Called in here yesterday for a sneaky lunch after a workshop in Scrabo children's centre…read more This place is beautiful albeit small place..but that adds to the charm It's a renovated gatelodge (hence the name) and it is awesome! Has an old world charm about it mixed with modern touches with vintage fireplaces, bare stone walls as well as trendy lighting and beautiful canvasses on the walls The food was lush! The menu is quite small as it caters for the breakfast/lunch crowd...but had a good selection of sandwiches, salads, lite bites and homemade pastries like sausage rolls & buns The best thing though, has to be that this place is in collaboration with Stepping Stones NI, which allows training for adults with a learning disability or difficulty, helping them gain employment and life skills. Profits from this place go to help Stepping Stones NI regenerate their funds and provide ongoing support for adults who need it. What a fab place, with a brilliant ethos and a fantastic atmosphere, food & staff! We'll be back down in Newtonards in the near future, and will defo be making another visit!

While killing time between hospital appointments I thought I would treat myself to a coffee in this…read moreplace. Now I know this building well as it is the actual Gatelodge for Ards hospital and years ago it used to be the accommodation for the junior doctors who worked there. It has been beautifully renevated maintaining the charm and character of the old gatelodge while blending in a new building. It is run by a charitable organisation who helps support people in the work place with learning disabilities , so all the profits go back into supporting this project . Inside the building there has been a great deal of thought put into making use of every area and it is so well laid out even incorporating an outdoor seating area. There is a variety of seating , ranging from tables for two to sofa seating for bigger groups. The service is excellent ordering at your table or at the counter and it being brought to you.The menu ranges from breakfast to tea with quite a wide choice of good quality food. I sampled a cappuccino and cherry scone both of which were moreish! All in all my experience of The Gatelodge was not only a trip down memory lane but also a pleasant relaxing cuppa in tasteful surroundings and I definitely will be back again and I won't need a hospital appointment as an excuse to do so!

It's an out - of - town drive thru with Scrabo tower as a backdrop; I've never driven through a…read moredrive - thru for a coffee and I didn't this time either. I went in, I ordered two extra shot tall cappuccinos, one with sugar free vanilla syrup and I brought my own cups so two pretty good coffees £6. There was plenty of room inside but we sat at tables outside as it was warm enough, for a change, as our summer has been pretty much a washout. The WiFi is fast but doesn't even work outside at the seats and that's pretty lousy. There's a Tim Horton's drive thru close by and a BurgerKing. I liked Horton's coffee while in Canada but here it's not great so I don't bother and don't intend to bother. Starbucks will do when there nothing better nearby. This Starbucks was clean, bright and airy with the air con working very effectively. There were three friendly staff serving and they were under a bit of pressure and not really coping adequately.

I want to work here! You don't have to offer the customers any greetings when serving them. No eye…read morecontact either. You can chat away to your co workers rather than keep the floors, tables and chairs clear of coffee drinking detritus. All in all a great job!

Located in the middle of Ards Shopping Centre is Esquires café, when I say middle I mean middle, In…read moreArds shopping centre at one end is Asda and at the other is Tesco's, if these two were rival boxers then Esquires would be the referee in the middle of the ring. Esquires is cramped, it is always jam packed and you always have to have a little scout about to see if you can grab a place. You have to go to the counter and order before you are seated so it is always a gamble to see if you will be eating your food standing up or on the benches outside. Luckily for me today I managed to snipe in and grab a table just as a pensioner propped herself up with her walking stick. The reason Esquires is busy is that it provides great food portions for a small price. Today we got a 2 Panini's and a cup of tea for under a tenner. Even the coffee cups were massive (see photo for evidence, notice spoon for scale, im a real detective) The only problem with this is that the bottom of your coffee is often cold because it takes so long to get there. Despite how busy the café was the service was impeccable, we were served as soon as our hands touched the counter and the food was with us within 15 minutes. The food itself was excellent, thick bits of bacon crammed inside a perfectly toasted Panini accompanied by a fresh side salad and thick crisp cut potato wedges. I struggled to finish it and Im a pretty god eater. The staff were excellent too, courteous, quick and attentive. Perfect for a quick pit stop before continuing your shop.

One of the best cafe's in North Down. Great food and service. The egg and chips are great and they…read moredo a lovely fry breakfast which you can get all day. Nice choice of ice cream as well

My fiance and I always have an Ulster fry every Saturday -it's a great wee treat. I shouldn't be…read moresurprised when my clothes are tight on me! As we are always in Ards on a Saturday morning we always try different local places in our bid to find the ultimate fry for the best price. So far we have tried several places but we always come back to Cafe Mocha. There are several reasons. First of all the seating plan is perfect; if you want peace and quiet go upstairs or sit down stairs among the crowd at spacious tables if you prefer a bit more noise. Secondly, the tea pots don't dribble - this may seem trivial but this is a rarity I find. Thirdly, the fry comes with potato bread, soda bread and toast - essential packing. Also, the staff ask how you like your eggs - not many places do this but a runny egg can make your fry. I sound like a fry-freak but I do love a good fry. You also have the option of beans, which personally I feel are essential for a fry. Anyway, the cafe does sell more than just fries, you can get delicious milkshakes and gorgeous sandwiches at lunchtime. £6.25 for a choice of three fillings in a panini and a tea or coffee or a lovely, hearty vegetable broth for just £2.75! The fry quest continues but I think Cafe Mocha will be hard to beat!

