This really is a 'secret' garden…read more My sister and I were seeking a venue for a little treat and she recommended we try here. Afternoon tea without the ridiculous price - perfect. At £24 for two this really is a steal. Sandwiches of your choice, scones (with the usual accompaniments) and some yummy traybakes. This is more like non pretentious, Northern Irish style afternoon tea. With the tray bakes including mini fifteens and malteaser squares. If you are looking for something cutesy, scrumptious and not breaking the bank then look no further! Will definitely be back. Don't forget to check out the gift shop for some trinkets and the perfect gifts for mums.

Well what can I say my mum took me out for lunch to this place over Easter week and I was a bit…read moresceptical. Tea rooms attached to a garden centre, tend not to have the most out there reputation. I'm glad to say my scepticism was blown out of the water. This place is definitely a little gem of Belfast. The actual tea rooms/restaurant are an elegantly appointed building with stunning views of the countryside. You feel like you are in the great hall of some stately Victorian home. Sumptuous décor and a varied and delicious sounding menu. As we were there during the week we availed of the two courses for £9.99 (I think that was the price so apologies if I got this wrong, my mum was paying) We both ordered the soup for starter, Butternut Squash, chilli and coconut. Very tasty and a huge portion, I couldn't finish mine because I wanted to leave room for the main. My mother ordered slow cooked beef brisket, Mash and roast root veg while I had the smoked haddock, creamy bacon and leek sauce and the same sides. I cannot fault the food, it was delicious. My only tipple would have been that a selection of different sides for the fish may have been a little better, Maybe some samphire and potato croquets or some such. We also caught a glimpse of their cram tea on another table which looked stunning (I think the Waitress said it was £20/25 per head) Overall an amazing place for lunch, but it doesn't end there. They also offer a dinner menu Thursday to Saturday and it is BYO so definitely cannot be doing wrong there. I highly recommend this place for lunch or for dinner! If you go for dinner though I think you have to book as this place is making its mark on the map and seems to be getting ever more popular!

WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP! This place in actual fact deserves about 7 stars. It is FAB!!!! Okay, lets get…read moredown to brass tacks here, it is a bit off the beaten track, but you know me I will go to Hell in an hand basket for a good bun and or traybake (wasnt Helena Handbasket a 1970s drag queen??) its a short jaunt off the main road between Bessbrook and Mountnorris, look it up on Google maps or the AA road atlas or ask the sat nav woman to bring you to the door of Bide A While. You really will thank me, honestly this place will put most other eateries in the shade. Some lovely lady decided to build a large annex off the side of her house, now dont get me wrong this is no place for Anne Frank, its a large brightly lit airy conservatory type off shoot from the main house, lovely little tables and chairs not so crammed together that you feel you are almost having sex with the people sitting beside you like in some places I've been. Decor is bright and welcoming, tastefully furnished and with a distinctive homely feel without it being like sitting in your Grannys parlour. Now onto the menu. Tea, coffee and scones £1.50 ONE POUND FIFTY!!??? What, are we back in 1967? Too cheap! Slices of cake £2 and traybakes £1 I mean COME ON, this place is waaaaaay under priced for the absolute quality of stuff you are getting served up. We had soup and 2 THICK slices of the most delicious wheaten bread, a toasted sandwich and side salad, tea for 2, lemon cake and a humungous slice of apple tart, all for £12.80 I mean you just would not get it anywhere else. From what I remember the menu offered in the way of cakes (all I am interested in really) LEMON CAKE COFFEE CAKE LEMON MERENGUE RASPBERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE CAKE CHERRY BAKEWELL CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE APPLE AND STRAWBERRY TART APPLE TART RHUBARB TART SCONES MUFFINS Also on offer ASSORTED TRAYBAKES TOASTED SANDWICHES SOUP SALADS Tea, Coffee etc etc A really delightful menu, I cant say enough good things about this place, really it is an absolute treasure and if you dont try it then you are a fool, well worth the wee trip out into the countryside. She only opens Thursday, Friday and Saturday though. Best service and fayre by far anywhere about, cafes in Newry take note, THIS is how proper food should taste. Love it

First time visit. Very happy we went there. Great quaint restaurant in Carlingford. Excellent…read moreambience and food. Staff were very friendly. Go there if you are in the area.

The atmosphere is relaxed...don't come here if you're in a rush. So many desserts to choose from…read more It was a difficult decision as they all looked mouth watering, however we chose the lemon pie and cake. Perfection!!!! I also loved the egg and onion sandwich. The chicken sandwich was just ok. What a wonderful little spot!

This is such a lovely wee place and I am very fond of it. I have been in here more times than I can…read moreremember over the years, and it's like going back in time, but in a good way. The interior is all wooden panelling, even on the ceiling, with blackboards advertising the specials on offer that day. I normally just have a cup of tea or a light lunch here. Their soups are homemade, and absolutely beautiful, as is their carrot cake, amazing! They do do more substantial food too though if you want something more filling. It's usually quite a busy wee show, but there is plenty of on street parking available, and there is also a lovely veranda with outside seating, which is an absolute sun trap on sunny days!

