Newstead Tower Public House

Just a quick summary review of Newstead Tower Public House, where hubby and I recently went with a friend. Scale of 1 - 5 with 5 being the best.

Atmosphere - 3.5
Interesting building shape -- renovator did a good job working around a series of structural support posts that slice the room in half. Nice decor for a pub, with interesting colors, good lighting, and other decor touches to look at. Smoke free, which is a wonderful thing. Seating at the bar or in tables and chairs. Big windows to look out of. The acoustics of the space make it difficult to carry on a conversation when there are lots of people in the space. Musical entertainment that started later in the evening put the kibash on most efforts to chat.

Drinks - 3
The pub had a surprisingly limited selection, but that didn't seem to bother me or my companions. I had a Griesedieck Brothers Golden Pilsener and my friends had their usual Bud Select and Dewar's with water.

Food - 2.5
I had "Benne’s Farm roasted chicken sandwich with brie, arugula and aioli" and the sandwich was ever so mild on flavor -- I think the most flavorful thing on it was the arugula. I put pepper on it to give it a little more interest. Wouldn't order it again.

Hubby had fish and chips, which was described on the menu as "beer battered cod with fried potatoes, chopped pickles and mayonnaise". He liked them and cleaned his plate. Even though the menu didn't specify it, his meal came with a little side of greens.

My friend had a hamburger, described as "Fruitland Farm grass-fed ground chuck with pickles & field greens". He liked it, and cleaned his plate, but his expectation on the field greens was that it would be a small side salad as opposed to a garnish on the burger itself. Since my hubby is not so much an herbivore, I offered his greens to my friend.

Portions were small-ish overall.

Service - 2
One word -- slow. There seemed to be a total of three servers handling the space. It seemed to me that one of the servers who might have really been intended to work the bar was helping out the other two. In any case, it amounted to what appeared to be some level of confusion. Replacement drinks were slow in coming.

Overall rating of a 2.5+. Would go there again.