The Open Hearth in Torfaen

Great place,food stunning,setting is on the Mon brecon canal which is great.. can be busy in the summer and Sundays but well worth it

Pre booked table for 4 adults and a toddler. Table was ready and with a high chair. Friendly staff. Service v.good and all 4 meals big portions, homemade & Delicious .

Food is very good here. Sunday roast is a must. Already booked for next week What a beautiful place. Right next to the canal so a must to go on a sunny summer evening. Staff friendly and chatty. A place to definitely go to.

Lovely Canal side pub,should imagine it's the place to go initially the Summer months Good selection of Beers.

Very good traditional pub. With outdoor seating by the canal. Wonderful in nice sunny day. Family visit including border colley. All meals and beer were very good .

We got married yesterday and stopped by here after the ceremony a little past lunch time. I looked up local restaurants and the menu here was more interesting than a few other options, so we decided to give it a try. We both got the lamb and goat cheese burgers with sweet onion chutney. Both of us thought the burgers were delicious and very filling. The chips were perfectly cooked and honestly, really hit the spot. We shared a few starters with our guests and the duck bon-bons stole the show. Then my husband and I shared a lemon meringue sundae and it was delightful. All in all we will happily be coming back around spring/summer. But the staff were wonderful and the wine we had with our meal was quite good. Thank you for the staff at The Open Hearth for making our day that much more special! Don't hesitate to stop by and give it a try as well. The restaurant inside is a bit small but has plenty of seating outside and plenty of parking. We highly recommend it!

Met friends for lunch, beautiful position alongside the canal. Could not fault the food. Excellent. Atmosphere and staff brilliant. Definitely recommend

A popular "Local" with tidy ales and good food. Friendly staff and a Chef that can work miracles when busy.

Booked here for my big birthday meal with the family . There were 12 of us and a dog .Nothing was too much trouble. We were looked after by such friendly staff. The food was amazing and lots of it. Even our little pooch was looked after with his doggie ice cream and water. When we are back in the area visiting we will be back to sit and enjoy a drink by the canal.

Quite busy. Convenient and in a pleasant location, however. Good selection of ales🙂

Absolutely beautiful meals as always.

Choose this pub as dog friendly, arrived and told where we could sit with one end being warmer than the other, we choose the warm end but I still kept my coat on while there, it was cold. Friendly barmaid. I had a spinach and mushroom lasagne, very few mushrooms mainly spinach sauce and pasta , chips were tasty. Husband had stroganoff which he said had a strange taste.

One of the best burgers I've eaten in ages.

Excellent service as always, bar staff can’t do enough. Best prices and food. Highly recommended.

Solid Welsh Pub Director on canal. Went there with the extended family (12 people) good service, good food real ales. Difficult to find, steep/ narrow road but good parking Looks as if it would be really nice inter summer with seating directly in front of pub with views of canal Dogs welcome in bar area with free treats

On route to pontypool basin and walking back with our little mutley We stopped for one drink at this lovely great pub on the canal on boxing day walk With a lovely atmosphere outside with other families walking etc Dog friendly to inside and out.

Good to see a premium beer on tap [abbots] at a good price £4.10 .Went this Fri 22 Dec, no abbots ,tried Atlantic not good.

Highly recommend a visit excellent food friendly staff and value for money nothing to much trouble for the staff will be returning

Myself and my partner visited when we were looking for some good pub grub, local with Gluten free options. I'm used to things being left off the plate when asking for Gluten free but here they made me peppercorn sauce to go with my steak which was stunning. Loads of Gluten free options to chose from. We've been back with the kids since and they are really fussy and ate all their meals. Their desserts are also great with Gluten free and child friendly options accommodated. They even had 2 choices of Gluten free beer! Which never happens. Great service, really friendly, right next to the canal. Perfect.

Lovely meal, the biggest plate of meat I've ever seen!! Loads of veg,and plenty of extra gravy. I took home half of my meat, stuffing, pigs in blankets and potatoes. My husband was in his element, Christmas came early!!😋😋😋

Christmas family meal today at The Open Hearth. First time visiting for food. Been many a time for drinks. Always such a friendly place. Couldn't resist booking after seeing some of the food coming out of that kitchen. Family of 15 for our Christmas Dinner. What value for money. 3 course Christmas Dinner £29.95 All food came out together. Plates were hot and full. Provided with extra gravy as requested no extra charge. I couldn't eat all mine so asked for a takeaway box...wanted to leave room for my dessert. Staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Already asked about booking for next year. Will definitely be back to try something else on the menu very soon. Highly recommended!

