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Detail Pages
The Hanbury Arms, Newport
Caerleon
Postal town: Newport
NP18 1AA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Hanbury Arms
Located in a lovely spot overlooking a bend in the River Usk, it’s clearly quite an old pub and should be a must-visit when in the area, but unfortunately it’s somewhat less than the some of it’s parts. For starters, the beer garden is almost entirely tarmac, with just a small strip of grass running along the water’s edge. And service at the bar was abysmal – a sunny Saturday afternoon, when there were obviously loads of punters in filling up the garden and yet there was one solitary barmaid serving, spending as much time taking food orders as pouring drinks. I would say she was doing her best under difficult circumstances, but she had absolutely no idea who turn it was to be served next, leaving the queueing customers to sort themselves out whilst she simply shouted “Who’s next?” at the end of every round.
The pub itself is split in to a number of rooms with a broadly similar décor throughout. Walling was mostly rough painted plasterwork, with a mixture of wood strip and red patterned carpet on the floor as well as some flagstone style tiling around the bar counter and painted wooden beams on the ceiling. A stone fireplace was off to one side and a wood burning stove in a plastered recess the other side. A few old black and white photographs of the locale were dotted around the walls. A restaurant area to one side was perhaps a little cosier, with whitewashed stone walls, chunky timber supporting pillars and some colourful artwork on the walls. Seating was pretty much all regular tables and chairs, and all the tables were laid up with cruet sets and menus, although this didn’t strike me as a gastro-pub by any means.
Despite five hand pumps on the bar, only two were in use dispending Pedigree and Rev James. Ciders fared somewhat better with a chalkboard next to the bar listing Stan’s Traditional, Cheddar Valley and Big Apple, Old Rosie and Rosie’s Pig in Strawberry or Raspberry. These were joined on the bar by Strongbow, Strongbow Dark Fruit and Inch’s Apple.
On 18th September 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1948 recommendations about 1861 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Peter Jillings left this review about The Hanbury Arms
A splendid riverside pub can get busy, says something. Good beer, good food, good pub.Mind the wharf side!
On 3rd July 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 59 recommendations about 54 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Hanbury Arms
Got a bit of history lurking - apparently Tennyson wrote Morte D'Arthur here. It’s an interesting old pub, with an intriguing round stone tower in one corner and sits on the bend of the River Usk – there’s decent beer garden by river if you fancy that and the views from the bay windows are nice. There was a good range of Brains cask beer (including Dark Mild) all served to a good standard on my visit - this was in the GBG but has since dropped out. We ate, and the food was basic, but decent standard mass-produced industrial pub grub. It’s quite big inside with three distinct areas though the décor leaves a bit to be desired, a weird salmony pink colour pervades. It’s also got quite a locally clientèle – our reception could have easily been mistaken for frostiness which let the side down a bit, the woman behind the bar was pretty poker-faced as well.
No gem, but worth seeking out if you're in the area for the quirkiness factor. If it wasn't for that, my mark would be one lower.
On 27th April 2008
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5089 recommendations about 5072 pubs]