HERE at the Argus, we love good pub, and we want to tell you about all the best ones in Newport and across Gwent. In the latest in our series, we visit the St Julian's Inn on Caerleon Road. Sallie Phillips reports. 

The St Julian's Inn is a very large and friendly pub which sits alongside the river Usk on the main road from Newport through Caerleon.

As well as the large wrap around internal bar, there is also have a balcony and lots of outdoor tables spread around the gardens and lawns from which you can admire the views over the river as you relax and enjoy your drink.

The balcony and beer garden are perfect places to relax with a good beer or two (Image: Supplied)Over the years landlord Steve Williams and his team have built a good reputation for hospitality which enhances their fine food and drink.  

With a large crowd of regulars, the St Julian's is regularly used for a variety of informal celebrations.  They also have a small skittle alley available which caters for a number of additional events.

Their excellent selection of beers, wines and spirits satisfies most tastes and we are very well known for their real ales, having received a number of CAMRA awards over the years and been listed in the National Good Beer Guide for more than the last 20 years.

St Julians Inn offers a great outdoor space and is good for eventsSt Julians Inn offers a great outdoor space and is good for events (Image: Supplied)The St Julian Inn is a traditional pub with real Welsh Hospitality which sits alongside the river Usk and is named after Saint Julian the Hospitaller.

Saint Julian is a popular saint in Western Europe and, according to the legend, was a nobleman who through a mistake of identity killed his own father and mother.

Over the years he has been honoured as the Patron Saint of innkeepers, hospitallers, pilgrims, ferrymen, boatmen, fiddlers and wandering musicians - in fact an ideal choice after which to name the pub. 

Steve Williams, landlord of the St Julian's Inn in Caerleon Road, is just one of a handful of Welsh licensees to earn an entry in the annual Camra Good Beer Guide each year for the past three decades.

Steve Williams has been landlord of the St Julian's Inn since 1988 (Image: Supplied)Steve took over the St Julian back in 1988 and achieved his first entry in the beer drinker’s essential guide in 1993.

Steve told the Argus in 2022, while celebrating 30 years of featuring in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide: “It’s all down to our excellent staff, who help ensure the beer is fresh and the pub is clean and welcoming.

“I’d particularly like to praise the work of John Casey, our bar-cellar manager, and of my business partner Mary Nelmes. Their contribution has been outstanding for many years.”

The St Julians Inn is open 12pm-12am seven days a week.