I tried the tiny but mind-blowing new restaurant hidden down an alleyway in a Welsh village

Walking down an alleyway between a convenience shop and a local pub, I wondered if I had read the directions correctly, but sure enough there it was. Carnivore is extremely unassuming from the outside. The independent venture in Cwmgwrach, Neath Port Talbot sits in the former home of popular Bistro The Mine. And without giving too much away from the off, I was blown away by its food and interior.

The restaurant started life as a stockroom for the nearby Premier village shop in 2019 until owner Stuart James felt the unit was "wasted space" and wanted to turn it into something magnificent. After toying with the idea of a café, a youth club or a small boxing club, Stuart settled on the idea of a bistro - and soon set up a restaurant called The Mine. For the latest restaurant reviews, sign up to our food and drink newsletter here

After opening two further restaurants in nearby Neath town centre and Merthyr Tydfil, Stuart decided he wanted to change the Cwmgwrach restaurant and transform it into something completely different. Whilst the eatery still nods to its previous mining theme, the new Carnivore restaurant has a much more upmarket feel, with a beautiful blossom ceiling, gorgeous swing seats and plush chairs and glamorous decorations. I visited the restaurant for its launch night ahead of its opening to the public on May, 2.

NEATH PORT TALBOT: Work to build affordable homes on site of former school set to get underway

THINGS TO DO: I went to the top of Swansea and the views are very special

Stuart said: "I wanted the restaurant to have a real local influence and I was speaking to my dad about it and he suggested doing something to mark the mines - there's so many around here and lots of people have relatives who worked in the mines, so we thought the restaurant could be really special and influenced by the mines.

"The restaurant skyrocketed through Covid, we got really popular and had queues for months [bookings months in advance]. We've always been unique, we used to serve food on shovels - we've always done things a bit differently - but we're also passionate about amazing service."

Stuart opened a second Mine restaurant in Neath town centre and a third in Merthyr Tydfil, both serving eye-catching streetfood dishes. But whilst business was going well customers were getting confused and even turning up to bookings at the wring site.

With this in mind, he started to explore new options for the Cwmgwrach restaurant and, after realising there was a gap in the market decided to turn it into a steak and meat restaurant.

"There's actually no steakhouse between Bridgend and Cardiff and no restaurant specialising in meat in the area, Stuart said. "There's also a gap in the market locally for steaks and meat dishes at a fair price point - we've tried really hard to keep dishes affordable. Main meals are affordable and then people have the option to add sides, if they want to. You have choice - it's a cost of living crisis and we understand people are on a budget when they go out for a meal."

The location and interior

From the outside, you don't expect there to be much behind a wooden door down an alley - but the restaurant immediately wowed me. You enter in the corner of the restaurant and have a view of the full space. The restaurant seats just 30-ish people, depending on table layout and is pretty small but there's plenty of space.

The interior is more glamorous and pretty than you might expect for a place called 'Carnivore'. The ceiling is adorned with gorgeous white and pink blossom, walls and tables are a sleek epoxy white and grey, chairs are plush pink or turquoise and nearly-everything feels pretty and luxurious. I say 'nearly everything' as the restaurant has kept its back wall as tribute to late miners from the local area. "I obviously couldn't get rid of the miners, it's so important to life here," Stuart said. "I needed to keep the wall and the photos, it's a place people can come and share their memories - but the rest of the restaurant has been redone!"

Explaining what influenced Carnivore's design, Stuart said he loved the swing-style seats at Indian restaurant chain Mowgli and was also influenced by restaurants in London and Dubai. "We are constantly on the move, exploring new food establishments, drawing inspiration, and keeping an eye on market trends.

