Our Story
Serving Blaenavon since 1832.
Butterflies is situated in the heart of Blaenavon's UNESCO World Heritage Town — a place with nearly 200 years of stories to tell. Originally The Cross Keys Inn, the building has been part of this community through foxhunts and St. David's Day feasts, wartime celebrations and quiet winter suppers.
Today it's an award-winning steakhouse, run by Dayne and Curtis, known across South Wales for its dry-aged Welsh beef, warm welcome, and an atmosphere that no modern restaurant can manufacture.
The Cross Keys Inn, c.1832.
The building first appeared on the Llanover Tithe Map of 1844, a detached inn on the crossroads of what is now Queen Street and Hill Street. For much of the late 19th century it was run by the Edmunds family — a name woven into the fabric of Blaenavon life.
The inn was famous for its St. David's Day celebrations, drawing up to 150 guests each year for dinner, Welsh song, and the kind of evening that made the local press. It hosted coroners' inquests, friendly societies, charity evenings, and more than a few incidents the Free Press thought rather unsuitable for a Christian town.
"Some locals still call it The Rat Catchers."
In 1891, four young men hunted down a rat on the premises, cooked it in the pub oven with a pound of butter, and then argued over who owned the gravy. The Free Press was not impressed. The story has been told in Blaenavon ever since — and for years, a chair was left vacant in the bar in memory of the man who finished the dish.
We think it's best enjoyed over a proper steak.
Butterflies is now run by Dayne and Curtis, who have continued what the Cross Keys started — a place where people in Blaenavon come together, eat well, and feel at home. Award-winning for its steaks and grills across South East Wales, it remains, as many guests put it, Blaenavon's best-kept secret.
We'd rather you came and found out for yourself.
Run with the same pride, nearly 200 years on.
Ready to join us?
Every event we host is designed with intention, from the atmosphere we create to the way each session flows.