You’ll probably have seen the Head Chef/Partner Chris Bell on the BBC’s Great British Menu programme. This Ballymena boy is a seriously gifted chef with techniques most in the trade can only dream of mastering.

The Eagle Bar and Grill at Galgorm Golf Club is his latest gig. The menu is full of classics like Irish stew and spring onion potato bread and pork belly and brisket. Perfect after doing 9 or 18 holes but utterly delicious enough to make a special trip. If you’re just after a light bite, the soup options are also that little bit special. We loved the spiced pumpkin one with gingerbread.

Chris knows how good our local ingredients are, so the meat’s from Hannan’s, the rapeseed oil is Broighter Gold and the butter is from Abernethy’s in Dromara…

We just know you’ll love whatever’s on offer the day you go and the many days you’ll return after that.

The good people of Ballycastle and the surrounding area have been loyal to this place for decades. An independent home bakery with the second generation of the Donnelly family manning the ovens and an award winning coffee shop upstairs – its a gem . It stands for great taste , great quality and great value . Call in and take your pick of traditional breads , delicious pastries and hot savouries made daily since 1978 or sit in and enjoy a home made meal or cappuccino with a tasty treat .

Right bang in the heart of the shopping district, it’s all about good traditional food at purse-friendly prices. We love the café’s  Ulster fry but the Roast of the Day is always very tempting , as is the Irish stew and freshly made soup .They also do a range of vegetarian and children’s options.

The coffee shop is air conditioned with Wifi to help you keep in touch .

Needless to say, all of the ingredients are locally sourced like eggs from the glens , fish from the sea of Moyle and meat from the local butchers . They do a wide range of ethnic and European bakes, but their core products are traditional Irish with a Scottish influence.

Check out their range of health breads, but those sweets and savouries may also make their way onto your plate. They’re just too good.

There is no excuse to miss breakfast or lunch with

Opening Hours:

Bakery Mon – Sat 07.00 – 18.00

Coffee Shop Mon- Sat 08.00 – 18.00

 

A night at the dogs is great fun, but it’s even better when the food is as good as it is at Drumbo Park. The Grandstand Restaurant is most certainly a venue with a panoramic view. It’s on the first floor so you can look through the glass-fronted windows at the action on the track below.

The menu is seasonal and ingredients are sourced from independent local suppliers where possible. The chicken and pork comes from Crossgar,
the beef from Vincent Doran’s. Crowd pleasers like the Award winning 10oz Sirloin Steak sit alongside trends like Slow Roast Pork Belly Pan Fried Greens and there’s a wonderful Mixed Share Platter for Starters. Ask for the Winning Trio for dessert you’ll be onto a Winner for sure.

They do full waiter service on race nights you can even place bets from your table. There are large plasma screens dotted around the stadium too, so there’s no way you’ll miss any of the action on the two race nights a week.

There’s no law saying you can’t go without a little flutter either. This is a restaurant in its own right and well worth a visit.

Open Fri and Sat night for racing.

Restaurant opening hours 6.15 to 11.45

The clue is in the name here. Anton Campbell’s place majors on meat. The beef has been fed on the green green grass of home and aged for 28 days.

Just taste it hot from the chargrill and you will swoon. The open coals make it delectably smoky and the accompanying tobacco onions are sinfully good.

But it’s not all bull here. Anton is a passionate advocate of using local, seasonal ingredients. There’ll be a very decent fish dish on too, (we had the turbot with surf clams) and the ribs are another must-try. They have been given the five star treatment before they’re even cooked.

You’ll go back time and again to give the menu a good going over. The £5 lunch special is the big on value and even bigger on taste.

This train-themed restaurant is something of a local institution. There are original train seats and windows as well as carriage booths, hence the name. But it’s not all style over substance. This family-run place started out as a pizzeria 25 years ago and now serves super steaks and gorgeous gammon.

We love that they source as many local ingredients as possible. Like all the cool places these days, they have their own restaurant garden. The team of chefs cures their own bacon on the premises, age their own steaks and make their own corned beef and sausages.

They’ve got a new midweek menu with scrummy offerings like sliced Irish ham in parsley and cheese sauce and a massive Ulster fry. If it’s just a quick snack you’re after, you HAVE to have the barley winter vegetable broth. It tastes like your Granny’s.

Granny might have made a similar apple crumble, but even she may not have matched the hot cinnamon roulade. It’s a spiced delight.

This café in a department store is the perfect pit-stop during a marathon shopping session, but it’s also a destination in its own right. Lisburn people know it’s great for everything from breakfast to brunch, lunch, coffee and dinner. Those strawberry and coconut scones are a meal in their own right.

We love their motto “Where Time is Irrevelant”. Who wouldn’t lose themselves in chicken and ham-pie with chips all made from scratch in their kitchen? They’re on the hot counter come noon alongside yummy soups, stew of the day and speciality breads to name but a few. Fresh salads and cold meats too.Needless to say, they use great local produce where possible.

Their Pink Pavlova is their signature dish and has to be seen to be believed. But then again, you might prefer the Hot Chocolate Fudge Cake or the Lemon Meringue. This place is nirvana if you have a sweet tooth, No wonder they make so many cakes for parties.

Why not save yourself from having to cook dinner and try something from their takeaway deli, no washing up either!

Their food is so good that customers urged them to open late. So they do, every Thursday night until 10:30pm.