Situated on the corner of High Street in Ards, Cafe Mocha certainly looks the part…read more We were parked nearby on a Wednesday lunchtime, and I was trying to locate the nearest newsagents to get myself a bottle of water and a packet of sandwiches, but we decided to call in here instead. The cafe is spread over two floors, and the decor is very modern and up to date. We did have reservations about this place before we went in, I must admit. I'n my experience, places like this are usually sickeningly overpriced and have an upsettingly small menu, but refreshingly, this is not the case with Cafe Mocha. They have a great menu of all the lunchtime meals I love, such as soups, sandwiches, toasties and a selection of hot food. We both decided to go for the baked potatoes, one with cheese and the other with tuna, and they were proper baked potatoes, not that microwaved muck that other places try to palm you off with. AND they were only £2.95 each. Bargain!

Well, Toasted turned out to be quite the little treat! With about a half hour to kill between the…read morepoint we had to drop our daughter off for school and then be back in time to see her play, we didn't have too many options, and as a result called in here. I've seen the sign out on the main road (which would be easy to miss) every day as it's on my commute to work and yet I've never been in. So this worked out well. What a great hidden gem, loved this place. If you're looking for it, it is opposite the attendant-less Maxol garage, down the side of the used car place. The décor has all the hallmarks of a trendy contemporary coffee shop/deli, nothing too original, but to their credit they have distilled the design to the best elements of it and then executed the layout very well, so it's a nice place to be. The staff were great too which I love as there is little to endear a place to me more quickly than nice people working there who are nice, not through customer training but because they are just good folks!! The food when was great, a wide range of mouth-watering choices are clearly displayed across the huge menu..... which is the entire back wall of the place. It has been painted in blackboard paint and the menu chalked up in big clear writing. The prices although on the higher end of average aren't extortionate by any means so I wouldn't call it cheap eats but you get top quality food and service for just north of average price. The coffee was great, which is an essential element for me and the last thing I ate was a scone..... as we were there so early, it was freshly backed and still warm from the oven......................... so so good!

Nice little find 5 mins from our vacation home. amazing baked goods, solid breakfast and proper…read morecoffee.

At £8-35 for three biscuits and two teas I thought this place was over priced for all you get. Try…read moreelse where first.

I feared for the future of this place whenever Costa coffee moved into the store right opposite the…read morestore but it has managed to keep itself up and running somehow which is credit to the store, which I find impressive as the cafe is frankly bland at best. My first time in here was with my brother a few years back when I had started university and the torrent of coffee shops in our fair isle was only beginning. We were aghast to pay £1.80 for a big croissant, but unfortunately little did we know that this would be the sign of things to come...... This place has developed a bit recently and it serves a wide range of sandwiches, bagels, wraps, baguettes, paninis and toasties along with another things like soup and some breakfast options. Unfortunately nothing is overly great, the decor and seats in here are basic and due to the open plan nature you feel really exposed sitting eating here, as if everyone is watching you, which is a feeling best avoided!

Love the drunken noodles!! Soo good. Great service. Wish we were local here and wish we would have…read morefound it sooner.

I've recently noticed this interesting new addition to William Street, Newtownards, and decided to…read morecheck it out. Well, absolutely "je ne regrette rien"! It's reputation has already deservedly led to its being booked out on midweek evenings so that when I walked in at 6.30pm as a prospective solitary diner, I was lucky to get the one table which still had an hour to spare. I'm glad it was available because what I had was totally top notch to the extent that this would now be my first recommendation for an evening restaurant in Newtownards. I really really like satay so ordered the chicken satay skewers. These were not swimming or drowning in sauce as with so many popular joints. They were neat and all the more photogenic for it, while still tasting delicious. I could also have ordered a satay main course as there was one on the specials menu but I decided not to look like an obsessive and so I ordered the masaman in veggy form, with jasmine rice. This was served with a knife and fork but with the flavour being in the liquid, I asked for a spoon and got it. I'm loath to waste the tastiest part of the dish and therefore think that a spoon should be standard without asking! I look forward to a return visit.

If you are around the business park and you need a quick lunch, then go to the Trading post coffee…read morehouse. It has a good choice of Panini, Cabatta, wraps and sandwiches. It has cooked breakfasts, pizza and salads too. I opted for a Southen Belle panini, whch came with some side salad and creamy coleslaw. Decent enough lunch for only £4.45, nice latte for afterwards. My wee son enjoyed a sausage roll. Plenty of high chairs available. Nice little cafe with attentive staff.

Lovely inside and excellent food. It's good.to see lots of healthy options too. Staff are greatread more

Dundonald Old Mill is a lovely place for homely comfort food like mince steak pie, chicken and ham…read morepie, chicken and broccoli bake etc with a range of side salads like bean salad, carrot and orange salad etc. I think you could get potatoes or chips but the salads are too nice not to have. More recently they have been advertising Slimmer's Choice dishes. Decor includes Ards TT memorabilia and information about waterwheels and the history of this mill and its wheel.

Wet, miserable, gloomy and cold. A typical summer's day in Northern Ireland. Well, they're not all…read morethat bad, but this one really was spectacularly bad. My friend had popped round for a wee visit, so rather than twiddle our thumbs for an afternoon, I decided we should head off to the Old Mill. Dundonald Old Mill maintains one of Ireland's oldest water wheels, which has been restored in recent years. It's quite a pleasant sight. The 250 year old building consists of a gorgeous gift shop and a quaint coffee shop. Despite having lived a short distance to the Old Mill for thirteen years, never had I once been to the coffee shop, so I was mightily intrigued. The coffee shop lies above the gift shop, kind of like an open-plan attic (if you can possibly have such a thing), and it's decorated in a pretty farmhouse style, gingham tableclothes and the like. My friend ordered coke, and I had a magnificent honeycombe sundae in the tallest glass I have ever seen. Despite the weather, and the time of day (approx 4pm), the coffee shop was still fairly busy, but very chilled. Just how I like it. I've paid a visit to the gift shop several times, and it's a good'un. Very well stocked, with lots of lovely mill memorabilia to take home. Definitely worth a visit. The pensioners certainly love it.