The Village Inn — Restaurant in Wales

Unless you are a local and know everyone who drinks here, do not go here for a meal... Especially on a Cardiff City match day.

We enjoy trying new places to eat out, whether it's a pub or a fancy restaurant, or even a decent takeaway. We had never tried The Village Inn, and living only a few miles away we thought we would give it a try.

First off, it's not a great sign when you arrive for food, it's only 6:45pm, and there's already security staff on the door. Never been anywhere for food that has security. As soon as we walked in, we quickly realised that we were the only non-locals in there, and the looks and glares from people made us realise straight away that we weren't welcome... But ya know, I ain't easily intimidated and neither were my friends, so we continued and got seated at a table. Immediately, the locals sat at the next table made us feel unwelcome, staring us out, leaning back on their chairs, bumping the table, talking about us at the top of their voices... Pathetic. But it was bad enough that my wife was ready to start a fight!

Anyway, we ordered our food at the bar, locals cutting in ahead of us to order their drinks as if they had more right to be served before us...and then we sat back down, taking in the frosty atmosphere while we waited for our food, which wasn't too long to come out and in all fairness was pretty decent for the prices. Everything was good quality and prepared well. My wife's steak was perfect, and the gammon was really nice... No issues at all! But all the time we were getting stared at, talked about, bumped... And people were being sick around the other side of the bar, heated arguments kicked off, with senior staff joining in and trying to calm things down... But it never really got much better.

After finishing our mains, I went up to the bar to order desserts, but that was a struggle because a few worse for wear locals refused to move while I ordered, then refused to move when I tried to tap my card on the reader... So I just leant over them to pay. They didn't like that, but it was tough because I had no choice. And then came the wait for the desserts... Considering we were 4 of maybe 10 people that were eating, the kitchen wasn't exactly busy, but they still forgot to do our desserts, so after 40 minutes we asked where they were and 10 minutes later they were brought out. Again, nice enough desserts, no complaints. By the time we finished, it was getting a bit more lively in there, too lively for the karaoke by the looks of it... They brought in the equipment to set it up, but left with the equipment about 15 minutes later, at which time the kitchen staff were back and forth with jugs of water to clean up the puke that was all over the floor around the other side of the bar.

To sum up the evening, staff were friendly and food was good...even if they forgot about our desserts, and I'm sure this place is fine when it's a bit quieter. But if Cardiff City are playing, or have played that day, then avoid.

Me and my son are Cardiff City fans, but we are not local to The Village Inn, and this is a place (like many other places in Cardiff) where you don't feel welcome if the local fans don't recognise you. So unfortunately, we won't be going back there, and won't be recommending it either. Especially on...

PRICE: A lot of people say ‘cheap and cheerful’. Half of that is true, this place is cheap! Wetherspoons is also cheap, but the quality at Wetherspoons is like luxury dining compared to here - and each meal here is at least 20% more expensive than Spoons too. If the petrol to drive to your nearest Wetherspoons is more than £2, go to this pub. Otherwise it’s worth spending extra in fuel to go to Spoons. Better deals, better quality food, 1/3 the wait time, and still cheaper.

WAIT TIME: There were about a dozen people sat at tables when I walked in. Making smalltalk, I asked the bartender if they were busy. She said “No, we’re very quiet today”. So I placed my order at the bar (a basic cheeseburger), expecting to be eating in 10-20 mins.

It took 45 minutes to arrive.

QUALITY: It arrived with the burger baps left open on the plate (why?), the burger was overcooked, tasteless and burned, yet also somehow cold. The cheese was a barely melted rubbery square. The chips were soggy, but tasted ok. Not great, just ok.

SERVICE: When you know you could make a better, cheaper, tastier meal at home that what they serve, you know it’s not a good pub. It’s a shame to say this too, since their bar service was friendly. However when the food was brought to the table, the guy came over, practically shouted the meal I ordered, then chucked it down and walked off without another word.

SUMMARY: Overall a lot of basics that we tend to take for granted with pubs (basic food quality and politeness) were lacking. And it’s noticeable too - I’m not the only one to notice it. If this pub improves on just a couple of these points, they’ll see an increase in customer satisfaction, word of mouth recommendations and more customers. It has the potential to be great, but it currently isn’t. Hopefully they’ll take this feedback on board and improve, because it’s got...

Update Was invited back by the manager, Joe. Your staff upon arrival were lovely. We was seated at a table and the member of staff that came to take our order was a delight. He also accommodated my enquiry of a move of tables (due to my toddler becoming distressed from a strange environment and out of routine) which I am pleased to say, I applaud your inclusive approach to disabilities, not many places are so understanding and accepting of requirements. Food was lovely too. I had the mixed grill and upgraded to the rib eye. Children thoroughly enjoyed theirs too and even my toddler enjoyed a few bites of hers ☺️. Had a chocolate fudge cake with custard for dessert and the children had a 'create your own sundae'. I didn't eat much of mine as it was a bit dry but in context, I left it for a while as I was tending to my toddler and her jelly so it was no longer warm. The children enjoyed it though and finished it off. There was a bit of a communication error towards the end but it was rectified so thank you. I want to thank the manager for the invite back to your establishment and it was a shame I never had the opportunity to thank you personally so I shall thank you via this with thanks to the male staff that tended our table tonight. Would you please pass my appreciation on to them please for all they did and thank you so much Joe!

Staff are welcoming with great hospitality. Food was burnt and salad was shriveled. Was ok as was starving but doubt I'd order the same if...