Casa Paco

(Broad Street, Barry, facebook page here)

What a charming place this is, really made an impression! Looks as if they're offering takeaways at the moment if you check out their Facebook (wrote this during lockdown, so restaurants are not open properly right now).

I walk past this restaurant all the time and have always wondered what it would be like inside. It's been around for decades and is a bit of a cult favourite around here. I went on a random Weds even and it was packed, with couples, a smaller group and a big birthday party. On entering, you're lead to the bar area and served your drink while you take a seat and choose what to eat. They take the order there and then shortly lead you to your table (nice touch with the complimentary bread and butter for all diners).

Starters then came out immediately, my friend and I both had deep fried brie which was amazing and huge. It's all quite silver service, as your main is built up in front of you (your fish/meat is placed on your plate, then they come around to serve the potatoes and veg from a tray). The change regularly, but we had cauliflower cheese, peas, leeks and sautéed potatoes, all of which were excellent. It felt like I was having a big home cooked meal, it felt cosy and just really satisfying. Loved the experience and excited to go back! The full menu was pricy but the set menu we had was really good value for money.