3-4 Bron-Y-Mor, The Knap, Barry 01446 730662 / www.mrvillasbarry.com
With plenty of good, established cafes to choose in the area, The Knap at last has a restaurant to go to since the demise of Hedley’s. The Knap is a beautiful location, and with access to the beach, a boating lake and parks, it’s the perfect setting for a decent restaurant. Mr Villa’s was welcomed by the locals when it opened at the tail end of last year as previous restaurants run by the owners had been exceptional. My first visit to Mr Villa’s was just before Christmas and my hopes were dashed, it was dreadful. Poor service, miserable staff, mediocre food and ‘mood’ lighting that could be seen from Minehead. On a recent return visit, albeit begrudgingly, I was expecting much of the same. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find happy staff, clearly new or trained chefs and a more relaxing ambience. Still no background tunes though. Many people would rather not go back to a restaurant than make constructive criticism, which defeats the object of improvement; we all want a pleasurable dining experience and hopefully restauranteurs take note.
The starters of fishcake and moules marinière were ample and fresh. Mains arrived in the form of hake beurre blanc and I am reliably informed the homemade chicken and leek pie were excellent. The side of chips, homemade and plentiful and perfect crispy onion rings, were equally as satisfying. The desserts are made by the owner’s wife who also runs a catering business, the rice pudding was fabulous with a perfect bronzed skin on top, no synthetic additions here. Mr Villa’s has improved since my last visit but there are still delays with food arriving taking much longer than it should and the cold cement floor is less than welcoming. Mr Villa’s may have suffered when it first opened and still has a couple of niggling issues, but it appears that they have taken on board comments made and making a real effort to offer what customers want. It’s not rocket science.
words ANTONIA LEVAY