A family Sunday lunch at the new Bar & Grill at the Village Hotel, Cardiff – plus win a family meal (ad)
Paid collaboration with The Village Hotel, Cardiff
Like a lot of families, we love going out for a Sunday lunch. It’s such a treat to have someone else do all the cooking and, even better, all the clearing away and washing up too.
However, it’s not always easy to know where to dine when you have children. Naturally you want decent food – but you also want somewhere child friendly, where you won’t spend the whole time asking your children to be quiet while other diners give you evil looks. Sometimes it’s difficult to find places that offer both.
With its newly refurbished pub and grill area, The Village Hotel at Coryton in Cardiff is a good choice, offering hotel quality food but in an environment where families can relax and enjoy themselves.
We were invited along to dine on Sunday. You can read the full review below and if you like the sound of what you read then there’s a chance to win a family Sunday lunch for four at the end of this post.
We arrived at 1pm and easily found a parking spot in the large on-site hotel car park. All of us were rather hungry following a very active morning that had included a 5K run for me, a 2K Junior Parkrun for all five of us, and a rugby match in the rain for my seven year old son and husband, who coaches the team.
My boys and their dad couldn’t believe their eyes when they walked into the pub and grill area and saw huge screens showing the Liverpool game. It’s their favourite team and they thought they’d be watching it later on in the day on catch-up so this was a real bonus for them. While several large screens made watching the game easy for them, they weren’t obtrusive for those of us (me!) who didn’t want to watch. I loved that the screens were set at just the right volume that you could carry on your conversations and easily be heard, but the background noise meant that those of us with families weren’t worried about children’s chatter or babies crying and so on. I also loved that despite the presence of so many screens it didn’t feel like your typical sports pub, with a light and airy atmosphere, plenty of space between tables, and restaurant-style tables and chairs. That said, the staff told us that the previous day had been exceptionally busy due to a Six Nations rugby game so you might not get the same relaxed atmosphere on huge sporting occasions! The table football, near the entrance, was also a real hit and gave them something to do between courses. We were also given children’s colouring packs too, which are always a winner.
The Village’s pub and grill has a range of different menus in operation with the bar menu available all day from 12pm-10pm and serving a range of burgers, pizzas, nachos, salads and more. There’s also the grill menu with a more extensive choice of steak, chicken, burgers, fish and vegetarian dishes.
The Sunday lunch menu is available from 12pm-4.30pm on Sundays and includes an unlimited four-course carvery meal priced £15.95 for adults and £7.95 for children, which we thought was really reasonable given the amount of food on offer.
It’s great to see that dietary requirements are well catered for – although it’s worth letting the staff know in advance when you book and getting your order in when you arrive as these dishes are freshly cooked rather than being part of the buffet.
Self-service buffet style meals are always great when you have young children because they can start eating straight away rather than having to wait 20-30 minutes for the food to be ready.
The range of buffet starters included pate, mackerel, tomato and mozzarella salad, prawn cocktail and various salads. My children loved that they were served in small glass pots and on wooden boards and the smaller portions meant they tried more than one option.
There are also warm starters you can order via the waiting staff. I had a vegan broccoli soup to start and it was deliciously full of flavour and looked lovely on the wooden serving board.
For mains, I was tempted by the spinach and sweet potato curry, but opted for roasted red peppers stuffed with black rice because I wanted to accompany it with vegetables and roasted potatoes from the carvery buffet. The chef at the buffet station was very friendly and also very knowledgeable about what everything contained and how it was cooked, which is helpful for people with restricted diets and allergies.
Meat eaters had a choice of beef, turkey and gammon with my husband and eldest two opting for the beef and my youngest opting for gammon. The kids were especially excited by the accompaniments of pigs in blankets and they absolutely loved the giant Yorkshire puddings.
Accompanying vegetables included carrots and shredded greens, as well as cauliflower cheese. Gravy and various sauces were also available at a self-service table.
The whole dining experience felt relaxed and informal with diners welcome to top up their plates with more.
Several desserts are available at the buffet station or you can order hot ones from the menu, including apple pie which Cardiff Daddy opted for. I loved my vegan chocolate tart which was so richly flavoured. My children each had a pot of fruit salad before heading to the ice cream station. Here, you can fill a sundae glass with whipped ice cream and choose from various toppings of sauces, sprinkles and small chocolates.
We saw quite a few families dining at the same time as us, including one friend who was there with her three year old and newborn, plus her friends and their nine month old. She said the self-service element was great for them because it meant that if one of the babies was feeding or needed a nappy change or even just a cuddle then she and the grown-ups could stagger their meals, rather than all the food coming at once and someone’s meal going cold due to a hungry baby taking precedent. Little things like this make a big difference when dining out as a family.
We had a great experience having Sunday lunch at The Village Hotel’s new pub and grill. It’s a good option for families, combining the convenience of self-service food with a relaxed atmosphere and hotel-standard food and service.
Read more about dining at the Village Hotel, Coryton, Cardiff here.
Win a Sunday lunch for four at The Village Hotel Cardiff
Fancy trying the Village’s Sunday carvery out for yourself? One lucky winner will get to do just that thanks to this brilliant giveaway for a meal for a family of four.
The prize includes a meal for four (up to two adults and two children or one adult and three children) for the Sunday carvery buffet lunch. The prize must be used within six months from the date of issue and excludes Mothering Sunday, Easter Sunday, Father’s Day and any international sporting events. The table must be booked in advance. The prize does not include drinks.
For a chance to win, leave your answer to this simple question on the Village Hotel giveaway post on the Cardiff Mummy Says Facebook page.
Q. How much does the unlimited Sunday lunch buffet cost
for adults and children at The Village Hotel Cardiff?
Closing date for entries is Sunday 17 March, 11.59pm.
Terms and conditions:
- There is one prize, consisting of a family meal for four (up to two adults and two children or one adult and three children) at the Village Hotel Cardiff’s pub and grill.
- The prize must be used within six months from the date of issue and excludes Mothering Sunday, Easter Sunday, Father’s Day and any international sporting events. The table must be booked in advance. The prize does not include drinks.
- There is no alternative prize and the prize is non-transferable.
- Closing date for entries is Sunday 17 March 2019, 11.59pm.
- Entrants must be 18 years or over.
- To enter, leave your answer to the above question in the comments section of the Village Hotel giveaway post on the Cardiff Mummy Says Facebook page.
- The winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries submitted before the closing date. The winner will be informed with a reply to their Facebook comment and a direct Facebook message letting them know they have won. All reasonable attempts will be made to contact the winner. If the winner cannot be contacted within 7 days the prize will be forfeited and offered to another eligible entrant.
- Cardiff Mummy Says reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time. Any new terms and conditions will be published here.
- Cardiff Mummy Says reserves the right to end this promotion at any time and without notice.
- Cardiff Mummy Says cannot be held responsible for the failure of third party organisations to provide the prize, or for loss, damage or non-arrival of the prizes.
- Relatives of Cathryn Scott, author of Cardiff Mummy Says, may not enter the giveaway.
- Employees and their relatives of The Village Hotel may not enter the giveaway.
- This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
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