Ye Olde Bull Inn — Restaurant in Newport

After reading the reviews, I was excited to come here for Sunday lunch. A very busy pub, very clean.

We arrived and were seated, we were 10mins late as the postcode on website took us to centre of Newport.

Slow in taking our order. Now it’s Sunday roast. You know how many covers you can do, it’s not difficult (I’ve been a publican all my life). They had one additional side you could order - cauliflower cheese. We ordered at 1:45, and they were sold out. Of the only side they do to accompany a roast with over 2 hours and further bookings to come.

Now 2:20pm. We ordered garlic bread and our mains at 1:45pm. No food had arrived and no one checked on us. They need our table back at 3:30pm.

I called the waiter for an update on our order… only to be told due to an internet issue our order did not make the kitchen. They apologised, and promised discount on desert.

Dinners arrived… no garlic bread.

Now 3:10pm, they clear our table and the bar lady then makes it clear they have another booking at 3:30pm. No deserts were ordered.

And they put live music on in the middle of service.

Live music on a Sunday is great for a pub. I do it all the time. Wait until service is finished and the singer is not next to a table eating with family.

The food that we did have was ok. The roast potatoes were good as was the Yorkshire pudding. The veg on the other hand, very bland. Which makes the selling out of cauliflower cheese and hour and a half into service more baffling.

Great potential here. Service needs massive...

Thought we would try Sunday lunch here instead of our usual place but wish we hadn't bothered. It has to be the worst Sunday lunch we've ever had and it wasnt cheap, in fact we paid around £25 each for 2 courses. The prawn cocktail starter was bland, unappealing and tasteless it was basically prawns on a plate with no seasoning, with a very spicy sauce squirted on top. For the main course my friend couldn't even cut through the beef it was so tough. None of the veg was seasoned and it was hard, cheap, probaby frozen, rubbish. The roasters were again, bland and tasteless and the gravy had a strange taste to it. We asked for extra sides to go with our roast, which was red cabbage and cauliflower cheese, this was put in one dish and literally mixed together it looked like a bowl of sick. After enduring that we asked for a gaelic coffee and the staff had no idea what this was so we had a cappuccino, again no chocolate topping was offered and the cup was only half full. We also asked for crushed ice to go with our baileys again no crushed ice, which by the way, I like with a gin & tonic but couldnt accomodate. It's a great pub for a night out but if this is the sort of food they are serving they may as well forgot it because its not worth paying a 'chef' to produce this food. I've had better...

Walking into this Pub was like visiting an old friend. A warm welcome from behind the bar and a cold Coors hitting the tonsils was an excellent start , the lager washing away the rigours of the working day. A family reunion had been planned and organised , the Staff did not disappoint. We were presented with an excellent menu with an eclectic mix of choice to satisfy all palates. I decided on a Surf and Turf mix , with a starter of Goujons , as you bit into the warm , thin batter you met the succulent , juicy fish that tasted as if it had just been caught in the River Usk , with a generous pot of Tartare Sauce so much better and different to the tiny packets other places provide that you have to struggle to open that would have challenged Einstein to be then rewarded with a smidgen of sauce that wouldn’t cover the base of a thimble. The Steak cooked “ bien cuit “ arrived on a large circular plate and was tender and tasty , wolfed down with relish. Following the 2 year hiatus caused by the Pandemic and the stop start opening of pubs and restaurants it’s good to return to a pub with character that ticks all the boxes for a night out topped off with excellent company....