14 High St, Newport. 01633 221477 / www.lepublicspace.co.uk
Food *** Atmosphere *****
For the hungry gig-goers of Newport, one essential ingredient has been missing when visiting the city’s best music venue of the past few years: food! The welcome addition of a food menu to Le Public Space, settling well into its new home, means that Newport’s hardcore music fans don’t have to venture outside and brave the wilderness of Newport city centre on a Friday night for some grub.
Most surprising is that the food is actually genuinely good, and I don’t mean that in a patronising way – most down-and-dirty music venues aren’t known for also serving high-quality food. The menu, all vegetarian and vegan, is simple and quite cheap – most items are between £5-£8, but it is filling and tasty. The bean burgers we opted for on our visit were excellent, devoid of the desert-dryness that imbues most vegan burgers, and the sides (chips and salad) were all fresh and serviceable.
Of course, the venue has a great array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic liquids with which to satisfy your thirst, and that will remain the primary reason people visit, not to mention that the new building has much of the same grimy character as the old one (this doesn’t affect the food, it has to be mentioned!). If you’re looking for a ‘proper’ sit-down meal, this probably isn’t recommended, but if you’re looking for something filling, fast and good, it will satisfy your needs.
words FEDOR TOT