Buskers

Cute Irish pub! Hubs and I stopped here on a short trip to Newport at the suggestion of a friend. The beer was cold and the glasses/​taps were clean. Definitely a plus. The fish and chips was wonderful and a decent sized portion for $ 15.
Hubs had bangers and mash… So good! Traditional Irish sausage and the gravy was awesome.
My only complaints are 1.) the ambient music was loud and when there was a break in songs, there were either people shouting and now being heard across the bar, or just awkward silence. 2.) The servers were terribly clumsy. I saw them drop everything from sauce cups, silverware, plates. Bumping into people, not really paying attention. They just seemed like the backup crew to the superstars that were all on vacation.
We’ll be back in the summer and can’t wait to experience when the superstars are back. Lol.

During the blizzard of 8 Feb, they were one of very few open, and I’m so glad I walked in. The bar was great, food was outstanding and they had Irish beer on tap. I am definitely going back!

I came in here with my boyfriend for a post dinner drink or two. We were staying Newport on a weekend in Jan, this place had live music, but it wasn’t obnoxiously loud. Great ambiance. We sat at the bar and the bar tender was awesome! We ended up ordering dessert, flourless chocolate cake. Very yummy! Can’t say what the food is like, but if you’re looking for a cool place to have a couple drinks (and maybe dessert), this place is great!

Hate to report our first unpleasant experience at Buskers– we have been patrons every time we come to Newport. Very understaffed on a Saturday afternoon. Waitstaff seating customers, bussing tables, and waiting tables. Had an untrained new waiter who asked us if we wanted our Jameson n Ginger «on the rocks». My Smithwicks was dark and had a head. Asked if it was actually the right beer, and was told the glass made it look dark (?)
Took 20 minutes to place the order and 30 minutes to arrive. Asked for water and observed a waiter hand washing the glasses since they apparently didn’t have anyone washing dishes, either. Never received place settings– husband and I shared one fork. The usual delicious onion soup wasn’t right– was very salty, none of the herb and beef flavor and almost no cheese. Bartender seemed frazzled although it was no busier than any other time we have been there. SO disappointed and hesitant to return!

visited this place twice for drinks during my recent vacation in newport. i love a good irish bar, and this place was just what i was hoping it would be. loved the décor, and it was actually clean (which can’t be said of all irish bars!). the beer list was great… i especially liked the mixed guinness drinks… guinness and smithwicks (blacksmith), guinness and blueberry (black and blue), etc. and the bartenders were very nice. 5 stars!

We recently enjoyed a quick dinner of traditional fish and chips at Buskers during a weekend stop in Newport over the holidays. The portions were huge and the fries were crispy and delicious. The mea was served piping hot which made a cold beverage taste even better. We were both very happy we stopped in this small hole in the wall.

We came here on a Saturday night around 7 for dinner and were immediately seated. The ambiance was nice and there was live music towards the end of the night (end as in past 8 ish? We’re used to places closing late — NYC, but I’m assuming this is normal for Newport since they close quite early). It’s definitely a family/​kids friendly place, there were toddlers there. Service was attentive.
On to the food — we were completely satisfied with everything we ordered. We had a starter platter with fried pickles, fried mozzarella, chicken tenders etc. and it was absolutely delicious. Everything on that platter was on point. We shared a fish and shrimp special and a sausage and mashed potatoes dish and both were cooked to perfection, as well. The fish and shrimp were fried so well with a great crunchy coating, and the mashed potatoes were one of the best I’ve ever had. Pricing was fair for the portions and deliciousness. It was after that we checked on Unilocal that we saw its low ratings and we were surprised. This place did not fail to satisfy us and we had one of the best meals in Newport here.

Stopped here after a morning trip to the Cliff Walk nearby. I had done my research (as always), so I was pretty comfortable going in for the first time. Location is awesome, it’s like literally RIGHT in the middle of everything, and almost right across the street from where we like to park, so pretty sweet right out of the gate there.
We arrived around 1pm on a Saturday afternoon (in January), and there was no wait; but the place wasn’t empty either. I’d say for a cold winter day in Newport, it was pretty hopping actually. Guy that seated us was nice enough, but kind of distant and weird. No biggie, he sat us and that was the last we saw of him. Waitress came over fast, and overall was super attentive. We weren’t in a hurry really, but we didn’t want to dawdle too long, and she kept right on top of us which was nice. She had kind of a weird accent and there were a few missteps in communication, but again… we got through it were happy.
Food-​wise, we were actually more than happy! Sometimes I like to pretend I’m one of those cool Irish guys with the thick accent and the bad teeth and the drinking problem, so I went with the Scotch Eggs appetizer and the Fish and Chips. Both amazing… perfect actually. Wife and Daughter went with a Chicken Cranberry sandwich and Onion Soup appetizer and were both super pleased. Son had a Duck Burger (which I thought was kind of strange, but he’s kind of a strange kid… so), which he didn’t LOVE, but he said it was good. I tried a couple he had leftover and I tended to agree. It was good, but a bit on the dry side. Honestly, I’m not a huge duck fan anyway, so I wouldn’t let that stop you. Overall on the food, kudos. I felt Irish… even if just for a few minutes.
Seating was a bit on the tight side, but again… not that crowded. I’m thinking if it was packed though, we might have felt cramped. They did sit us in a little dining area to the right overlooking the street, which was nice.
If you’re looking for a quick, quality bite in Newport, or even if you’re looking to hang out and kill some time at the bar, this place seems like a great choice. But again, I’m not ACTUALLY Irish. An actual Irish person might be a little tougher than I am.

