The Little Olive in The Vale of Glamorgan

Great evening. Atmosphere is like being on holiday. Staff know most of the customers by name as you don’t just go here once. Staff are superb and can’t do enough for you. Food is always excellent. Pasta is home made and the sauces fresh made daily. not something you could get at a chain restaurant! Pizzas taste like the ones you get in the med on holiday. Light and crispy. All great value too. Ty.

Repeat visit and food is lovely. However 3 meals took just over an hour to arrive and only 2 men serving. One of which (with glasses) seemed quite rude and never spoke or interacted with us. Last visit there was a lovely lady who seemed to be in charge, and she was very friendly and helpful. Our meals were lovely, although we didn’t like having a tea spoon for the desserts, and they smelled slightly odd. The main issue with this restaurant is the noise level, With a few full tables around you, it is impossible to have a conversation, and anyone with a slight hearing issue is very easily excluded. This could be so easily remedied with soft furnishings and perhaps a few screens between tables. Some friends won’t return because of this issue, which is a shame.

A weekend meal with friends provided a somewhat mixed experience. The food was decent however no one asked us if we wanted dessert or more drinks. The noise was of a level that I found uncomfortable - not a lot the establishment can do about that but it meant that I was unable to hold a conversation properly with others in our group. I would probably visit at a more quieter time, the front of house staff didn’t really have everything under control during the busy period on this visit.

A Wednesday evening out with friends, 7pm booking for 8 of us. The food was good but the service was very poor. We waited 1 hour to place our orders and at least 35 minutes for our main course meals to arrive; no starters ordered. Two separate requests for the bill, then 3 of us went to the bar to pay because we needed to leave. I expected better for 7pm on a mid week evening and am left feeling disappointed by the service. Please, improve this because the food was good.

Booked a last minute out for dinner and checked over the phone about some dietary needs and went,picked my food and due to my dietary problems, could have as on the menu,so they tweeked my dishes and had a lovely time out with no worries,will be returning.

Great cozy atmosphere and friendly faces on the staff. The food was great and would make the Italians proud. The lasagne especially stood out as rich and Herby. The prawn Gambia starter was beautiful. Overall a great little hidden gem so don't let the 1 or 2 bad reviews put you off. The majority are spot on and this is what it is, Italian food where you almost forget your in Barry for an hour or two. Great price too 👍

Food was outstanding 👌 looked after all the family for our father's 90th birthday 🎂 nothing was too much trouble-- staff excellent

Came here for lunch with a group of friends and was wowed by the flavours. Everyone loved their meals, and the cheesecake was something else ! 100% would recommend.

The food was delicious, and the service was excellent.

Me and my partner came here yesterday after coming here a few times in the past. the foods still absolutely gorgeous and staff so friendly! Definitely come here if you can get a table you won't be disappointed! X

Food was generally of a poor standard.

I loved the decor including the bonkers lighting. Starters were nicely presented and tasty. I had pollo alla cacciatore which was a dream. Finished with a delicious panna cotta. Charming staff. Go!

Really good food, service was excellent, they seated us even though we did not have a booking. Will be returning.

We both had the calamari - which were over cooked and hence tough. Olives were lovely. Hubby had the salmon which he thought was good. I had the lasagne which lacked meat! Far too tomatoey. Would we return? No.

Perfect evening. Staff so lovely and nothing too much trouble. Great atmosphere. Food excellent. Vino nice too. Friends from away loved it.

We had another absolutely delicious meal at The Little Olive. There was something on the menu to suit everyone in our party of 7, including 2 children. Although it was a Saturday and busy we were offered drinks after a time to settle and we were able to order food, once ready, without delay. Food arrived without too long a wait and was piping hot and well presented. Staff are very friendly and make the experience of eating with them enjoyable. We didn’t feel rushed, allowing us to relax and just enjoy good food in the lovely company of our family.

The food was amazing. All 4 of us were impressed. Service was a little slow, but it was very busy. Would highly recommend 👍

Absolutely stunning, the Lasagne was so good I could eat another one!!!

The food was amazing, but the customer service was absolutely atrocious. Had to ask multiple times for our order to be taken, and it took over 20 minutes to be given the bill. Definitely needs major improvement.

Amazing food and great customer service

Been here a few times, lovely Italian food and great staff. The menu is great value considering how good the food is.

Lovely food and resonable prices

Superb restaurant. Great food, great service, great ambience. This is a very popular restaurant so at certain times it might be busy and service might be slower - This is NOT a bad thing. You’re dining at a popular place where everything is made fresh and to order. The staff are friendly and helpful. The food amazing. We had starters and main courses and couldn’t manage a dessert but have it on good authority we should have ordered dessert to go. We’ll definitely go back and we’ll definitely have dessert next time. If you like Italian food, this is the place to dine.

