Sustainable food and drink

From zero waste shops and vegan friendly menus, to fairtrade coffee and locally farmed produce, here are some of Monmouthshire’s food and drink businesses which are committed to offering delicious fayre while caring for the planet.

Zero waste shops

(Just Weigh Usk - Kacie Morgan, The Rare Welsh Bit)

Wye Weight in Monmouth prides itself on stocking an exciting range of local produce, food and cleaning refills, and eco-friendly, waste-free and plastic-free alternatives. Pick up a takeaway coffee and pastry or a delicious snack from their salad bar. If you’re not in the area for long, order from their online shop.

Started by two local mothers with a zeal to reduce plastic waste, Little Green Refills in Abergavenny is the place to refill your containers with fairtrade pantry foods, toiletries and household items. But it’s so much more than just a retail space: relax in the café, join a yoga class or feel the benefits of a session with the complementary healthcare practitioners based here.

Just Weigh Usk are also seeking to say goodbye to single use plastic at their shop based in the Willows Garden Centre in Usk.

Chepstow’s Tell Me Wine sells excellent wine, olive oils, vinegars in refillable bottles. Once you’ve enjoyed the contents, bring your bottle back, and refill again and again. Coffee (beans or ground) can be purchased by the bag – or bring your own jar. It’s also a friendly wine bar with nibbles and tapas, and an excellent range of other drinks from local suppliers Wye Valley Meadery and others.

Farm shops, butchers and markets

(Abergavenny Market Hall - Tim Woodier for Abergavenny Food Festival)

As a rural county dotted with farms and small-scale producers, you won’t have to look far to find a butchers or farm shop. Ask the expert sellers to tell you about the provenance of their food – they’ll be delighted to share their knowledge with you. Check out the champion sausage maker Rawlings and Beavan Family Butchers in Abergavenny, N D Lewis & Son in Usk, and Chepstow’s Trim’s Town Gate Butchery where staff will gladly put purchases in your own containers. Award-winning N S James & Son in Raglan sells home-killed meats, including rare breeds. All their meat is sourced from the locality, with no animal having travelled more than 20 miles.

At Neil Powell Master Butchers expect a wide range of meats from local suppliers, and a food-to-go counter selling hot meat products. They have shops in Abergavenny, Monmouth and Newhall Farm Shop near Chepstow - where, incidentally, you’ll be able to buy everything you need for your next meal. It’s a joy to buy groceries here, as it is at Morris’ Food Hall at Usk Garden Centre, Raglan Farm Park, and Square Farm Shop in Mitchel Troy. For a wealth of fresh produce with limited packaging, great value, and friendly locals to chat to, head to one of our many markets.

Drinks with a local flavour

(Photo by Kacie Morgan, The Rare Welsh Bit)

Silver Circle Distillery produces gins with distinctive flavours, including Wye Valley Gin infused with local botanicals, and Catbrook Honey Gin blended with Monmouthshire honey. At Tintern’s Kingstone Brewery, ales are hand brewed and bottled, and you can go behind the scenes with a brewery tour. An ancient pear orchard, and the unique qualities of local apple varieties are the inspiration behind Three Saints Cider and Perry, based near Usk. Their cider vinegar helps The Preservation Society make delicious Very Chilli Jam.

The good life

(Bees for Development storefront - Kacie Morgan, The Rare Welsh Bit)

If you’re interested in cooking and eating more sustainably, the Abergavenny Baker will inspire you. ‘Bread, Beans and Seasonal Greens’ are bread-making classes which pair interesting beans with breads made from ancient grains like spelt, kamut and emmer. Other pleasures can be had on the Cider Making course at Kate’s Country School.

Taster bee-keeping sessions are run at the Holden Apiary and Study Centre near Abergavenny, and The Bee Shop in Monmouth is a celebration of bees. Treat yourself to honeys from different parts of Monmouthshire, locally made candles and skincare products, or kit yourself out with all the equipment you’ll need to be a beekeeper!

The Crafty Pickle will introduce you to the world of fermentation with classes in how to make sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha. Not only do they use surplus produce to make their raw, vegan products, but they also donate a percentage of their sales to Fare Share, a charity network working to relieve food poverty and reduce food waste.

A bite to eat

(Madame Fromage - Kacie Morgan, The Rare Welsh Bit)

Call by The Gardeners’ Kitchen in Llanover for a feast of seasonal produce. This farm shop, deli and café showcases the fruit and veg they grow in their two-acre walled garden. Creates Monmouth – a café, bistro and B&B which won Channel 4’s ‘Four in a Bed’ – offers brunch, lunch, and evening menus with gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options.

Local cheeses feature in the vast selection available from Madame Fromage in Abergavenny and The Marches Delicatessen in Monmouth, and both have enticing cafés. Essie Bun, a tearoom in Usk, bakes fresh cakes every day, including vegan and vegetarian options, and makes candles, tea lights and wax melts from eco soy wax. 

Before you head out for the day, download the free Refill app so you can find Refill Points across Monmouthshire where you can fill up your water bottle. You’ll find the Welsh water really refreshing, and you’ll be helping Wales become the first Refill Nation.

For more mouth-watering places in Monmouthshire, check out our full range of places to eat and drink.