Blas at Fronlas — Restaurant in Newport

I only ever take the trouble to review places which are really amazing or really disappointing - unfortunately this place was the latter. It has a star because the garden is really lovely, it's dog friendly and the young waiting staff are delightful. However ... here is today's sorry tale.

I had lunch at Blas at Fronlas today - the place was very busy and so I had high hopes. The menu was fairly unimaginative and seemed very pricey so I went for the cheapest option, a melt (that's a toastie apparently) and a glass of wine. I enquired at length about the price of a glass of wine and how big it would be, establishing with the waitress that as a large glass would be £5.95, a small was £3.95, a medium would be £4.95. Everywhere I have ever eaten/drunk has used 175ml as a medium and this is what a pub or wine bar serves. I ordered a medium Sauvignon Blanc.

The wine was absolutely fine but the wait for my lunch was pretty long - they were very busy so nothing much could be done to make it better and I tried not to drink all of my wine before it appeared.

The 'melt' eventually arrived and really was a disappointment. On the menu it said that it came with salad - this turned out to be a couple of small leaves of lettuce and one cherry tomato - hardly a salad, more a small garnish - together with the tiniest amount of chilli jam. The bread was seeded supermarket sliced so no boats pushed out there.

To add insult to injury, the 'salad' turned out not to have been washed properly and I am still fishing out grit from between my teeth this evening.

When I left to pay, I had already worked out what the bill should be in my head - £7.50 for the very poor toastie and £4.95 for the perfectly acceptable wine, making £12.45 in total (which to me already seemed over-priced). When I was asked for £13.45 I questioned the bill and was told the wine was £5.95. As I had taken particular trouble to establish the price of the wine I felt justified in calling this out. Eventually the manager? or owner? (a mature blonde lady) appeared and seemed to think that pointing to a blackboard hidden in a dark corner by the till was justification alone for the price charged! Quite how I was supposed to see this blackboard in the garden defies logic!

She then asked me what I wanted to pay and of course I answered £4.95 for the wine and so that is what I did. What I really should have said was £5 for everything due to the grit in the salad but I really could not be bothered. When I worked in hospitality I was taught that if a customer complained the first words out of my mouth should be 'I'm so sorry" which usually served to diffuse any argument and led to a positive and constructive conclusion.

I know many people love this place - I loved the location - but I won't be going back. The pricing of the wine seems very strange and misleading and the food could be so much better. With Pwnc and Llys Meddyg nearby 'must try harder' should be the...

Had an average panini bacon and Brie today. Quite easily could have made better at home. No effort in presentation and the accompanying coleslaw was tasteless and lots of water in the bottom of the small dish it was served in. Crisps we’re nice tho :)

Asked if there was changing facilities to change my 5 month old baby and was told there was a mat in the toilet and that I could change him on the floor in the toilet or on the toilet seat itself. Safety and hygiene was not considered by the staff member I spoke to. (Not 100% sure but seemed to be more in charge so possibly owner or manager, not very friendly person). Wasn’t welcomed or greeted when we entered or when we went up to order. Simple hello, how are you? Too much to ask. On a positive the lady who bought our food out to us was lovely and made time to speak to us all. Shame as the place itself was nice.l and was looking forward to a nice lunch and a matter with a friend.

Have given one star as no stars...

Outstanding level of service, we just stopped by for coffee and cake, and had two wet dogs with us, as it was pouring with rain, so were happy to sit outside at one of the tables underneath the canopy. After I placed my order I was asked our table number, and the server seemed horrified that we would be outside in such awful weather. I explained about the dogs, and also that I wasn't sure how they would behave, they've never been inside a cafe before. But no problem, she suggested a table right at the back of the room, and even asked the young man who was sitting there if he would mind moving to another table!! Apparently he was a regular, so I'm guessing she knew he wouldn't mind. So kind of him and the server, I have never known such thoughtfulness. Wholeheartedly recommend. (And the dogs behaved...