The Dragonfly, Tredegar Park, Newport

I visited the pub/restaurant on 18th Feb 2015 with six family friend and enjoyed a good meal with timely service. I was a tad apprehensive about using the Dragonfly as previous reviews had not shown it in a favourable light, and I wanted to rectify that situation. We were there on a Wednesday, which if you are a fan of pies, is the night to go, but you also get the regular menu which will cater for most tastes. If I am down in Newport again, then I will definitely use the Dragonfly again. Prices are reasonable, and it is only a very short walk from the Holiday Inn Express, where we were staying overnight.

Although I had previously eaten here, after today's experience, I will not be returning to this restaurant or recommending it to anyone. I just wanted a nice simple lunch. I ordered a grilled chicken breast with sage and onion stuffing served on toasted ciabatta. However, I received dried out shrivelled strips on Turkey in a baguette roll that looked like it had been sat under a heated light until all traces of moisture was gone. Before the waitress even left the table I told her I wasn't happy about being served turkey and not the advertised chicken. She did remove the dish straight away but soon came back insisting that the kitchen claimed it was chicken. There was a large office group in the restaurant having a Christmas meal at the time. I am certain after tasting a strip of the poultry, I know it was definitely turkey. If you advertise chicken on a menu, you must serve chicken to your guests (not Turkey because you happen to have loads left over).

FOOD WAS LOVELY REALLY COULDNT FAULT THE HARD WORK THE CHEFS HAD PUT IN WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO SEE THE REST OF YOUR STAFF WORKING AS HARD

THE FRONT OF HOUSE STAFF SPEND FAR TOO MUCHTIME STANDING AROUND TALKING TO EACH OTHER! NOT VERY PROFESSIONAL AT AL!

THE CHEFS LOOKED PHYISICALY OVER WORKED AND LIKE THEY COULD HAVE DONE WITH EITHER LONGER BREAKS OR MORE BREAKS BECAUSE WHILST THEY ARE WORKING VERY HARD TO GET FOOD OUT TO CUSTOMERS YOUR WAITRESSES ARE STANDING AROUND TALKING TO EACH OTHER INSTEAD OF GETTING ON WITH THERE JOB!

Dull and unimaginative food with some of the smallest portions I've ever seen served in a genuine 'fake old' style of interior.

On the plus side Staff were pleasant and helpful.

My partner and her twins (18th birthday yesterday) eat there last night. Apart from waiting 40 minutes for the starters they had to wait a further 45 mins for the main course. My partners son had a 'tiny' steak which was supposely 9 oz it wasnt aparently 4 oz (my partner enjoys stakes twice week so she does know, she had a 'grrk' chicken which was solid and cold. The waitress tried to tell her that it was the pine nuts which were hard and not the chicken, my partner (a fully qualified chef) was not amused! They offered a free desert which she declined. Although the restraurant was full, other customers were also complaining. Until this 'pub/restraurant' improved its standards drastically i cannot recomment anyone to eat there - such a shame as the bar staff are usually very curtious.

Because the snow my partner and I decided not venture to far from newport and popped into the dragonfly tredegar for the first time and the last.My partner had the chargrill chicken dish that was literally charcoal, so overcooked. I had a rump steak and lobster tail, the steak was cooked to my liking but luke warm and unseasoned, along with luke warm chips and peas like little bullets, biggest disappointed was the extremly overcooked lobster tail. Dragonfly do yourself a favour get some proper chefs or at least a compentant cook.

We were staying at the Holiday Inn next door to The Dragonfly for the craft festival earlier this month and visited the pub twice. On both occasions we very impressed with the service and the quality of food. We visit many restaurants/ hotels on our jaunts around the country and felt compelled to write this review. The staff were outstanding and made us all from the craft festival very welcome. The food was great with generous helpings and reasonably priced. We loved the place and will be returning next December so please keep the standard up.

This is one of the only pubs in walking distance from my house. Food is terrible. Cheap - frozen food heated up to fill a hole. I do not have a problem eating this sort of food - if I know what I am getting... It's when they try to dress it up as something better that it is.

Other complaints are the dirty wine glasses and tables - every time I go in.

I visit on the odd occasion hoping things have improved - no luck.

On the plus side - there is a great bar/restaurant opened opposite... so far so good... great wine - great food... I think they are going to open on a Sunday in the new year.. I will never have to venture into the Dragon Fly again!

:)

We've visited a few times and have usually had an excellent meal - in particular the Sunday lunch. Its a pretty pub in a quiet location and have recommended the place to many people. The bar ordering system is a bit annoying (people are lining up to order food, pay for food and order drinks all at the same time which doesn't really work when you want another lemonade and your food's already on the table). It can get quite busy and the service is a bit slow but because the food's normally so good you can sort of gloss over the bad bits.

However, our most recent visit was a disaster. It was late on a Sunday afternoon and we ordered the Sunday lunch. It was a very sad offering compared to what we normally get and as well as the gravy being virtual (ie not there) the roast potatoes weren't roast at all - they were raw. When we asked the waitress to sort it for us she basically replied with "I'm afraid I can't stick my fork in your food to see if its cooked, sir". Whether or not she was having a bad day I don't know but my husband thought this was very rude. We hadn't accused her of undercooking our meal : but if its not right (ie cooked) as a paying customer you should be allowed to mention it. I'd always assumed it was the chef's job to make sure that food in a restaurant was cooked ... but there you go!

The meal was taken away, re plated, and brought back. The roast potatoes were now cooked but the broccolli had vanished! How weird was that. It obviously did not withstand another blast in the microwave. Now we're not big complainers but if you'd seen the meal we'd been served, compared to what we normally get, you would understand that we were a bit 'disappointed'. During all this palavar our friend joined us and decided to order the fish pie. I won't go on and on here but suffice to say it was an absolute joke and ended with the snotty waitress threatening him with the Police!!! All because their chef's a complete inadequate.

Would we eat here again??? No fear!! Spend your money where you're appreciated like the Cardiff Gate Toby or the Travellers Rest!!!

We went on a very busy Sunday on an off chance.

Because it was so busy it took a while for our food to arrive, but I thought this was to be expected. The food was good & the staff friendly and helpful, despite being rushed off their feet.

Even my very fussy father in law was happy!

Would come again, perhaps midweek, to see what it's like when it's quieter.