Beaufort Hotel, Chepstow

Popular with local golfers and the business community, this relaxed town-centre hotel-cum-pub sports a single L-shaped bar from which extends a large side-room for busy times. An air of reassuring continuity pervades here where panels above the bar announce the Beaufort Hotel circa 1650, giving a clue to its longevity. Local scenes are framed within wall panels alongside of which is a glass cabinet displaying racing colours either side of a picture of the great champion jockey, Lester Piggot. A wide range of simple bar meals (sandwiches, baguettes, toasties, melts, jacket potatoes, omelettes, grills, fish, curries, vegetarian, main plates, kids list, Sunday lunch and puddings) is supplemented by a separate restaurant with daily-changing menu. The standard menu lists Sandwiches & Baguettes, Toasties & Baguette Melts, Jacket Potatoes, Omelettes, Main Plates, Curries, From the Grill, From the Sea, Veggie Dishes, For the Kids, Puddings, and 1, 2, or 3-course Sunday lunch options. Handy for Chepstow station, the Beaufort makes a good venue for pre- or post-Offa's Dyke thirst-slaking; the national footpath's southern end is just across the border in England. Fax: (01291) 627389.