Lunch at The Stonemill

It was a random encounter with this lovely restaurant, tucked in the beautiful countryside of Wales.

The short story goes like this.

We were on our way back from a visit to an organic farm somewhere in Monmouthshire. Being very hungry as it was already lunch time, our plan was to head towards Monmouth town, find a pub/restaurant then settle for a nice pub lunch.

We were driving along long, winding country roads with tall bushes, trees and some random cottages on both sides of the road. Then, as we passed some stone buildings by the road, we were engulfed by very aromatic smell of FOOD!

We could not stop in time to turn into the road by the buildings, so we drove past and discussed whether or not to turn back. About half a mile later, being very hungry and still quite some way away from Monmouth town, we decided to make a U-turn and head towards the nice smell of food!

Hence, we arrived at The Stonemill Restaurant @ Rockfield.

Outside The Stonemill

A nicely decorated interior with a 'Barn Theme' complete with a stonemill right in the middle of the restaurant, hence the name.

Inside The Stonemill

The Menu

This restaurant uses local produce and even grow their own vegetables to ensure the freshest food is served to customers!

They even make their own bread, jam, pasta etc.

House-made Breads

The house-made buns were incredibly tasty, very soft and easy to tear. Perfect with a dip of good quality balsamic vinegar and olive oil!


To start -

Smoked salmon, new potato & chive salad, crème fraiche

We had a nice, light starter of smoked salmon complimented with the very refreshing chive salad which always goes well with seafood. A very nice summer dish to start our lunch.

Sweet potato soup, white truffle oil, smoked sea salt

We also had the sweet potato soup which was not too sweet. The white truffle oil added a very fragrant taste to it and the soup is very well seasoned with smoked sea salt. A delight to have as a starter to increase one's appetite. Also perfect to dip your bread into.

Pan roasted tenderloin of pork, creamed potatoes, ratatouille, red wine jus

The pan roasted tenderloin of pork was very well cooked. It was very tender and had a pleasant char-grilled taste to it. I loved the silky smooth mashed potato with a rich taste of butter and the bed of ratatouille was simply filled with flavours of stewed vegetables.

Roasted breasts of wood pigeon, summer vegetables, smoked bacon, saute potatoes, red wine jus

The highlight of our lunch was the roasted breasts of wood pigeon sourced from Mr Arnell in Monmouth. It has a very nice gamy taste to it and was perfectly cooked still a bit pink to prevent the meat from getting too tough. The bacon added some smokiness to the dish and the addition of green peas make the entire dish like having pigeon in the woods!


A very enjoyable lunch indeed.

We were just glad that we followed our noses and found very good food!