Ponthir House Inn in Torfaen

Lovely old pub so decided to take a look for some food until I saw the 0 rating for Hygiene on the door ,Never seen such a low rating anywhere before. Best avoided really.

Amazing Sunday Lunch, we have eaten here twice and both meals were excellent. We had Steaks on our first visit and a traditional Sunday lunch on our second, food was plentiful, hot and extremely tasty. Service was lovely. Will be back.

Great ale great service lovely setting pub grub to be tried on the next visit 😁😁😁

My husband and myself went for Sunday lunch a couple of weeks ago and were very impressed food was gorgeous. We just had another Sunday lunch here obviously different owners now, great service but I think they could better with the food the beef we had was tasty but ABIT rubbery one piece of bread with the starter needs more otherwise a beaut of a place.

Made a telephone booking 24 hours before visiting , for a table for 4 for Sunday lunch . Enquired the costs beforehand and was advised that it is priced as 1 , 2 or 3 course . 3 course was confirmed £19.95 . Arrived for Sunday lunch today , waitress service was impeccable and very attentive . Presentation of food was excellent. Beef was tough and had to ask for steak knives to cut the meat . Only one tourine of veg to be shared amongst 3 adult guests . Not enough broccoli so asked for more but was refused as waitress said there wasn’t enough . Cauliflower cheese was added as a side and was so hard it couldn’t be eaten . Desserts came and was perfectly presented but served upon a slate so made it difficult to eat off as cream / custard was running off its sides . Gateux was still frozen . Upon receiving the Bill it was unclear as was not itemised Each amount had misc next to them . So could not identify what was what . There was a huge discrepancy on the bill and when I challenged an explanation was told that management had increased their prices this morning ! I made it clear that I objected as no updated pricing was mentioned before we placed our order . Manager was too busy to chat with me . Very unprofessional, bad management , very misleading receipt pricing . We won’t be returning again due to today’s comedy of a family meal .

New owners great place to drink now

Lady at the bar was absolutely lovely as usual, food was brilliant. I love the traditional feeling of the pub taking me back to when I was younger. We had a lovely meal. Thank you so much

Excellent food, staff and service.

Food was mediocore. Young waiter was very nice and helpful, he let one of us try ciders to ensure we would like it. He was very polite and friendly. Although we didnt appreciate the shouting and rudeness from the chef towards the young waiter who did nothing wrong! We heard all the shouting and all the pots and pans being thrown around the kitchen by the chef! sadly wont be returning to our local pub because of the rudeness from the chef towards the lovely waiter

Great evening at the Ponthir House Inn tonight. There were 4 of us eating and both the service and the food were excellent. Great to have the Manager talk us through the starters and specials before ordering, so we chose well. 1 had the homemade soup, which was so tasty. 2 of us hand the hand battered cod, 1 had lamb and 1 had chicken off the specials option. All meals were excellent. Plates were warm, food was hot and the quality was superb. Compliments to the Chef on the brilliant food and a thank you to the Manager for the excellent service. We all said we’d be back, so a big thank you all round!

The pub has recently had new managers. The food is now all homemade and absolutely fabulous. We've had Sunday roast and an evening meal and all were very well cooked snd delicious. All the staff are very friendly and happy. There's a lovely atmosphere whenever you go there and everyone is made to feel very welcome

We used to come here a lot for special family meals as we loved the food and service, but the pub has sadly gone downhill and for that reason we won’t be returning. Came here for a Sunday lunch with family. A couple of the main meals arrived earlier than the others, so much so that they had nearly been finished before the rest arrived. Disappointing as we came to eat as a family. Sides of veg were badly presented. Hardly any of the desserts on the menu were available, so we ordered desserts that were offered to us and waitress then came back to tell us that one was not available, so I went without a dessert. When desserts were brought over, one was missing so we had to ask for it again. Cheesecake was served so messily looking like someone had taken a bite out of it. Given the bill at the end and we were over charged by £9. Staff were very apologetic and told us that the pub has recently changed hands, but we still left really disappointed with our meal. Paid far too much for the meal and service we received. Overall a bit of a disaster of a meal. Sadly won’t be coming back unless it goes back to how it was!