It was on a recommendation that we booked for a meal. ( birthday). We arrived at 1215, the pub was cold. We were told there were 2 tables next door, pick one. !. We chose the lunchtime SPECIAL, Steak +Ale pie, chips and seasonal veg. The meal arrived, the plate was cold, The seasonal veg was PEAS+CARROTS. The pie had steak which consulted of meat + gravy. There was a big piece of gristle and fat. The pie 's pastry wasn't completely cooked through. As the plate and pub was cold the meal became cold very quickly. This SPECIAL cost us £15 each, a complete RIP off.. Our local pub offers a HOT Sunday lunch with lots of different veg for £9.95. A bag of carrots, + frozen peas cost very little, so to offer this as an SPECIAL with cheap veg and chips was an insulting. The photos on the pubs website is misleading, he aware.

Expensive festive pub lunch at £26.95 for two courses, £29.95 for 3. Some friends had only the one main course and yet were charged £26.95 until we challenged that and were then charged £16.95. The waitress announced to everyone quite loudly that for the Xmas Curry there was no "half and half" - a Welsh way of serving where it is half chips half rice. And yet they were cooking chips for others in the pub. Our meal began at 1.18 telling waitress we were ready. However, we were still waiting for the table to be completly cleared and for our desserts to arrive at 3.40 as some of us had to leave, so had to ask. They brought the desserts but didnt clear the tables. No coffee or mince pies offered. My main meal was served on a smaller plate than most others, hence the food was piled high and falling off the plate. Not at all appetizing and whereas I normally finish my meal - I didn't in this case. Service poor, not a quality meal and certainly not value for money at all. This pub is not in an expensive area of the South Wales Valleys and we were local to Pontypool. Not a good experience at all.

A much better place with the new owners. A few of us have been coming here quite regularly, staff are friendly, food is absolutely spot on and reasonable prices. Highly recommended!

Here for a warm up, whilst walking along the canal. Cheers

Absolutely stunning meal and fab service

Absolutely stunning food with home made chips and big portions. Big selection of meals and dessert so something for everyone I love it here! Best lasagne I’ve had! Love the fact they do whippy ice cream too so sundaes are full of ice cream and not whipped cream.

Had a Xmas dinner with friends Absolutely amazing , couldn’t fault it Hot , plenty of choice and even had extra gravy brought to the table

На вечірній прогулянці вздовж каналу потрапили у цей паб на пиво та сидр)Хороша та затишна атмосфера)

A wonderfully cosy, Country pub. We live within walking distance and it's never disappointed us.

Came for Sunday lunch. Checked prices on website as was not the same on the menu. Veg was ha4d not enough of the veg either. Meat over cooked. Gravy like water and had no flavour. £13 for adults and £9 for a child's dinner that's even for a child under 3 years of age. No one checked on us once we had our food. Atmosphere in the pub and staff were really poor. Will not be returning for food again. Was not worth the money at all.

Manged to get a table without booking. Service was good, and overall, the good was 4 out of 5.

Stopped here after a stroll up the cancel, kids had cooked dinner and I had the Chicken & stuffing baguette that comes with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Cant fault the food, was delicious, portion size was great and service fine. Top notch, and we will be back.

Was staying in Pontypool and found this by chance via a Google search for restaurants. It was dark and rainy when we arrived but this little gem of a simple river/canal side pub cheered us up with a warm welcome, good service and great, freshly prepared food. A bit of a mission to find in the dark but thank you Google maps and the pub is highly recommended 👍

Nice location on the canal. Needs a face lift. The toilets in particular are in desperate need of refreshment

Amazing food and staff.. Gemma, our waitress was so friendly and helpful. As always, well done, chef x

What a find! Great pub, great people & dogs 🐕. There was a right mix & the dogs provided a fair amount of entertainment. Highly recommended.

Stopped whilst on the canal walk, great spot and reasonable prices.

Excellent place with fantastic staff, so friendly. Food is superb highly recommended

18 year anniversary dinner, picked at random, food was delicious and service was really good. Friendly staff, lovely atmosphere.

Large portions, tasty food. Great location.

Excellent food lovely company with my lovely cousins .Young man serving us was very very nice .

Lovely pub, with great cask ales. Lovely outside area right on the canal. Good food, good selection of drinks and friendly staff.

Quaint canalside pub with outside picnic tables! Friendly service from bar staff. Only had drinks so can't comment on food!

The food is absolutely delicious, service is great and the staff are lovely

The perfect place for a break, something to drink and/or eat when out and about along the beautiful canal path. I will be back soon to try out the food and write a more in-depth review!