Booked a table for 8.00pm, arrived promptly only to be told there would be five to ten minute wait. Not offered anywhere to sit while waiting, waited 15 minutes outside. Asked again how long and told another 10 minutes or so. Very disappointed.

Good food and nice service. There is still room for improvement in the ambience (a bit hectic), but that can be overcome.

Wonderful food , brilliant atmosphere and efficient staff that were friendly and attentive

I can honestly say this is the best Italian restaurant I have been to. ! We visited on a Friday night whilst staying in the area. We hadn’t booked but called in just after 8pm in case they had a table . Despite it being extremely busy they managed to fit us in and what a blessing that they did. ! The service was fantastic, staff very friendly and attentive. And the food was really out of this world, fresh and tasty with good portions. The lasagne is the best I’ve had. The cheesecake was so light. All the flavours were outstanding and you really can tell when food is made with love. What a gem of a place :)

Great service, great staff and delicious food! Will be back for sure

We have just had a lovely evening great atmosphere great service from lovely warm welcoming staff fab calamari lovely wine ....Bellisima ...molto grazia Susanne and the girls

This is our 3rd visit to this excellent restaurant and the place keeps getting better. We sat and thoroughly enjoyed 3 courses with wine and brandy for 3 hours and it was just superb. The service the food the ambience and the price! We travel up from South Devon and treat ourselves with an overnight stay just to eat here, that’s how good it is. If you’re in the area we highly recommend but make sure you book, not surprisingly it’s always busy. Can’t wait to return next year.

Popped in here on the off chance there was a free table - I was lucky ! Amazing food. Nice wine. Service wasn't hurried - just right.

What an amazing little gem! The service was spot on from the moment we walked in. I wanted to make a change to the dish i wanted to order, which was dealt with without a problem. Food was unrushed, hot and delicious. Well done Little Olive ☺️👍

What an amazing restaurant, from the minute we walked through the door, nothing was too much trouble. I wanted a slight change on the menu and that was agreed straight away without fuss. We weren't rushed, the food was hot throughout and the price was brilliant... Well done The Little Olive!

A great find when staying over in Barry for a couple of nights! The place had a nice cosy feel and the service was very friendly. Both of us had starters and mains , both dishes were amazing. I highly recommend the carbonara! We'd definitely return if we ever visit Barry again.

Was 25 minute wait for collection. The portion sizes was not as good considering paying £16 for a king prawn pasta. Flavour bland, considering it states olive oil & chilie couldn't taste it. Not impressed with the flavours portions and pricing.

Fantastic food and brilliant customer service..A real treat.

We had a really lovely evening here - the service was lovely, the food was superb and the atmosphere was perfect. We didn’t catch the team’s names but they were all fantastic, really friendly and welcoming - thank you all!

Staff were so lovely and attentive. The food is phenomenal! I recommend the calzone!!

We have been here a few times and it never disappoints! The staff are very friendly and welcoming. The food every time is so good, we love coming here and will continue!

Amazing food and wonderful service as always. Only criticism was pasta sauce on my shirt…. But I’ve only got myself to blame for that. Thanks all; will be back!!

The best Italian restaurant my partner and myself have been too! We had a starter and a main and we couldn’t fault it! Really lovely choice of wine and the service was amazing! We will definitely come back here again when we are next in Barry!

Another beautiful meal at this restaurant. It was fairly busy for a Wednesday evening but we were served promptly and didn't have to wait long for our food. Our meals were fresh, hot and so tasty. Fantastic staff, brilliant food - no more to say!

What fabulous food, service and atmosphere can’t wait to go back

Visited with my partner recently for an evening meal. We have wanted to get in here for ages but it’s always fully booked (good sign)! I can see why as the food and the service were both top notch! Will be back soon for sure

Visting the area from North Wales. Excellent food and service. Staff really friendly and welcoming. Was a great atmosphere in the restaurant too. Would definately recommend and will be visiting again next time i am in the area.

Can for my dad’s 70th the staff were amazing and went above and beyond lovely friendly environment and absolutely stunning food. No complaints here.

A real gem of an Italian, lovely food and delightful staff, from the waiting staff to the owner, everyone was very friendly and knowledgeable. The cheesecake in particular was beautiful, which was a lovely surprise since we only ordered it because they were out of sorbet! Great coffee as you'd expect from an Italian, lovely fresh seafood, delicious bread and salads. We will definitely be back!

