend

Lovely food, lovely staff and lovely atmosphere

A large party of us wanted some lunch on Saturday. We called on the off chance and you very kindly booked us in, with only half an hours notice!!! The meals were wonderful, the service was 5* and we all (all 17 of us!) Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We will definitely be returning when next in the area. (We'll give you more notice next time! 😬). A HUGE thank you and Well done from us all 😊👏

excellent food and service -with staff who go the extra mile to help . good value too. If I see one bad review in 10 I always ignore it -as some people look for trouble . Do visit this excellent pub for good food ,...

Highly recommended.. best food I've had for a good while. And the staff were great too.

Sunday lunch was fab. Variety of vegetables with the roast and so tasty.

Really enjoyed the food. Large portion, fair price. Friendly service. Cockles starter was great!

Me and my fiancé attended on 28th of august for a meal. The flatbread and beetroot houmus was extraordinary, the gammon was absolutely Devine and the stake was absolutely Devine. The waffle with berry and ice cream was amazing. Emma the waitress was absolutely stunning,...

We enjoyed our visit. The environment followed Covid recommendations and we felt very safe. The service was amazing with very friendly approachable staff . The food was tasty and the puddings were amazing and well presented.

Another fabulous meal at the black ox xx

Very tasty. Burgers full of flavour, sides also very good. Staff was very welcoming, professional and at the same time very friendly. Overall good value for money.

Stopped by after a long walk. Food was tasty, children were very happy. Unfortunately my gammon hadn’t been rested so my plate was swimming in salty gammon juices, none the less all was cooked well and tasty once poured off. Thank you

Since the pandemic began, we have had many take way Sunday lunches from here. Each time it was freshly prepared, beautifully cooked and well presented. Well recommended.

Not sure what was worse, the service or the food. I’m quite certain that both the service and the food were the worst I have experienced anywhere for many years. The food was absolutely dire and I could not eat it.

Had a great meal with my wife. Staff attentive and knowledgeable. Will be back.

Great food , great service , can't fault it . Highly recommended .

Very friendly, tasty burgers, cockles to die for!!!

Professional and friendly staff. Relaxing atmosphere. A ++++++

Absolutely amazing food and very friendly pub..recommended bigtime.🤩😍💯

Warm reception and superb food, thoroughly recommend

Lovely food, excellent staff very friendly

Staff were very friendly, lovely atmosphere, plenty to eat, but reasonable to prices. Would recommend to everyone .

My son and I ate here twice when we were in Camarthen and we both loved it! Very tasty food, nice and friendly staff especially Catherine, Jacky and Luke.! The best Duck Confit and Smoked Pork Chops I have had in ages. Very well made...

Absolutely fantastic food and a lovely atmosphere, will definitely recommend it 👍👌😀

What an absolutely delicious meal whilst sat out in the sun. Will be back soon

Was here on Sunday for drinks with some friends. Was shown to my table straight away and drinks ordered and served quick considering it was very busy. All covid measures in place, rules explained as soon as we came in, felt very comfortable! All staff...

Delighted to find a lockdown takeaway Sunday dinner that is served until 3.30. All others seem to close by 2pm. I wasn’t expecting it to be so good to be honest. We had beef and chicken with all the trimmings and it was delicious. Huge...

Sick of overpaying for a poor Roast dinner so decided to try somewhere different, cheap and get enough food for two people. Really enjoyed our dinners and will 100% be returning😁

Decided to visit with 3 work friends for a pre-xmas catch-up - 2 of which I hadn't seen since March - before Wales' pubs are locked down again 😒 Had the Sticky Pigs in Blankets (amazing could have eaten loads more), Hake main course lovely...

Lovely pub on the outskirts of Carmarthen, and served to good. Staff were excellent too.

As it was my birthday I got to eat out twice in one day, and what a treat it has been, went for evening meal in the black ox Abergwili and it was delicious, my husband had a steak which was cooked perfectly and for...

Superb. Wonderful service, attentive staff and superb food. Came away having spent well but that it was more than worth it. Highly recommended

Service was great.staff are fab.

As you can see I had the Sunday dinner, it was well presented and tasted great. The plate had a decent amount of meat compared to other local roasts. Service was fast and the building was clean and well presented. Hand sanitizer on each table was also a nice touch.

Good people, great service and excellent food.

