The pub has requested a re-inspection
14:11, 15 Jan 2026Updated 16:15, 15 Jan 2026
The Waterloo Inn, Newport, which has received a damning hygiene rating(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
A Welsh pub where the former chef abused a couple has received a food hygiene rating of one following its recent inspection. The Waterloo Inn in Nash, Newport, received the damning score after its most recent inspection on November 13.
The report states “major improvement necessary” in regards to the management of food safety. The inspector’s comments read: “System or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.”
Regarding the “cleanliness and condition of the facilities”, and “hygienic food handling” the inspector found that “improvement [is] necessary”. In response management attributed the rating to a “short and well-documented period of transition in the kitchen” after a “highly publicised dismissal of the previous chef”.
A statement from management reads: “The food hygiene rating issued on November 13 occurred during a short and well-documented period of transition in the kitchen immediately following the highly publicised dismissal of the previous chef.
“The inspection did not identify any issues relating to unsafe food, food quality, customer illness or cleanliness. The matters raised related to management controls, record-keeping, and procedural documentation during that transition period.
“Those issues were addressed immediately. A highly experienced and well-regarded head chef has since been appointed, kitchen systems and compliance records were fully updated, and the operation has been stabilised.
“We have worked closely with environmental health and have requested a reinspection which we are confident will accurately reflect the standards now in place. Food safety and compliance remain a top priority and we welcome inspection as part of maintaining those standards.”
In November WalesOnline reported that a couple from Newport received abusive messages from the pub chef at the time after they posted a review of the pub online. The chef and the pub issued a public apology and it was reported that the police were involved in the matter.
The eatery’s website states that having been built in 1898 it reopened in 2025 as a “bold, character-driven bar, restaurant, and micro-distillery.” It currently has a 4.5 star rating on Google reviews, and a 4.2 star rating on TripAdvisor.
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