Extensive food choices, including GF, vegi and vegan options. Lovely freshly made food, I had the calzone bianco, and it was superb. Great for families too, rather than having a separate kids menu, they will make smaller versions of anything on the standard menu, including slight variations, such as dropping chillies from the meat feast pizza! Great service from the front of house team too. Nothing was too much trouble. Very highly recommended.

Went to the Little Olive for the first time and was very impressed with the food and the service. It was an extremely pleasant experience and will definitely be going back there again.

What a wonderful place for lunch. The great atmosphere is fantastic and very helpful, friendly staff great food 😀

Great family run restaurant. Nice atmosphere. Dishes prepared generally with fresh produce. Very welcoming

Beautiful food and lovely, friendly service, accommodated our party of 5 at short notice which was very much appreciated, I would absolutely recommend to all 😊

Great food, reasonable prices, staff attentive and convenient location.

It was a Saturday night and it was busy but it was clear that despite taking the bookings the venue couldn't find enough members of staff for service. The did their best. The food was OK, nothing to write home about. Main complaint: Noise! Not much the staff can do about this I suppose. There were a few tables making a real racket, the worst being a hen party table of about 10 who were literally shouting at each other. This, coupled with the rather frenzied, stressed service didn't make for a pleasant dining experience. The staff are very nice and are trying hard but, given that they might have noisy parties in the next time, we're not going to take the chance of a revisit.

Food was slow coming up. No staff checked to see how our food was. It was taken away when we'd finished. Nobody asked then if it was OK, and after an hour without even being asked if we wanted a dessert , we had to find someone to ask for the bill. Absolutely dreadful service, I'm not recommending to anyone, and we won't be back.

Excellent experience in this Italian restaurant. I am not a big fan of Italian cuisine but the food in this restaurant was delicious and different and you can tell that everything was fresh. It definitely worth a try. 5* from me

A perfect night out to celebrate the wife's birthday. Staff were attentive and great at their jobs. The food was delicious, came out in a timely manner and was reasonably priced. The rib eye steak was cooked exactly how I asked for it and the king prawn starter was so tasty. Would recommend a visit here anytime. There is a decent menu to suit all the foodies out there. 10/10

Cosy atmosphere and very nice service.

Fantastic range of starters, dinners and desserts. Friendly service and nice atmosphere. Nice decor. If in the area, I would recommend visiting.

absolutely fantastic service - very friendly and extremely prompt. we were in and out within just over an hour. brilliant menu. prices are beyond reasonable for the quality of food provided. couldn’t recommend enough!

We had another lovely night at The Little Olive for our boys 27th birthday. Never disappointed when going. Thank you.

Delicious pizza. Need to wash their wine glasses properly though as we had a good bottle of wine and soap residue floating in the glass. Staff were very good and offered a new bottle but the wine was fine - just need properly clean glasses

Amazing food! Truly! Can get very busy so make sure to book ahead! We booked last minute on a Saturday and they squeezed 5 of us in!! We provided the cake, but they even sang happy birthday to someone in our party and brang it out. They made sure to get the timing right and it was very thought out.

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).

Had a delicious meal here. All four of us loved our dishes. Starters of White bait spicy meatballs and brushetta were lovely. The Marianera pizza was so tasty as was the Carbonnara. The meatballs was chosen as a main dish too - is spicy and has a little kick to it. The desserts were scrumptious and really liked the Sauvignon wine that had a gooseberry finish and was exceptionally reasonable. Service was excellent and there was a lovely warm welcome when we entered. Will definitely be back for more.

Score could have been higher but the main dishes were a touch on the small side. I will return.

Had a great evening with my husband, grandson and his family, the food was excellent, the staff were very friendly and helpful, which made it such a great evening.

Simply Stunning. Lovely food, great service,

Food was delicious Service was fantastic Ablutions were clean

I came for our annual Christmas girls meet up, the food was stunning, lovely presentation. Staff where great always a pleasure visiting, the food did not disappoint the best Italian around

Had a lovely meal at The Little Olive the other night. We were a group of 20. They organised all the different requests and changes very well. Food was authentic Italian and service was great. Nice, cosy set up. Will definitely go back.

By far the best restaurant in the in the town. The food is impeccable and the service is phenomenal. Would highly recommend for anyone who is looking for clean authentic food.

Small food portions & quite expensive drinks

We thoroughly enjoyed our lunchtime meal with our young daughter. The food was fabulous and our waiter was super attentive - in a good way - to our needs. Truly wonderful atmosphere and the pasta / meatballs and ice cream (according to my daughter) was fabulous. Thank you for welcoming us into your warm family oriented restaurant. It was the best! The Rhodes family

Lovely food and excellent service 👌

Oh, I do love this place. Hubby found it when trying to find Italian foods nearby and so glad that we encountered this restaurant. We had prawns and whitebait for starters, chicken in mushroom sauce and lasagne for main course, tiramisu, and panna cotta for desserts. Such beautiful foods and all of them were made to a good standard.