I had my Sunday lunch from there today for the first time it was beautiful so delicious the meat,vegetables,potatoes and everything else was spot on, I can't weight until next Sunday yum., yum,yum

Had high hopes based on previous reviews but these were unfortunately not met. We each had the Sunday roast (beef, lamb and chicken) and it was definitely quantity over quality. No one from our table could honestly rate the food, it was edible but nothing more. We each tried the desserts too, these were slightly better but the Whippy ice cream was watery and flavourless. The staff were nice but the facilities such as rest rooms are dated and shabby. Probably fine if you’re dropping in for a drink as you’re walking along the canal but definitely wouldn’t consider it a restaurant.

Lovely warm welcome a great pit stop on my morning walk with a lovely snack for lunch 😋

Very nice pub, in a lovely location on the canal. Dog friendly, pleasant staff. Sunday lunch was tasty, and plenty of it, but unfortunately the beef was slightly tough. Late in the day, which might explain it?

Lovely pub with reasonable prices, right on the canal.

It’s a pub that’s very friendly and also serves good food.

First visit, great canal side location, good food and drinks

Excellent Sunday lunches evening menus are also great Service is fantastic the staff are brilliant Highly recommend

Very very nice family pub food brilliant

Really nice atmosphere in this pub, on a nice day it’s lovely to sit outside on the canal and they sometimes have live bands. Tonight, 9 of us came for a meal and a few drinks, opened a tab straight away, no problem being seated and was a chilled atmosphere. staff were so helpful and friendly, couldn’t be more helpful if they tried. Food was great and came quite quickly considering there was 9 of us! Wasn’t too expensive either, very happy!

Fantastic meal and friendly staff.

Great place for lunch. Friendly service and the food was hot and delicious. 👌

We had the most gorgeous meal. Probably one of the most tastiest meal I've had in a long time. Will definitely be back for more.

Poor service, short measures, expensive compared to other hostelries in the area.

Would be a lovely pub as the setting by the canal is nice but was told couldn’t order food until 7pm so waited 40 minutes, as we were not in a rush. Went back to order at 7pm only to be told that it’s another hours wait until 8pm before they’d even let us order! Lots of families as well as us went to McDonald’s instead! So disappointing, will not be visiting again.

Had a very warm welcome when we arrived, the food was delicious, and hot, will definitely be visiting again, thank you Update Visited again, still a wonderful place to dine, service is fantastic, sat outside for our meal, lovely place to sit by the canal, they even came out with a doggie ice cream for our 2 pooches, will definitely be back again Thanks for a lovely day

I stopped for lunch, it was very warm outside, but lovely and cool in the bar. I ordered battered cod ,& chips, peas &salad. Along with a pint of Atlantic. Beer was excellent, food soon arrived and was delicious. The bar staff were very friendly and helpful Can't wait to visit again.

Really lovely place to eat & drink along side the canal.

Brilliant Sunday Lunch. Great Real Ales 🍺

Really nice pub, great food and atmosphere

Been several times for food and every time has been amazing, hard to move around with a pushchair but staff are always happy to help.

Lovely little find on a warm spring day! Food was lovely and fast, pleasant service.. So nice to eat outdoors next to the canal and watch the world go by... plenty of outdoor seating for food or just drinks, plenty of parking, children's play area near some of the seating, other seating further away and closer to the canal... what more could you want...

Pub over looking the canal with good food and dog friendly

Thank you so much for turning the ice cream machine back on. The food was stunning and the service amazing !me and the bestie ate loving the music and vibes on a Tuesday evening .

Lovely pub, food looked good also

Lovely setting right by the canal, great prices and drinks!

