Chris Magowan is a Northern Ireland native who has returned home after a long stint in the UK where he worked at Richard Corrigan’s London restaurants for 12 years. Prior to that, he was Sous Chef for Pierre Koffmann at La Tante Claire, and spent nearly five years working for Gary Rhodes before that.
Wine and Brine is his first restaurant which he opened with his wife Davina. It’s on the Main Street in Moira in a Georgian-fronted building. The clue is in the name. It showcases pickled, brined and fermented foods using Northern Irish produce with a lot of ingenuity and flair.
Snacks are around £3-4, starters at £6-9 and mains at around £10-£17 from a seasonally driven menu that changes on a weekly basis.
“We just want a really nice casual vibe to the place. We have knocked the walls down and opened up the kitchen, so the kitchen is going to be part of the restaurant.”
Make a date to go soon. This Great British Menu chef really knows his stuff!
Donnybrewer Butter is made the good old-fashioned way. It’s churned in small batches with the freshest cream available. The buttermilk is washed off in clean, cold water before the butter is sea-salted. It’s then formed into a distinctive hexagonal shape before being packaged in waxed paper- just like they used to do.
Husband and wife, Richard and Alison Leighton are both from Eglinton and both from farming backgrounds. They have qualifications in Agriculture so they have an understanding of the factors affecting the compositional quality of the cream used to make the butter. Alison’s grandparents used to demonstrate churning of butter. Her father inherited the churn which he brought out Christmas 2010 to make some butter- this ignited their interest in churning. They are passionate about good quality local food, produced as naturally as possible using natural ingredients.
Taste this amazing butter at Brown’s Restaurants in Derry and Letterkenny, Ardtara House, Pier 59, Strand Road, Derry, The Sooty Olive, Spencer Road, Derry and The White Horse Hotel, Clooney Road, Campsie.
This café and bakery, which was developed on the site of a burnt-out bar in West Belfast, officially opened for business in June 2015. The interior, which spans two floors, has been admired by many customers. Some of the fixtures inside have been salvaged from the old building, which was formerly the Oak Bar.
It’s on the busy Grosvenor Road, directly across from the entrance to the Royal Victoria Hospital. If you’re one of the many who come here for breakfast, lunch, or coffee and a muffin, you’re also doing some good. This is also a social enterprise. All profits help provide education and training opportunities to people who need them.
Among the most popular items on the menu are the homemade soups with mini wheaten bread, freshly baked sausage rolls with secret recipe Loaf relish, and the daily selection of buns, pastries and traybakes. They use local producers like Suki Tea and Keenan’s Seafood.
All of the food served is prepared on site by Loaf, which also runs a successful outside-catering business in the greater Belfast area. Loaf’s produce is also sold at its sister social enterprise, The Bobbin at Belfast City Hall. The three outlets are operated by parent organisation NOW Group.
If you want to eat in a place where absolutely every item on the menu is homemade, then 4 Vicars in Armagh is for you. It’s owned and managed by Gareth and Kasia Reid.
They do every single thing in-house from the bread, soups, stocks, sauces, scones, biscuits, ice-creams, chocolates, jam and the chutney.
They serve Koffy coffee from Newry and Suki Tea from Belfast with homemade scones and pastries all day. Lunch is from 12pm-3pm consisting of soups, salads, pates/terrines, great local seafood, meat and poultry, desserts and homemade ice-creams.
The Dinner menu is elegant and inventive again using great local seafood, meats, poultry. Sunday lunch is a fixed price 2 or 3 course menu offering the best of local produce in a simple way. All menus change weekly and most lunch menus change daily.
There’s a superb wine list with great value further down for connoisseurs, so it’s worth taking your time to peruse it.
Opening hours: 10am – 4pm Wednesday through Sunday.
Dinner on Friday and Saturday Evening 6.30pm – 9pm
They call the East Belfast district of Ballyhackamore Ballysnackamore these days because there are so many good places to eat but our favourite is absolutely this place. Graze’s owners John Moffatt and Neil Johnston have decades of experience in the hospitality industry between them. That experience means you will enjoy great food and drink with impeccable service in a lovely atmosphere.
They know what the ingredients are for an unforgettable meal. They are major champions of local produce from vegetables from the Ards Peninsula and the best beef, chicken and fish to craft ciders and beers on their blackboards.
There are also dedicated vegetarian and gluten free menus. The Sunday roast special is something of a local tradition now, as they have brought back a sharing Sunday meal for the whole family, their midweek offering is a fantastic early bird which consists of a meal for two and a carafe of wine for just £25! No wonder you have to book. They have just launched Graze @ Home where they offer private bespoke dining in the comfort of your own home.
There’s a new lounge at Level One so you can relax after your fine repast. Why not try one of their Wine, Gin, and Champagne or Port-themed nights?
Opening Hours
Mon – Thur Fri – Sat Sun
12-3 12-3 12-8
5-9 5-10
We’re very proud of our tradition of great independent home bakeries and the Rosehip (formerly the Windsor) is a prime example. It’s been churning out soft loaves and sticky buns to its loyal customers since 1957.
It’s been refurbished and the interior is now bursting with colour. The paper lanterns are a real statement. They like to think their place is for Food Lovers, Coffee Drinkers, Family Meeters and Friendly Greeters.
It’s open 7 days a week for brilliant breakfasts, luscious lunches and the in-betweens. The uber-popular Sunday brunch could be a classic Ulster Fry, a veggie version, Eggs Any Way or Porridge to name a few options.
Sweets-wise, there are all the usual bakery treats you would expect like chocolate brownies and cupcakes as well as Glastry Farm ice-cream from the counter. Their yummy afternoon tea includes sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, fresh cream pastries and your favourite traybakes all served with tea or coffee. All that for just £8.50 per person? Absolutely, which is why we’re on our way.
