Philip AKA the Javaman started selling coffee from a little cart in Donegal Arcade in Belfast way back in 1998. At the time coffee carts were part of the coffee revolution in cities like Seattle where they could be found on every street corner. That same coffee cart is still used today at Belfast’s St George’s Market on market days.
He developed the business by providing speciality coffee at events. His first mobile coffee unit was a Little Ape Piaggio Italian coffee van that he brought back from Italy in 2001. Almost 10 years later, he and his wife Maribeth opened their first shop on Oxford Street in St George’s market and started roasting coffee. They now do a daily micro-roast in store. That means their customers get the freshest coffee possible. Philip and Maribeth’s mission is to source interesting coffee beans, roast them daily and encourage our customers to try before buying. Sounds good to us.
Their goal for 2015 is to purchase a much larger coffee roaster so they can wholesale coffee to restaurants and bars around Northern Ireland. We can’t wait!
Modern Irish food is the order of the day at the Sooty Olive. The name comes from an old Irish lough fly for fly fishing. Head chef Sean Harrigan’s brother and business partner caught his largest brown trout on a sooty olive fly.
Sean is a massive fan of local, seasonal produce like Broighter Gold rapeseed oil from nearby Limavady and fish from Donegal Prime. He gets his meat from Higgins in Castlerock and his poultry from Glynn Valley. Those ingredients go into best-selling dishes like Grant’s Pork Belly with mini Scotch egg, McCarthy’s black pudding and apple puree. Yum! Everything from the breads to the chutneys and dressings are all made in-house. The menu changes every three months, but you get the idea. Sean’s a green-fingered type, too.
They run a house menu all day every day with no time restrictions. It’s just £15.95 for 2 courses and £18.95 for 3 courses. This casual dining restaurant has its own polytunnel in association with the local Derry charity, the HOPE project. That’s where they grow salads and micro-herbs. We love food that tastes good and does good, and you will love this place. Make sure to try one of the many craft beers.
Opening hours 12- 9 Mon to Thurs, 12-10 Fri and Sat, 1-9 Sunday
With the opening of their authentic Italian pizzeria ‘The Flaming Crust’ in December 2014, The White Horse Inn is always growing. The Flaming Crust, based in the basement of the White Horse Inn, import all their meats, flour, cheeses and olive oil from Italy. Along with the authentic ingredients, all the dishes are cooked in the wood fired oven directly in front of the customers, adding something different to dinner. But they believe local produce is the best way to go for their sauces from Red Dog Foods, Kilkeel.
The White Horse Inn’s kitchen team has grown over this past year, and their dishes are becoming more exciting than ever. With a vision of using the freshest and best local produce that Northern Ireland has to offer. Whether it is fresh Strangford Lough mussels or fresh daily vegetables delivered from County Down.
Our vision is not an inclusive one, as we make use off and continue to forge links with the best of local artisan suppliers. With the most recent arrival of ‘Tempted Cider’ from Lisburn that is used to create the jus for our ‘Irish Pork Plate’ and ‘Abernethy Hand Churned Butter’ from Dromore is the perfect accompaniment to our fresh ‘House Made Breads’ such as Irish Rosemary and Seat Salt or Belfast Black Wheaten.
With our own Whitewater Brewery just down the road in Kilkeel, this ensures a wide variety of craft brewed ales, lager and stout are served in cask and keg on draught in the main bar, the excellent accompaniment to good food.
Opening hours;
Bar – Mon – Sat: 11.30am to late / Sun: 12 noon – late
Bistro – Mon – Thu: 11.30am – 8.00pm / Fri – Sat: 11.30am – 9.00pm / Sun: 12 noon – 8.00pm
Flaming Crust – Wed-Fri: 5.00pm to late / Sat: 4pm to late / Sun: 3pm to late
Whitewater Brewing Company was established in 1996 on the family farm in the heart of the Mourne Mountains, near Kilkeel. Since then, the craft beer scene has really taken off, and Whitewater produces some of the best brews around.
A string of awards have followed including their Belfast Lager winning Best Overall Lager in the 2009 International Beer Challenge and more recently, Top Lager at the 2013 Irish Quality Food & Drink Awards.
They make sure to use only the finest ingredients in their range of ales, lager and stout. Once you taste them, you’ll be hooked.
Papas Mineral Company is a small local manufacturer of speciality drinks and cordials based in Bangor, County Down. It came about in 1999 due to a demand for high quality drinks and cordials free from artificial flavours, colours and sweeteners. Ever since, Papas has become one of the market leaders in Northern Ireland. Customers say these nostalgic drinks remind them of their childhood.
The ever popular non-alcoholic ginger wine is made from a 100 year old recipe. It packs a mighty kick when paired with whiskey to make a “whiskey mac”, but it’s equally good mixed with soda water.
The spiced winterberry cordial is lovely with hot water in the colder months. Add it to red wine for an instant mulled wine, without the faff. The light and summery elderflower cordial is a winner with Prosecco and the newest concoction; Clove cordial is already a firm favourite.
The latest brand to launch onto the local culinary scene is an artisan chain of coffee shops called Synge & Byrne. Its identity is based on two fictional characters, Synge and Byrne, whom together reflect the diversity of Northern Ireland – urban with rural, industrial with agricultural, modern with traditional, all blended in a harmonious mix of coffee and cuisine.
All ingredients for the menu are sourced from local suppliers and sprinkled lovingly with an international twist. The choice of sandwiches, toasted ciabattas, wraps and daily hot specials are guaranteed to tickle you tastebuds, while the handpicked quality beans for the barista style coffee recreates a vision of Sicily in the summertime, even on a wet Wednesday in winter.
However, Synge & Byrne offers its customers something more than simply a gourmet sandwich and a well made cup of coffee; it provides a welcoming place to enjoy the richness of Ireland’s home delights and also the chance to savour the ambience that each individual outlet creates. Whether you want a quick bite when shopping, a catch-up with friends or a coffee hit between meetings, the extensive Synge & Byrne menu has you covered.