We had a great time at our family lunch at the little olive. The food was delicious (I had ribeye and would recommend as it was cooked perfectly rare) the drinks were great with a decent choice and the service was fantastic! We will be visisting again. X

We had a great time at the little olive. There were 11 of us in total including children with A few different dietary requirements. Everyone had a great time. The food was exceptional the drinks were great and the service was fantastic. We will definately be visiting again. I had the steak and would recommend it. It was cooked perfectly rare and was delicious! X

Lovely little restaurant, excellent food and reasonably priced too.

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. My partner not so much. We sat in an unfortunate spot where there was a squeaky floorboard that creaked every time someone when past and they were constantly going past us. It became a little irritating after a while.

Great service to the point we left a huge tip on a meal for 7. Why? Attentive staff who actually enjoyed providing a great experience. The restaurant was full, nicely presented. Good portion size and three courses was plenty! I didn't feel we over paid for what was a great level of service and decent food. I wish I took photos so I'll have to go back. My only recommendation would be to install some ecophon sounds panels to dampen the noise of people chatting.

Went to a joint birthday meal for a 40th and a 70th mother and daughter Had a great time😁

I used the WhatsApp method of booking, which was seamless and the wonderful staff accommodated all 6 of us for that same evening (plus our two newborns!). Upon arrival, we were met with a really great group of staff who were available the whole time for our every need and were so efficient that we couldn’t believe how fast they were to serve their delectable, freshly-made meals. The team were so lovely and enthusiastically joined us to celebrate my mum’s birthday with a candle and a sing-song, which added to how special our night was. We had no complaints whatsoever and every meal - 5 starters, mains and desserts - was delicious!! Thanks so much to everyone there and, whilst it was our first, it certainly won’t be our last visit! :)

Wanted somewhere for dinner the night before a flight and after driving around Barry found The Little Olive. Quite simply an excellent experience from the service to the quality of the food. The people of Barry are very lucky, if only we could all have such a wonderful restaurant on our doorstep!

A-ma-zing!!! Two families of four, and none of us had a single complaint about anything. The food is simply incredible, the service was friendly, the atmosphere was just great. When I'm next in Barry, this is where I'm going to eat!!!

Beautiful Italian restaurant. Lovely team and the food was amazing. Thank you so much. Wish you were in Hertfordshire.

Absolutely amazing food had bread and olives followed by prawns and meatballs for starters and none of it disappointed just wow ! Then we had the fettuccine gamberoni and the Hake Limone and I was left speechless at how the hake was cooked absolute perfect and so were the prawns all seasoned to perfection topped it off with the best Tiramasu I have ever eaten 🤤 and a white chocolate cheesecake that was also incredible the service was excellent and very attentive staff they were really friendly and very helpful and topped the experience off cannot wait to come back !

Meatballs starter and pan fried chicken with spinach and wild mushrooms for main. Both were delicious!

Fabulous dinner at The Little Olive tonight. Clean plates all round.

Fabulous restaurant, great efficient service and the food was absolutely delicious. Will definitely return when we are here again.

Amazing food and excellent staff. The best restaurant in the area.

Great food, the service is excellent, this is a lovely restaurant with a nice/homely atmosphere, can't fault it.

Lovely friendly, accommodating resto. Tasty food came promptly. Reasonable price.

The best restaurant in Barry-good level of staff,sauce perfect.I had 2 guests from Japan-very satisfied. Congratulations to the whole team

Wonderful atmosphere a day amazing food and service

Lovely warm and modern restaurant. Very welcoming. The authentic Italian dinner was delicious, came out hot, fresh and very tasty indeed. The house wines were excellent especially the red wine, spot on temperature. Would recommend and we will be back. Nik

Delicious food, great service, enjoyed it and will def return

I've been several times, and each time, the food was amazing, and the staff were super friendly. I'm definitely coming back and recommending to anyone looking to go out to dinner in Barry. Update: My last visit was on 9th September 2023, and I had the ravioli, the pannacotta, and the tiramisu, all of which were amazing.

Food was amazing, staff were so lovely:) would definitely go again!

Absolutely fantastic. Great service and went above and beyond. Took a 9 month old who cried a couple of times during the meal. The owner brought over bread and cut up strawberries to which were a very kind gesture. Blown away from their service: I was recommended Ranchoz or The Little Olive by our hotel. After walking past Ranchoz on the way to Little Olive I would highly recommend The little olive. A stunning restaurant with fantastic service. Can’t thank them enough