Reviewer’s rating *** Carl Jones enjoys a meal to make any carnivore sit up and take notice at a bustling, busy pub.

The daily commute to work takes me past the fast-growing Mere Park development on the outskirts of Newport, and I’ve watched in astonishment as its new pub and hotel has risen faster than the UK’s debt mountain.

“Opening this autumn”, the signs boldly said, when barely a brick was in place at Easter. Sure enough, Shropshire’s newest pub, alongside the A41, is now up and running.

So how long do you give a new establishment to find its feet before putting it to the test?

Rolling up at the Beefeater Grill just before 7pm towards the end of its third week, we expected our pick of Thursday night tables. But, despite catering for well over 150 diners, it was full.

The 35-minute wait, over a drink in the bar, did at least give us time to see some of the huge platters emerging from the kitchen, and persuade us we probably wouldn’t need starters.

Eventually, we were ushered to a table which had bizarrely remained unoccupied since the moment we arrived. Disorganisation, or a late cancellation? Who knows.

There’s only one thing to do when you’re in a Beefeater Grill: eat beef. So that’s precisely what I did. Lots of it.

The pub promises to “put the sizzle into dining out”, crafting chargrilled speciality dishes in a kitchen with nowhere to hide, since it opens out into the restaurant.

I’m no food connoisseur, but I know how I like my steak. So I put the chefs to the test with the Ultimate 16oz Steak Platter, a £19.99 collection of rump, fillet, rib-eye and sirloin, with chips, spiral onion loaf, and a dressed side salad.

Medium rare, on the rarer side, is how I asked for it – and credit where credit’s due, that’s exactly what I got. All four pieces were mouth-wateringly well cooked, and it proved an interesting opportunity to compare how the taste differs between cuts of beef.

It reminded me why fillet steak is my favourite . . . a tender, succulent, melt-in-the-mouth treat.

My wife Rachel also turned to the chargrill for a Giant Chicken Skewer (£11.25) which, frankly, defeated her. Not because it didn’t taste good, but because it packed a dauntingly sizeable punch with two juicy breast and two thigh pieces, plus plenty of chunky chips, and a particularly tangy and sharp bowl of coleslaw.

Inside The Three Fish, Newport

“Caveman-sized portions,” she said. How guilty did I suddenly feel for polishing mine off . .  ?

My ever-cautious mum, who was also with us, lapped up a Salmon Fillet (£10.25) with buttered new potatoes, broccoli, green beans and tomato. It looked a little dry, but she declared the side dish of basil and caper sauce a success.

Struggling to find space for dessert, I selected a cheese platter (£4.99) which we all dug into. As suspected, there was enough Stilton, Camembert, mature Cheddar, biscuits and grapes to share.

The un-nervingly young staff make policemen look old, but the team, including our waiter, Ben, were all happy and polite, bustling round the place as if they were always one task in arrears.

Attention to detail still requires some work, though. The grilled tomato promised on my main course was absent, and there was no sign of the spiced onion marmalade which should have accompanied the cheese. I didn’t get a steak knife, either.

We were also presented with someone else’s bill at the end of the night, while one waitress twice tried to take an “empty” wine glass away when there was still about a pound’s worth in it!

The Three Fish is perfectly placed to pick up commuter traffic, and business from travellers seeking a motorway service station-style break.

And that’s exactly what they get. A franchise experience which is more cafeteria than country pub, but which certainly won’t leave diners hungry. It feels like it’s been around for ages.

There’s nothing better, as the nights close in, to be greeted by a roaring log fire in your local pub. The Three Fish offers a strange twist on this – a flat-screen TV over an imitation hearth, showing video of logs burning merrily away. Presumably, the health and safety approved version . . .

And what’s with the name, Three Fish? If we’re sticking to the pub trade’s unwritten rules, shouldn’t it be the Three Fishes?

I know it’s a doff of the cap to Newport’s town emblem, but it’s a strange choice for a pub specialising in meat, and the fact that the award-winning Fox at nearby Chetwynd Aston used to be called the Three Fishes makes it all the more confusing.

ADDRESS
The Three Fish, Mere Park, Stafford Road, Newport  TF10 9BY
Tel: 08715 278812

MENU SAMPLE
STARTERS
Chargrilled lamb koftas (£4.99); Baked camembert and spiced onion marmalade (£5.25); Paprika chicken skewers with red pepper (£4.75)

MAINS
Sirloin and giant prawns (£17.25); Sea bass skewers (£12.75); Mediterranean tomato risotto (£9.25)

SPECIAL OFFERS
Evening meal deal menu £9.99 for two courses or £11.99 for three; Daytime meal deals £7.99 for two courses or £9.99 for three (before 6.30pm); Sunday roasts £7.99 – or “go large” for £9.99

ATMOSPHERE
Bustling, busy, and earnest

SERVICE
Friendly, but a little chaotic

DISABLED FACILITIES
New building conforms to all the latest legislation