Amazing Sunday dinner, brilliant service, can't fault it, would highly recommend

Having not visited since Barry left we decided to give it a go ,Waited by bar to be served but guy behind the bar totally uninterested and carried on cleaning glasses, The pub is currently up for let so can only assume the person running it is a temporary which may explain his disinterest in serving. Won't be going back until the pub is under proper management.

Have been here before but disappointed this time. Came for Sunday lunch for hubby's birthday with family. Service at bar very slow only one serving. Sunday lunch when served consisted of everything piled in middle of plate we only had 1 dish of veg and 1 gravy between 5 of us (I did ask for more gravy) and no boiled potatoes. My roast potatoes when I found them were hard. Worse still was our sweet 2 of us ordered waffles and ice cream and the waffles had not been warmed or cooked and were rock solid, we did send them back and eventually they came back as they should be but by then we had lost our appetite. The staff are nice but the girls need more training. Meal not up to the standard of when we have been before.

Nice pint on an unplanned stop off.

Visited today (02/06/24) for Sunday lunch. Had taken the precaution of booking and we were shown to our table. Food and drink ordered, we didn’t have to wait long for our starter, we both opted for homemade roasted red pepper and tomato soup, which was really tasty (came accompanied with a roll and butter). For the main course my partner opted for the roasted chicken breast and for myself it had to be the roast pork belly. Both meals came with crisp and fluffy roasted potatoes, homemade stuffing and Yorkshire pudding, roasted carrot and parsnip, green beans, peas and carrots, and , a good sized jug of piping hot gravy. We could not fault our meals It was great to have our meals served on hot plates. Service was great and (having worked in this industry for over 20 years myself) it was a pleasure to see all of the staff happy and smiling. Can definitely recommend here, the new management team and chef are doing a fabulous job. Will definitely be back, infact, have already booked in for Father’s Day.

New management and chefs are amazing! Great service,amazing food and warm and welcoming atmosphere 😀

May 2024 This is a nice old fashioned proper pub, nice for a pint or wholesome bite to eat. New Owners as of first week in May. As we say farewell to Owner Barry, we welcome incomer Phil. Pub was in a state of flux, partial redecoration in progress, hard copy new menu’s awaited, but landlord Phil couldn’t do enough for us. My wife and I ordered a pub curry from the temp menu on barman’s phone. Service and food was good. Chicken curry was very flavoursome, sauce was a little of thin side but nice and plentiful. We will visit again. Looking forward to seeing the make over complete. This was once, many owners ago, one of THEE foody pubs in the area, but it kept slipping. Last landlord Barry turned it around a bit. Let’s hope it re-establishes itself under Phil. We wish Phil and his team well. Good luck to all.

6 of us went there Saturday. An old chap was on his own serving, he served us and it took about 15 minutes to get 6 drinks and he could barely keep the pints level as he walked. Customers were building up and sighing and rolling eyes, they have waited for ages at this point, then we leave he serves someone new that had only just walked in. Unfortunately that's not the end of it, 4 out of 6 drinks were terrible. 2 had grit in the glasses and 2 were flat. I would normally ask for money back but felt bad for the man and it would probably take 30 mins to get a refund. We went to that star instead (never thought I'd say that) and it was booming outside, I think everyone else had the same experience. Clean glasses properly and sort out staff otherwise this place won't be open for long.

Absolutely stunning Sunday lunch! Fabulous staff & landlord. Food second to none and such good value. So sorry to hear the current owners are leaving! 😞

What a lovely time we had here today. Good food & good value. The staff were friendly & very helpful. Will visit again thank you 😀

went for a Sunday roast with friends. Absolutely stunning. One of the best roast dinners I have had. Also fantastic value for money

Great food I would highly recommend

Traditional pub, lovely food, nice atmosphere. Had their festive meal which was lovely. Would recommend 👌

Always a good meal. Friendly staff. Excellent beer and beautiful surroundings.

Fantastic village pub. Friendly people and a cute dog

Great food .Had super Sunday lunch

Really nice Sunday Lunch. Well prepared, well presented and realistically priced. Friendly service. Would recommend and will return.