Bad service with over priced food and small menu. Newport has better places worth a Unilocal

Delicious authentic Irish fare. Intimate so expect to wait for a table and staff does their best but tends to be a bit slow. So grab a pint, sit back and relax. A tradition for most trips to NPT.

Your standard pub fare — stopped by for lunch simply because it had the shortest wait in the area. The service was great and friendly, ambiance was cozy and the menu has a lot of options.
We shared the nachos for lunch — they were HUGE and so good! Definitely enough to hold you over for a while.
While this might not be the best stop in Newport, it certainly did the trick.

Sneaky good Irish pub grub in downtown Newport, underrated spot. Great apps, I’ve had the gravlax, Welsh rarebit, house-​cut steak fries w curry sauce and they were all awesome. I’ve never been to Ireland but some Irish friends of mine say they love the food and it reminds them of home. Best item on the menu though has got to be the LAMB BURGER. I’ve had it so many times, probably the best burger I’ve ever had, seriously if you’re craving a burger don’t even look at the menu just order the lamb burger. The Buskers burger is good too.
Cool pub atmosphere and the bartenders are super nice and quick, only drawback I can think of is the draft beer selection is nothing special, but there are a million other places right down the street to drink craft beers.

My family of 4 went for lunch around 1, after 10 minutes of waiting at our table nobody came to take our order. I can appreciate it taking a while to get food, but to wait that long to even order drinks is unsatisfactory.

Worst Newport experience ever.
The waitress was rude, high, and very forgetful.
It took her 30 minutes to run our credit cards — definitely will be watching the activity on my card carefully in the next few weeks.
Food was greasy and barely tolerable.

We needed to find something fast to eat, because we had been in the car all day. We ended up on Thames Street, and just picked the first place we could find that had parking close.
Our waitress was a bit rough around the edges. Not very personable.
Food was just ok, but overpriced. I got the cheese fries and they didn’t taste like cheese fries but the oven they came out of.

The Npt Pirate Invasion crew had an great time at Buskers this past Saturday! Buskers is an awesome Irish bar right in the heart of the action in Newport and has a great staff that were really great sports when a bunch of rowdy buccaneers overtook the bar. They were quick with the drinks, the beer was fresh, and the bartenders were hilarious!
The food here is great as well and this is actually a perfect spot to grab a bite in downtown Newport as well. I will definitely be back and hopefully the crew will be welcomed back next year!

Just drinks in this stop but service is a bit slow. Booze selection is very good! Menu looks good too. I’ll be back to taste!

Came to Newport over the weekend for a wedding. On Friday night, after an 8 hour drive, we just wanted to find a great restaurant for eats and drinks.
Enter Buskers.
I absolutely loved the atmosphere. We were seated right away and started glancing over the food and drink menu.
I settled on the Cottage Pie and Celtic Lemonade.
The Cottage Pie was out of this world. I’m a very picky eater but gladly chowed down on the entire thing without picking out the peas. That’s how delicious it was. And the Lemonade was well worth the $ 8. I had 2 and was plenty drunk!
All-​in-​all, I loved Buskers. I would definitely come back. In fact I loved it so much I tried to get everyone to go there Saturday night after the wedding!

My husband and I stopped in for a very late lunch, 4:30. We were so pleased that they let us order from the lunch specials menu. The crab cakes were excellent, full of crab with a very lightly fried crisp, not very much filler. It was served with tartar sauce and a wonderful chopped tomato salad/​salsa, over some baby greens. On a side plate were 4 pieces of brown bread — an odd addition, but the pads of Kerrigold butter, made it all worth it! My husband had a burger which he said was cooker perfectly medium-​rare and the fries were yummy. We had a strange beer that was a porter with seaweed. Sounds gross, but was actually pretty good.
The place was pretty empty except for a few people watching the US open tennis match at the bar. But I guess it was an odd time. The waitress was attentive and friendly. Ask to sit in the window so you can watch the world go by on Thames St.

I have seen Buskers many times but have never made my way in until last night. At 8pm on a Thursday most bar seats were full but only one or two tables had people at them.
The Smithwicks was very fresh and went down easy. They have a HUGE whiskey /​scotch selection and the bartender was familiar with anything I asked about and even had advice to steer me in the right direction for my tastes.
I ordered the Reuben as a ‘safe’ option. It was very affordable at around $ 9 and it came with homemade chips. these weren’t your typical kettle fried chips that get soggy if you don’t eat them quick enough, these were ‘ruffle’ cut thinnish chips perfectly fried and salted. it was a great side to the sammich.
The Reuben itself came and I was pleasantly surprised to see a 1″ thick cut of meat, not a pile of sliced beef. The sauerkraut was present but not overwhelming (which I hate). The dressing and cheese were the same way which provided a great balance of flavors. I think the cut of the meat also helped keep the saltiness down.
It was a nice experience and I hope to go back sometime soon.