BARRY has a lot of ‘institutions’ – places people love to visit and enjoy spending time at. ‘Institution’ suggests an established presence in town, but one of the younger institutions – shall we call it – is moving towards that much loved status of ‘becoming part of the furniture’ in Barry as it approaches its first birthday.
Sue James owns the hugely popular Finnegans Inn on the Island, along with Finnegans fish bar, while Karen Canty was the heart and soul of massively popular restaurant Casa Paco on Broad Street.
The pair have now teamed together to make Cozy Tapas and Grill in the Goodsheds the next institution of the town as they release their summer special offer celebrating their first birthday, coming in June.
That offer includes four tapas for £15, a two-dining offer at just over £16, all the way to a £40 bottomless brunch and Prosecco.
A brief history into Cozy Tapas. Ms James entered the business with a little trepidation about entering the restaurant game and a little more trepidation bearing in mind Cozy Tapas was a concrete shell when she got it.
But, with her extensive hospitality experience Ms James created a vibrant and sheek setting to enjoy some of the best tapas we’ve tasted – that’s no word of a lie and we’ll get to that in a second – but first, one of the keys to Ms James’ success at Cozy Tapas is hiring probably one of Barry’s finest restaurant managers.
There was a huge outpouring of love and respect when Mrs Canty – who also works full time at Cardiff Airport – announced her family were closing the Casa Paco, however, thankfully Ms James convinced Mrs Canty to help her out at the Cozy Tapas and the experience is all the better for it.
(You notice Mrs Canty’s skills in the restaurant trade as she walks round the room meticulously detailing the best places for her guests to sit and enjoy their meals.)
Now, to these meals. So, Ms James invited us down to try the offer and talk a bit about the one year anniversary looming.
On the food, behind Cozy Tapas' fun theme with the samba music in the background, is chef with serious skills in handling meat and fish.
You can see Ismael Viera, from Portugal, knows his stuff when you look at the specials board and see sirloin steak, sea bass, oysters, lobsters all ready to be served fresh.
And you can tell Mr Viera knows what he’s doing when you taste the food – our four tapas were exceptional.
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We finally got to chat to Ms James who knew she has something special with Cozy Tapas, but doesn’t come across as the type of person to shout about it.
On her journey with Cozy Tapas, Ms James said: “I have always eaten in these types of places, but when you actually take one on yourself, it was just an empty concrete room when we took it on. It was a big project.”
And on its success?
“It’s all about the staff. They are excellent. Customers get on fab with them. Customers love their personality. People love the personality of the place.”
Cozy Tapas is in the Goodsheds in Barry. Along with its superb meat serving it also serves vegan and vegetarian.
Got a story in Barry? Email harry.jamshidian@newsquest.co.uk.
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