"What sets us apart is that all our sauces and butters are homemade in-house," he added. "You will not find the same taste elsewhere. Additionally, we have a special menu for all the carnivores out there. Our meat is cooked in animal fats and soaked in butter for that extra indulgence. Also on the drinks menu, we focus heavily on mocktails due to our location and people having to drive. Our other restaurants The Mine Neath, just a short 15-minute drive away, and The Mine Merthyr, only 20 minutes away are both thriving establishments but Carnivore will be a point of difference."

The service

I was shown to my table by a very polite and professional server and found every member of staff I came across lovely and attentive. My friend and I had plenty of time to peruse the menu and decide what we wanted and I was impressed that staff checked back on us to ask how we were finding our starters, mains and drinks fairly frequently. Staff told me they serve every customer a complimentary small piece of focaccia before taking orders, perfect. As mentioned, the restaurant was absolutely gorgeous and everywhere, including the loo, was pristine clean. Always a good sign!

The menu and what I thought of my food

On the food menu, you'll find starters, steaks & chops, sharers and 'twisted' street food dishes. There's also a good range of side dishes available and a small children's and dessert menu too.

Among the starters, you'll find sticky style halloumi fries, baked camembert with honey & thyme and a prawn skewer, to name a few, whilst on the steaks & chops menu you'll find a flat iron, sirloin and ribeye steaks, and French tip lamb chops. Sharing platters feature several of the items from the menu and among the street food dishes, Carnivore serves a triple Southern-fried thigh burger, salt and pepper chilli chicken, and Korean-style ribs. For sides, there's potatoes, fries, mac & cheese bites, onion rings, cauliflower cheese, rice and salad.

For starter, my friend and I shared the Prawn Skewer (£6) which was delicious and comprised of five prawns in a homemade sweet and sour sauce with a large piece of pineapple on a bed of rocket with pomegranate seeds and a little bit of red pepper. It was absolutely fantastic and I would definitely have it again!

For my main meal, I opted for a steak. I don't tend to cook steak at home and don't often have it when I go out to a restaurant so I thought a steak and meat restaurant would be a good place to have it! I opted for the Sirloin 250g (£13.99), cooked medium, and I added the garlic mushroom sauce (£3). For sides, I chose the mac & cheese bites (£3.50) and my friend and I decided to order one portion of the salt & pepper crushed potatoes (£4). For main, my friend ordered the Ribs Korean Style (£15).

My mail meal was fantastic. My steak was served pre-cut into slices and the meat was cooked just the way I like it. It was tender but as the dish doesn't come with any garnish, I was of course pleased I had ordered a sauce and sides. The garlic mushroom sauce was smooth and tasty, without being overpowering, and the mac & cheese bites were crunchy on the outside and gooey in the middle. Perfect.

My friend's ribs were huge! She said the sauce was somewhere between a sweet chilli and a barbecue sauce and was "delicious" and we both liked the crushed potatoes. I think I should have ordered my own portion of these though, rather than sharing the one portion.

We were so full-up on our meals, we didn't fancy a dessert. But if we had wanted one, there were just three options: white chocolate cheesecake, chocolate brownie, Black Forest gateau.

The drinks

Carnivore by The Mine has a fully-stocked bar serving beer, cider, wine and cocktails but, due to its location in a small village, staff are aware many people are likely to have driven to the restaurant so offer a wide range of soft drinks and mocktails - which is what I opted for. At £5 each, I felt the mocktails were very fair priced and as they were served in cocktail glasses, it felt like you were drinking the real thing!

I loved my 'Unicorn Kisses' mocktail with cherryade and strawberry syrup - being poured over candyfloss really gave it the wow factor - whilst the 'Parma Dream' mocktail was sweet and fragrant and really tasted like Parma Violet sweets. Yummy!

Carnivore restaurant, also known as 'Carnivore by The Mine,' is located at the rear of 24 High Street (between Premier Convenience Stores and the Dunraven Arms pub), Cwmgwrach, Neath Port Talbot, SA11 5TA

The restaurant opens to the public on Thursday, May 2 and booking in advanced is recommended. You can follow the restaurant on social media here.