Been here a couple times. Pint glasses often (in my experience) have bits inside them, like dried crusty food. Unfortunately staff got indignant when asked to replace drinks because of the dirty glasses. Once the barmaid even tried to just pour the dirty contents into a new glass. Clean your dishwasher machine now and again, buy a new one, or check the glasses manually before serving. These are the basic requirements for running a pub. Food was also incredibly bland, Sunday lunch in particular was a big disappointment. It was like something a granny would make, but not a fondly remembered granny, one who you thought when growing up shouldn't cook. I'd recommend the owners visit other places (not the Star) to get a vibe for where the pub grub scene is, because right now, they're stuck in the 80s. A lot of places locally require booking ahead for Sunday lunches, PHI doesn't, I think that says a lot about it. I won't return. Ps. I'm not vegetarian, but my guest was, and the veggie stuff wasn't good either.

I didn't have food so I can't comment although what I saw looked lovely, we visited at around 14.00 so I assume that was the lack of atmosphere, beer was great and service was great and dogs are very welcome.

Myself and my Husband haven't been to the Pub for a long time.the service was very good they couldn't do enough for us.well what can I say about the Sunday Dinner .this it was one of the best roast beef dinners we've had in a long time . there was so much choice with all the different veg boiled and mash .but the Roast potatoes was by far we've ever tasted .thankyou to the staff

Long covid: Struggling three years with no taste or smell, I find it difficult to rate the restaurants I visit. However, sometimes there's a reprieve, and the gammon I had wasn't too bad. The only reason for the 4 star rating was the small pineapple ring placed on top of said meat. It just wasn't enough.

Lovely Sunday lunch with great thick slices of beef and plenty of vegetables. Puddings looked brought in, but enjoyable nonetheless. Lovely service.

Service very slow, waited 1 hour for meal. Pie was great, but gammon and egg over cooked.

Lovely staff and very good prices a real homely type of pub also prince Charles drinks there

Nice place and a warm friendly atmosphere

So we left Kent early this morning 18/9/22 and travelled up to ponthir for a day with my son and daughter, their respective partners and our grandchildren. My so, who lives literally opposite had booked a table for Sunday dinner, a table of 9 no less! For a small pub I expected delays and a little confusion because of the size of our group and the fact that they seemed busy but this was not the case. The girl that took our order got it absolutely right, she was professional and cheerful. Our drinks arrived in good time and our starters shortly after... no complaints from anyone and 7 empty plates (the children didn't have a starter) After a short wait, maybe 15-20 minutes our main course arrived piping hot, a good selection of FRESH vegetables and enough gravy to bathe in. The young waitress even remembered who ordered what and all 9 plates arrived at the same time. All in all I can't complain about anything and will definitely go back whether to eat or have a drink next time we're up and yes, I would definitely recommend the ponthir House! Just a quick note to the landlord, unlike a previous review, I saw no evidence of a cattery! Though in fairness the reviewers understanding of the written language was somewhat lacking, I had to decipher it line by line which wasn't easy Congratulations and a big thank you to all the staff

Had Sunday lunch here. Very friendly staff. The food was very nice and of a high standard. The cost was very reasonable indeed. Will dine there again.

Went with my Partner,had a great main meal and dessert..Returned with my Staffy,,and had the calfs liver and onions,really lush..Lovely atmosphere and dog friendly, with fab beer garden,great staff highly recommend

The best roasties and gravy. Lovely pub and always a warm welcome. Dog friendly too which is handy after a walk

Excellent great menu lovely atmosphere highly recommend

Only had a quick beer , no draught beer , bottled beer only ????

Three of us had a meal here earlier this evening.There are three things to say about this place: The portion size, quality and value for money are all exemplary, The service is polite, cheerful and accommodating, The ambience is good; roomy inside, extensive seating area outside and music that is unobtrusive but takes one down memory lane. We bring our friends here too!

Lovely friendly pub and staff, great food, good prices.

Lovely welcome and service after a seven mile walk around Llandegfedd Reservoir. Excellent Butty Bach. And a nice beer garden. A good pub.

