People who know me well enough know that I love food. I love going out for food and trying out new restaurants, pubs, cafes etc. Plus food always tastes better when somebody else cooks it for you. Recently, I used the OpenTable app to book a table for me, my Mam and her lovely friend at the Rock & Fountain in Penhow, Newport.
Before I delve into what I ate at the Rock & Fountain, I want to talk about OpenTable and how it works:
How do I book a table with OpenTable?
OpenTable can be used via desktop or the app. It’s super simple to use and you can book a table for your favourite restaurant or even somewhere new in seconds. You start off by inputting the area you’re in, the date you’d like to reserve, the time you’d like to go and how many people there are attending. OpenTable will then give you a wide list of restaurants in your area that you can choose from. If you are after a particular cuisine (Italian, Chinese etc), then you can search for that when booking a table also. OpenTable also allows reviews of restaurants so it’ll help make your decision a lot easier.
OpenTable also gives you search options such as price range, seating options and amenities.
So, tell me about the Rock & Fountain!
The Rock & Fountain Inn is a country pub situated just off the M4 motorway near Newport. I came here for an evening meal years ago and I haven’t been since. So I thought it’ll be nice to visit there again. As I said, I took my Mam and her lovely friend she works with. We got there and we were taken to our table and were greeted by our waitress for the evening. The staff were so friendly and couldn’t do enough for not just us, but for the other people who were eating in there also.
What did you have to eat?
Out of the three of us, I was the only one to have three courses (I told you I loved my food). For the starter, I had the prawn cocktail. It was so good, it was the perfect size portion for a starter. I find that some starters that you can get served in other places are the size of a main course! The sauce covering the prawns was delicious and the salad was lovely too.
For the main courses, I opted for the beer-battered halloumi, chips and mushy peas. The halloumi was cooked to perfection and the chips and mushy peas were so tasty. My Mam and her friend both had the steak with chips and peppercorn sauce. They said that the steak was cooked to perfection and the peppercorn sauce was a good addition to the steak. My Mam’s friend loved her steak also!
For the desserts, my Mam’s friend and I both had the sticky toffee pudding (a guilty pleasure of mine). The sponge was so light and moist (sorry for the use of the word moist). The custard was so rich and creamy. The only little thing I would say is that I wish there was more custard. Only because I like my puddings drenched in custard! My Mam had the lemon meringue and she said it was very refreshing and light.
Would you recommend the Rock & Fountain?
I would absolutely recommend the Rock & Fountain! The food was delicious and flavoursome, the staff were super friendly and the whole decor had such a lovely country vibe to it. The only thing I would say is that I wish there was more lighting in the car park as it was near pitch black. Not very safe if you’re walking back to the car park on your own.
I would also highly recommend using OpenTable next time you are looking to book somewhere to eat. It’s such an easy app to navigate and use and it offers so many different restaurants with different cuisines.