My husband booked the Open Hearth so we could go out as a family for my birthday. It had been a lovely sunny day so we did anticipate that the place would be busy. However, as we had booked the table they knew we were coming so we assumed that that would be sufficient with regards to the service etc. On arrival, we were greeted and shown to our table. The gentleman then proceeded to fire off a load of things on the menu that we couldn't have as they had run out of ingredients. We put that to one side and ordered our food. We waited a little while for our food but as the bar area was so busy we just put it down to that. In the end, it was the kitchen staff who ended up bringing our food out. The food was ok, just basic 'pub grub'. My husband's steak was supposed to be cooked medium but it ended up coming out well done. The staff were so busy, there was no one really to approach about this and he didn't want everyone else's food to go cold so he ate it. After finishing our food one of the girls from behind the bar cleared our plates away and asked if we wanted dessert. We said yes and waited for her to bring the menu. It never arrived. Eventually the same girl came back and asked again if we wanted desserts and again we said yes. We were given the menu and waited to order. Again, no sign of anyone so I went looking for someone to order our desserts. I noticed on the specials board that they were doing a dessert with strawberry ice cream so I asked if I could just have a dish of strawberry ice cream for my little boy. They checked with the kitchen and apparently we couldn't have that, we could only have whippy ice cream! Desserts finally ordered and we waited. My husband and son had their desserts brought to them and we waited for my dessert. We waited and waited and waited..........After my husband and son had finished their dessert we were then informed by the gentleman behind the bar that they couldn't bring my dessert as they were serving food to other tables! I was shocked. Surely, you should finish serving one table before proceeding to the next. By the time my dessert arrived we were just ready to go home. I explained that I didn't want my dessert as it had arrived too late. The girl who brought it did apologise but it was too late. I sent it back and asked for the bill. There wasn't ever an offer off taking any money off the dessert as it had arrived so late. They were obviously happy just to scrape it in the bin rather than try to make amends. We paid the bill and left. I have noticed on a previous review that someone has said the same thing about the service and the response from the Open Hearth was that they prioritise their booked tables over their walk ins. However, that certainly was not the case for us. We booked the table over a week before we turned up and we arrived in good time yet they prioritised other food over completing our order. Surely it is basic practise to complete one order before proceeding to the next. Unfortunately, the whole experience was not enjoyable and we all came away very disappointed. We will note be returning again nor will we be recommending it.

Lovely location beautiful food highly recommended by me to my friends. Please use Google maps to get there as your car sat nav will get you near but not quite . Other than that give it a try .

Nice quiet dog friendly pub along the canal, would probably be busier during peak times and if it wasn't miserable weather! Staff are friendly 😁

Good was delicious good service hard for the elderly or infirm to climb the steps to the front great for kids they have a little park also

Lovely historic pub directly on the canal. Always a good variety of different beers + ciders. Large outside seating area.

Absolutely brilliant food and drink in a lovely environment, always leave with a big smile and full stomach.

Excellent service and very pleasant surroundings.

Lovely food, good atmosphere, great staff

Pub on the Canal bank. Had lunch very good portions. Good selection of drinks.

Amazing food. Beautiful place. Lovely staff. 1st time going will definitely be back!

Absolutely stunning Sunday lunch for 18 of us, quick service and very friendly staff 😍

Excellent service, lovely staff and really good menu and food

Good setting, great food and atmosphere

Lovely pub, good food with very decent portion sizes!! Can't wait to come back in the summer and have a beer by the canal!

Good pub on the bank of the Monmouthshire & Brecon canal. Traditional décor, good choice of beers and cider, and good quality pub grub. Choice of indoor and outdoor seating and a play area. The staff were friendly.

Nice little pub on the canal, great to stop to have a pint and some food on your walks.

Right on the canal. Great friendly staff and good prices. Food's delicious. Foody pub. Sunday Lunch.

Excellent food as always, Viking gamon was perfection on a plate.

So myself and my partner have been stopping off for food a drinks here for over a year now and have not once had a bad meal or pint,, Sunday dinner is very very good, but book ahead, as they sell out fast, and u will not get a table on the day unless it’s outside, although we have sat outside most of the time next to the water that is beautiful, The price of the food is good, so u don’t loos an arm and a leg when ur there, The staff are very good and always very busy but with a smile

Fabulous Xmas Dinner! Served hot and plentiful and very very tasty

Had Christmas lunch here yesterday evening I couldn't recommend this pub enough, the staff were friendly and welcoming and the food was amazing ( although very large potions )

Terrible had cod and chips and the fish wasn’t even cooked frozen in the middle I had the the meal about a month ago and I’m just telling the truth i didn’t complain at the time because it was pointless if you can’t get a simple meal like this right

Great food, quick and efficient service. Very polite staff.

Lovely food, piping hot, catered for gluten free as well. Great staff, very helpful and service was prompt. Highly recommend!

Great position on the canal. Always a good selection of beer. Good basic pub food and well worth a visit. Excellent on a dry evening.

Very good Sunday lunch. Nice welcome with our dog. Thanks all

Nice and friendly pub on the banks of the canal. It would be rude not to stop for a nice pint when out for a ride.

Fantastic pub. Great food, excellent bar and staff. Lovely to sit outside on the canal. Kids play area too. Also has entertainment in the evenings/weekends including an open mic nights. Most got to place if you're passing through or living locally.