M R VILLA’S THE KNAP, BARRY

Perhaps my compass was off. Honestly, I have no excuse or reason. Every time we passed it, I kept thinking we must try it, plus Mark and I love fish and seafood. I’ve chatted to people who have eaten there, and they’ve all had great experiences. As I said, I can’t explain it.

Recently a friend invited us out for dinner and, as Mr. Villa’s is a regular haunt of hers, she suggested we go there. We were excited at the prospect to finally get to try it out.

I was especially excited as I also love a good rib-eye steak, so when I heard that Mr. Villas has included more meat on the menu, I was all in.

Let’s just start by saying we loved the décor. The blue and white seaside theme reminded us of holidays in our favourite holiday in Spain. Anything that takes us back has to be good.

The menu looked impressive with an excellent selection of fish (as you’d expect). A sharing platter of lobster, king prawns, mussels and scallops fresh as can be, hake, seafood linguine, salmon, and everyone’s favourite battered cod, chips and mushy peas would all be good choices and, since last autumn, meat lovers can now satisfy their carnivorous cravings with roast partridge, beef bourguignon, chicken Milanese, calves’ liver, lamb chops and, my personal all-time favourite, ribeye steak.

Our friend is a pescatarian so kept to the fish offerings. Starters for her and Mark were the calamari. I wanted to save myself for the steak. Both said the calamari were plumptious and plentiful, the batter light and fluffy. These came with a side dish of delicious aioli.

Mains were two orders of hake and my rib-eye. The hake went down very well with it being so fresh and the accompanying vegetables were enough but not too much to take away from the star of the dish. The sign of a good restaurant for me is whether chef can cook a steak. Most, when asked for rare, err on the side of caution and present it medium rare. Don’t ask me why but waiting staff always say they cook it that way. It bugs me. I did stress that I wanted it rare and that’s exactly how it arrived - perfect. I also asked for no veg, no garnish - just steak and eggs. It’s what I like to eat. Was it cooked as I liked it? It sure was. I didn’t really need to cut the meat, it just sliced right through without any effort. Even the poached eggs were perfectly cooked - runny yolks too - yum!

We noticed on the menu that there was a selection of vegetarian options for those who prefer to eat this way. Again, Mr Villa’s catering for all tastes which is good.

None of us wanted a sugar rush so we passed on the desserts, but had we have wanted one, there were plenty of options if you wanted something sweet to end the meal, including those prepared by Mrs Villa herself which I’m reliably informed are very, very good.

Mr Villa’s regularly post new menu changes and offers on their Facebook page, so we would suggest popping on there to see what’s new. For instance, at the time of writing this review, they currently have an offer on for a twocourse menu at £17.50.

The wine list was well put together with a nice selection of reds, whites and rosés, and the waiting staff were attentive but not overly so. It’s a good sign when waiting staff can read the room.

If you don’t want to dine in then Mr Villa’s has a takeaway option, great for when you don’t want to leave the comfort of your own home, or you just don’t fancy cooking. And, thankfully, as we head into the warmer months, Mr Villa’s has tables outside.

Honestly, we don’t know why we’ve waited so long to eat here. After such an excellent meal, it’s now on our radar and we’ll certainly be visiting again.

Mr Villa’s

3-4 Bron-y-Mor, The Knap Barry CF62 6SW 01446 730662 mrvillas2015@gmail.com www.mrvillasbarry.co.uk mrvillas.barry