The Village Kitchen & Bar

Called in on spec tonight and found the Village Diner busy and buzzing with a great atmosphere. Although we hadn't booked the staff were brilliant and did everything possible to find us a table. Food was steaks, expertly cooked, with great sides, in particular the cauliflower in batter was so good. Since refurbishment the diner looks absolutely fantastic, the decor is chic and modern and helps to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The waiting staff were both friendly and attentive and obviously enjoy working there. A really great out of town restaurant of really good quality with a great vibe. Great food, great wine, great atmosphere.
Comment on this reader review

Steve Ballett
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, December 09, 2011

my family and I booked the VKB in Whitchurch for my Sisters 50th Birthday Sat 19th Nov, the atmosphere was excellent as was the food and service, the young lady who waited the table could not do enough for us and they even brought out the cake singing happy Birthday, we had a great evening and would highly recommend the VKB for an enjoyable evening
Comment on this reader review

Mark Holley - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 21, 2011

As a group of six we visited VKB in Whitchurch Village to try the special midweek offer of 2 steaks and a bottle of wine for just £20 per couple and were very pleasantly suprised at the excellent quality of both the meal and wine. The steak was cooked to perfection and very tender which was washed down with a few glasses of a delightful red vino. The service was excellent and a warm and friendly atmospere was enjoyed by our party and certainly will be back for another crack at this ongoing offer which was a great eating experience.
Comment on this reader review

John Pearce
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Friday, October 21, 2011

I have had the good fortune to eat here about four times in the last 12 months and my friends and I love the food. True, the prices are not cheap but for the quality its well worth it. There is a lovely varied menue and have really enjoyed the starter and main meals. I am not one for puddings so cannot comment on that!

I always sing the praises of the Village Kitchen as a place to eat.
Comment on this reader review

David Cole
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I have visited this restaurant twice now, and I can definately say that my second eating experience was certainly not as enjoyable as the first. I, like many other foodies who live in Cardiff, was excited of the thought of a really well run european restaurant on the outskirts of Cardiff, cooking really good food, which I would be willing to pay for. Upon my first visit just after it opened, I sat down to a beautiful two courses of seafood, cooked to perfection, with just the right balance of flavour and not like most modern restaurants overcomplicated with the addition of random ingredients.

However, having visited recently, I am sad to say that not even the basics were right. I had the chicken parfait to start, which was not smooth and silky as you would expect, but lumpy and lacking in seasoning, and it was served with an onion chutney which would have been better suited as a dessert due the presence of what seemed to be pudding levels of sugar! Clearly chef hadn't tasted that one before serving........

The main was just as disappointing, having ordered the sole with butter sauce, which I imagined to be served, in the traditional french way, gently allowing the sauce to become creamy with the addition of the butter, to bring the dish together with the bed of spinach, however what ended up in the plate was quite scary.

The sole had clearly been frozen as the tail fin of the fish had chipped, and the sauce, had split, leaving a less than desirable sauce to accompany my fish and to top it all off, the timings of the kitchen were not sound enough to allow my main course to be cooked and ready at the same time as my husband's, which meant I was presented with a luke warm dish.

I know this may sound harsh, but I think the owners of this restaurant have become a little complacent , and have clearly taken their eye off the ball, when it comes to knowing the quiality of the food that should be leaving their kitchen, and I suspect their location has also allowed them to assume they will always be busy and demand will never dwindle due to the affuience of the area, however I would learn the lessons of Mr. Ramsay and say that one can never assume............

On the plus side, I do see that the restaurant is undergoing some redecoration, and hope their change of approach and direction goes further than the choice of seat covering and wall colour, and takes them back to the reasons why they opened the restaurant evident in my first visit. Which I believe was to provide top quality food, using top quality ingredients, making it more accessable to a larger spectrum by it's out of town location. However I do feel I need to mention the staff, above all I have never experienced poor service, and as this often forms a large basis on which I judge a restaurant, it wouldn't be right to make all the comments above without giving praise where it is due! Something they did get right seond time around............
Comment on this reader review

Sheryl Nessbert
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Saturday, September 03, 2011

We've just returned from a fantastic meal and experience in The Village Kitchen & Bar. The service was first class and the food was cooked to perfection, offering brilliant value for money. We chose the "2 steaks and a house bottle of wine for £20" and the food quality and wine did not disappoint.

I would highly recommend The Village Kitchen and Bar for high quality food matched by polite and attentive service.
Comment on this reader review

Simon Dews
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, June 29, 2011

I had a great meal here last night, the waiting staff were attentive and very pleasant, the food was out of this world and what value! two steaks and a bottle of wine for £20 !!!! I would definately reccomend this place to everyone. Well done the Village Kitchen and Bar.
View/Add comments (1)

Ian Fowler
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Had a lovely meal here last night, great food, great atmosphere , good service, will definitely be back!
Comment on this reader review

Deb baker
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Thursday, June 02, 2011

Don.t waste your money, Bad service and food not great. Fillet of fish that was overcooked and full of bones. The manager dismissed our comments. We will never go there again.
View/Add comments (1)

- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Monday, May 30, 2011

On reading the previous review regarding Village Kitchen and Bar Whitchurch I was amazed as we eat frquently at this very popular Eaterie as the report was unsigned in my opinion it is not worth sending in as it could be the opposition restaurants being jealous of their popularity. We decided to revisit and check it out. We went for the steak special which is two 8 ounce sirloins and a bottle of wine and we chose a delightful bottle of Hardys red wine all for £20-00 with the tender sirloin steaks cooked to perfection medium rare. It was money well spent and there must have been 60 or so others eating which created a nice ambiance. We would certainly return with no hesitation.
Comment on this reader review

John Pearce
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Friday, April 29, 2011