Walnut Tree Inn, Abergavenny

Apr 7

Michelin-starred restaurant led by legendary chef Shaun Hill

The Walnut Tree Inn is an iconic Michelin-starred restaurant with cottages led by legendary chef Shaun Hill set in the rolling Welsh hills near Abergavenny and close to the English border. The Walnut Tree has held a Michelin Star since 2010 and is renowned for its unpretentious food served in an elegant but informal setting. Hill’s food is rich in classical techniques and carefully sourced ingredients, yet feels simple and of the

moment.

The Walnut Tree has been known as a food-lovers destination since the early 1960s when it was owned and run by Franco Taruschio. Shaun Hill arrived in 2008 to start a new era for the restaurant. Shaun, was previously chef owner of The Merchant House which, with its Michelin Star and reputation as one of the best restaurants in the country during the 1990s, put Ludlow on the gastronomic map.

After nearly 50 years, Shaun Hill is still found in the kitchen every day. He creates menus featuring the kind of food he likes to eat himself, food that is designed to show off an ingredient and cooked the way it’s meant to be. Dishes are rooted in classical culinary tradition but feel simple and contemporary with a great understanding of flavours and balance. Shaun makes use of first class ingredients, including wonderful local beef and game, British fish and seafood and some fine French cheeses.

The Michelin Guide describes The Walnut Tree as “an iconic restaurant with an illustrious past. Its location in the rolling borderlands of Wales makes it a destination kind of a place and its loyal band of regulars is testament to the quality of the cooking. The owners run it with heart and soul and, with its cosy open-fired bar and dining room hung with colourful art, it’s hard not to love it too.”

Menus change daily but include the like of Scallops with lentil and coriander sauce; Rabbit fricassée; Cod with cauliflower and hazelnut dressing; Middle White pork loin with black pudding and cromesqui; Orange and almond cake with milk ice cream and fig tart with honey and ricotta ice cream. The wine list favours small and artisan makers, with house Champagnes from Billecart-Salmon.

The Walnut Tree Inn https://www.thewalnuttreeinn.com/

Llanddewi Skirrid, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, NP7 8AW UK

Awards