Had a fantastic meal here one Friday night. The starter and main we had was very, very good indeed. I’ve only marked down one because the desserts were bought in and that didn’t fit in with the starters and main we had. If the Black...

The pizza's here are incredible. Choose your own toppings, and plenty to choose from. Handmade and there's plenty of it. See picture. Recommend this of you go. All the Covid procedures in place. Hand sanitizers everywhere, felt comfortable throughout the dining experience. Very friendly atmosphere...

Picked up a takeaway for myself and my son and I’ve got to say it was delicious. A good supply of vegetables alongside the meat. There was also a container of gravy, unlike an establishment I called at last Sunday when very little gravy was...

Meal for five of us and everyone extremely happy with the meal. Fab staff really friendly made us feel at home. Will certainly be back.

Best cavery around! Fresh, hot and very tasty! The meat is outstanding and the variety of veg is brilliant! Would recommend it to everyone!

Called an hour before booking and they managed to save us a table for 4. We went for the Sunday carvery and it was lovely. Plenty of meat, veg options..Great service 😁

Our first visit to the black ox even though it's on our doorstep and i will definitely be returning on a regular basis. Myself and the wife went out for dinner for Valentine day. I ordered the goats cheese salad and my wife ordered the duck. we had the lamb cutlet and the pan-fried chicken for our mains and the flavours were out of this world, We decided to share an eaton mess for dessert as we were too full to have one each. The food was better than we could have imagined, the staff were all very welcoming and friendly and they definitely made our visit feel special. Thank you all at the black ox

What an incredible evening, a friend recommended the black ox to us and we weren't dissapointed. A very special evening. We were greeted on entry by very friendly staff who showed us to our tables in the restaurant. I ordered the beetroot soup followed by the 8oz sirloin which was out of this world. Cooked to perfection and the red wine jus was the perfect sauce to go with it. Unfortunately we were too full for pudding but we will definitely be returning to sample one next time. Thank you all for a special evening

Well worth over 5 stars. Being an extremely fussy steak eater its extremely difficult to find a place that does their steak to perfection. This is one of very few places that got their steak cooked absolutely perfect. The flavouring on absolutely everything that came with it was perfect!! It was like an explosion of flavours in your mouth. This place made my valentines absolutely perfect! Thank you so much! I would highly recommend this place. The staff here are so polite, welcoming and friendly too which tops it off! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE OUR NIGHT SO SPECIAL! .

Came here for sunday carvery had the beef which was delicious. Also the the cauliflower and leeks in a cheese sauce was a favourite. The baileys cheesecake was amazing. Staff were very friendly

Well, what a disappointment. On arriving, I was given a filthy glass for my drink, so I asked for a clean one. They didn’t have basics such as alcohol free lager or grapefruit juice. Another drink ordered was incorrect, so had to be changed, and despite there being Tribute mats on the bar, they didn’t serve it. Having pre-ordered food for our party, some meals were so late in arriving that the rest of the group had finished. They’d obviously been totally forgotten as when they did finally arrive, they were cold in the middle. We sent it back and two of us cancelled the food because it was too late and I’d quite frankly, lost my appetite. The staff were apologetic and offered us free desserts but it was too late really. There was also an 18th birthday party going so lots of 18 (we hope) year olds being loud and drunken. Came home hungry and wondering what a ‘gastro pub’ (as it was advertised) in this neck of the woods actually means. Not happy and won’t return, sorry.

Excellent food, service and staff. Highly recommended 5*

Smashing Sunday lunch very friendly and polite staff definitely going again

Fabulous food great service always a pleasure to visit the black ox guaranteed the best

Was recommended this place by several friends so though I’d take the plunge with my extended family for Sunday CarveryIt did not disappoint From start to finish the whole experience was spot onLovely ambience, great service and even better foodWill definitely backWell done The Black Ox

We visited the black ox on the off chance as we were passing through and what a great find it was. The staff were very welcoming and very approachable. The manager explained how they are looking to come away from 'gastro food' and bring back good quality pub food & that's exactly what we had. The food was incredible, home cooked and huge portions. Me and my partner were very happy to say the least. We can't wait to be back in the area, we will definitely be back

Fabulous place and lovely staff 👌👌

I had my daughters surprise 18th Birthday booked for the Black Ox and I wanted everything to be just perfect and they did not dissapoint!! I booked it fairly last minute as she didn't want a party and they didn't hesitate to book me in. The staff were aware that it was a surprise and they made sure that everything went perfectly.