The Little Olive

We celebrated my daughter's 16th birthday here. The service was average—nothing particularly special. The food was fairly standard. Unfortunately, a serious mistake was made when my wife, who has Celiac disease, was served the wrong pasta, which was not gluten-free. This made her extremely ill. What was most disappointing was the lack of any apology or even a small gesture like a discount—it felt as though they simply didn't care. Been to better places

Absolutely stellar. The food is incredible, and as someone who is gluten-free, they can do any of their pasta dishes gluten-free which is a rarity. And they taste so good! They do a dish with courgettes that is just to die for; I have no idea what they do to those little buggers but they taste so damn good, if I could only eat one dish every day for the rest of my life, it would be that. Wine is a little pricey, but it’s a nice restaurant, so that is kind of to be expected, and as someone who chooses wines based on the ABV and the picture on the bottle, I really have no right to speak on the topic anyway. The staff are all lovely, and happy to accommodate you if you have any weird little requests (like one time I booked a table last minute, and was going for a meal with a friend who was quite upset about something, so I asked if they could put us in a table a bit tucked away so she could blub a bit without too many eyes on her, and they sorted that out no questions asked). It can get a bit noisy if it’s kind of peak hours and the place is full of chatty patrons, so if you’re noise sensitive, I would pick a time when it’s less busy. There is a ground-floor disabled accessible toilet, but you do need to be able to get up a step or two at the front of the restaurant to get in, so it’s not wheelchair accessible, though as someone on crutches I’m able to get in without issue, and it’s possible that if you asked in advance there may be a way in through the back. It did take me a couple of visits to realise there was an alternative to the bathroom upstairs though 😂 Overall, I’d say it’s probably the nicest restaurant in Barry, and the prices for food are extremely reasonable for the quality. Definitely give it a go, and maybe try the courgette pasta thingy, it’s divine! (And if you skip the Parmesan, it’s vegetarian).