Always a friendly welcome. Plenty of outdoor seating and table service.🙂👍 Lovely Sunday lunch today !! 🙂😋

We looked this up online and decided to try it. It was lovely. The rugby was on and they weren't doing food as it was going to be busy.. but it was fairly quiet when we got there and the landlord said he will happily make us something before it gets busy. Which was so sweet of him. The food was lovely and the staff were great. Lovely dog who resides there was very friendly too,as were the locals. Theres also a local shop onsite selling local fresh produce which was an added bonus! Definitely go back again.

Fab food. Quick service. Really enjoyed it. Thank you Barrie and staff x

Lovely large portions. friendly atmosphere. Beautiful decor and lovely clean nicely decorated toilets x

Arrived and told they run out of Carling larger,strongbow and 2 other beers due to covid restrictions, RUBBISH. I had steak which was OK a little over cooked fir me. My partner had a chicken, ham and leek pie. It was clear it was frozen before cooking and no bigger than a lid off a coffee jar. Not very nice. Chips were thin. Other food orders in the group did not look good and expensive. The general running of the pub was disorganised as best, not enough staff. Not value for money. I say this with a heavy Hart as I like the pub and last time was very good. I will say the price of drinks was fair but limited choice to poor management in not keeping the cellar full. Using covid restrictions as an excuse in not good enough as other pubs had plenty of stock. I will go again and give it another go.

Really lovely Sunday roast, outstanding roast potatoes! The beef was a bit of a let down, hence 4 stars. I'd recommend this place if you're in the area!

Warm welcome, and good value tasty food. We had roast beef amd a vegan shepherd's pie, beef was a bit dry but the roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding were delicious. Only £30 with food amd drinks for 2!

Very nice traditional pub. Friendly and a great pint.

Called in with a friend for evening meal, I had the fish and chips, my friend the broccoli bake. The portions were small and the fish was a frozen battered fillet not fresh with homemade batter as I would expect from a restaurant/ pub meal. Very disappointed at paying over £12 for essentially supermarket freezer quality food. When asked by staff how the food was and saying it was disappointing there was no attempt to rectify this other than the offer to let the chef know the next day. Sadly will not return

Charming and warm village pub, good food with vegan option, reasonable prices and a lovely atmosphere. Dog friendly too 💛

Good beer garden for adults and kids

What a load of rubbish food was terrible pie chips & peas. Rubbish menu. Would of got a better menu of the local cafe. People waiting ages for food. Staff trying but couldn’t keep up with orders. asked for a pint of lager the waitress come back with 2 halves and said we don’t have any pint glasses Won’t b going back

Very friendly hosts & good snack bar outside

Fantastic place to go, so friendly and a brilliant barmaid Hannah. Great day out

I have known this pub for over 50 years a number of different landlords but still very good

Coming from London trying to find a place to have brunch on Bank holiday and thankfully they were open. It was cold and rainy as we could only sit outside with the cover but they turned on all the heaters to make sure everyone is warm. Very nice and friendly staff patiently explained the menu and dishes. The mains are big and fulfilling. We tried the welsh lamb liver and it was great! Also their steak was amazing. Overall very good experience, would recommend this place.

Always a friendly welcome. Can't wait for them to open properly

Huge compliments to Barrie and team for the superb takeaway Sunday lunches we’ve just had. We said they were the nicest beef dinners we’ve had in a very long time! Beef, Yorkshire’s, roasties, new potatoes, carrots, peas, parsnips, sprouts, crushed swede, cauliflower cheese and gravy. Absolutely delicious - we’ll definitely be doing that again soon! Thank you Ponthir House!

Great little pub and the staff are friendly and welcoming. The food looks and tastes fantastic also the dog which unfortunately I didn't get his name is quite the character 😃 it's a 10/10 from me and will be visiting again when in the area. Thanks 👍

Very welcoming .staff are really pleasant.

Visited Friday evening with friends was told by waitress there would be a 10 min wait before she could take our order, 35 mins later a different waitress came over and said there would be a further 45 min wait for food. Promptly left and went for a proper curry instead.

Excellent roast dinner to celebrate Rogers 65 th birthday

It's a great pub ,with a lovely atmosphere. Food is pretty good as well 😊

Nice and quiet if you don't fancy the business of the village. Cheap pints and good bar snacks. Even had a pack of cards behind the bar for us! Free WiFi, friendly staff. What more can you ask for?

Great pub with friendly staff, good beers and excellent food

Delightful lunch spent at this quaint inn .2 course meal for £8.95 , would recommend chicken skewers for starters followed by liver mash and onion gravy. Quality selection of beers to compliment meal.

Cosy pub, lovely meal and friendly staff. Will be returning.😋

Nice traditional pub, a little pricey.

the food was excellent especially as there was 30 of us and everyone enjoyed there meals

Yes we found Ponthir House by accident. We were very pleased we did. Wonderful

Nice village pub, mobbed with diners on a Sunday afternoon. Beer garden adds extra space. Parking limited and often overflowing at the weekend.

Lovely food staff friendly and helpful and just how pubs should be can't wait to go back and try the lunches

I live in Ponthir and use this facility every Wednesday at 6,30 pm for Zumba. Lovely instructed Jodie Marie very friendly class really lovely people xx

Didn't really enjoy my meal, I had chicken Kiev but was over cooked as the chicken was too thick causing the out side to be overdone, disappointed , left well over half of the meal 😢 it was well presented, pleasant surroundings

Proper pub with real people.Nice staff.

Great food & staff were all very welcoming!

Very nice great welcome and fab food! Thanks

Came last year and had a brilliant time... same again this year.. Definitely busier this year, hopefully this will grow and grow each year as it’s for St David’s charity (hope they raised lots of money) Staff again worked tirelessly, serving as fast as humanly possible and still smiling.. the whole day was very well organised... brilliant bands.. Did overhear someone say that someone had rung and complained, maybe they should go next year and support the charity, I’m sure they would enjoy the day, as everyone there looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves .. we will definitely be going again next year...

The Chicken Kiev is absoluely the best in the west, you wont get one this good in Kiev. Absolutely fantastic, you must try it . My wife had the same and she agreed it is the best from anywhere i have taken her.

Food very poor, condiments messy

Went bank holiday Monday ask if food was being served no ordered 2 glasses of coke £5.30for 2 flat pump coke never again

Absolutely love it! The entire staff was so very sweet, the food and drinks were wonderful! Can't wait to come back! Keep up the great work!!!

My wife and I visited this restaurant today and really enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. Both of us had the roast beef (which was very tender) and the vegetables were very good, as was the 'gravy'. I had a starter of mushroom soup which I enjoyed very much. We both had 'puddings' My wife had chocolate tart with cream and I had lemon tart also with cream. The service was friendly and cheerful and the drinks were very good. We both think that this restaurant is really very good and enjoy going there very much. We cannot recommend it highly enough.

My wife and I have lunch here when we can and have never been disappointed with the service and standard of food. My favourite, Ham Egg and chips is superb. Thanks Barry and Staff

called here at the very start of lunch, we were told that certain items were off the menu so we chose other things to be told also off . eventually we plumped for our last option with the intention of finding somewhere else if this...

Don’t bother with Sunday lunch unless you want a cold meal. Much better pubs in the area to visit. Won’t be going again

Had a Sunday lunch yesterday for my birthday, firstly we asked for an extra portion of veg for my 1 and 3 year olds only to be told we would be charged child’s meals for them, then the meals came out and it was stone...

I have called here three times for a meal, on each occasion I was told 'we are not cooking today' it seems that despite signs saying food available, no one ever cooks. I've called on a Tuesday, Thursday and a Saturday all at lunchtime, if...

Enjoyed a lovely Sunday lunch yesterday, plenty of fresh veg served by really friendly staff, we will return.

Loved our meal out this evening. Staff were friendly and accommodating to our needs to change the menu slightly. Tried the vegan shepherds pie and thoroughly enjoyed it. Been here before, will definitely visit again.

Rustic and charming, great food, homely establishment with a relaxed family feel atmosphere, would highly recommend.

Big ad out side. Lunch served all day. Offer for 2 courses. Waited 10 mins to be served at the bar only to be told no food. No apology so went up the road to the star. Lovely food warm welcome. Do you yourselves a...

Upon entering Ponthir House inn, the decor was homely and cosy. People were eating and we walked to the bar. I asked if there were any tables available and quite rudely a young barman said “no I don’t think so”. He didn’t check or say...

Love the friendly atmosphere of a family run pub. Xx