All home baked food and treats. Staff are so friendly…read more Opens one Saturday a month from 10am to 4pm during North Down Craft Collective fair. Second Sat of month. Their ginger scones are lovely. Soft yet crunchy. Also their sandwiches and soups are lush. The tea room is in a wee room at the back of the hall. Not many seats. Parking can be difficult outside. Park across the street in the church.

This is a cute little coffee shop in downtown Hillsborough. We just stopped for tea so I can't tell…read moreyou how good the food is.

I tried the tea rooms for the first time, last week with my treatments at the spa. £30 for…read moreafternoon tea for two. We had vegetable broth and wheaten, sandwiches (3 or 4 fillings), a large warm scone each and a plate of sweet treats. Everything was delicious, the top tier (desserts) were my Least favourite, but I'm a keen baker and fussy about my desserts. They just weren't my fave. Too sweet and not entirely worth the calories. The scones were amazing, the sandwiches were fresh and plenty for two and the soup and wheaten were delish too. The service and the girls here were excellent. Friendly, helpful and never let our teapot go empty!

Had brunch here yesterday and couldn't recommend it highly enough for choice value and service!…read moreIf you haven't been it's worth the drive out to sample the delicious home style cooking on offer. There's a gift shop which stocks a range of items from quirky wedding favours to baby gifts and some stylish costume jewellery. Well worth a browse and I did! You can also purchase a selection of yummy baked goods to take home from the Pantry bakery. The tea rooms are on 3 or 4 different levels so there's plenty of seating and it's not too cramped either. I had a toasted bagel with cream cheese and bacon. There were 3 thick sliced pieces of lean bacon and a little pot of cream cheese. My friend had a bowl of porridge and honey with a mix of soft fruit on top. We both had a cappuccino which was hot frothy and a good hit of caffeine. We ordered and paid at the counter and our food was served to out table by a friendly chatty member of staff. The place was spotless as were the loos. There's a nice outdoor seating area for those warmer summer days but as it was a mixture of pouring rain and sun so we sat inside.

Went there yesterday as a party of six. The elder waitress who seemed to be in charge was extremely…read morerude. She watched us push our prams to the table, when we finally got to our table and sat down she asked us to take our prams down and leave them outside. No help given on where to place our babies who where too small for a high chairs so we had to set the chair seats on chairs(which took up just as much room). We had phoned ahead to say there would be babies/prams going and it wasn't an issue then. Everything we asked seemed to annoy her and she made us all feel very uncomfortable. The Christmas dinner was edible but not worth making the trip out for. We didn't stay for dessert.

Well I'd guess you could count the number of these soup, coffee and cake places around the country…read moreon one hand and likely have fingers left. When they say here that the food is home made its exactly that; this charming place is part of the home where the delightfully genteel couple who live here with Freddy. Freddy is a Doberman that one could, for now, hold in one arm and love. They had a dog called Charlie but alas it seems Charlie is no more and as anyone who owns pets knows the heartache at their loss we didn't enquire. We had our own Charlie on tow. Well more accurately on his lead. A rather demented and playful Bichon frieze - not ours but our son's. So another plus it's dog friendly even senseless, playful ones. So here we were. To use a Northern Ireland expression we were in the arse end of nowhere surrounded by fields in part of a house where soups, brown scones and cakes are made from scratch on the premises. I've photographed the menu. I had cauliflower & channa dal soup which came with two warm brown scones 'straight out of the oven' and served with a generous wedge of butter. Five star all the way, but if I were being very picky I'd have preferred the scones to have been baked a while longer and some more salt in the recipe, but that's personal taste. The soup was delicious, served hot and it was gently spiced. My wife opted for their vegetable soup again with two brown scones. There was a tomato & red pepper soup on offer too which was impressive given that the cook was operating in a space smaller than our bathroom at home. We were told that their lemon drizzle cake was ace so after the soups we had lemon drizzle and ginger cake. Again truly home made and darn good. Two other cake types were also available one chocolate brownie style and I don't remember the fourth. There isn't a coffee machine so no lattes frappos nor cappuccinos. I had French press (cafeteriere) coffee and my wife opted for hot chocolate. A selection of teas is also available. It's also a craft place with books, paintings, knitwear and similar for sale. As we enjoyed the food and the company I thought about James K a Yelp friend who writes wonderful reviews. He focuses on environmental considerations (green stars) and we should all remember there's no planet B, the earth is our only home. I guess like me he too would approve of the fact that there's no disposable plastic cups here, there's no coffee to go and there's an environmental sawdust eco toilet out back. I bet James that there's not many of these toilets in coffee bars in California and if that doesn't warrant 5 green stars for this place then I don't know what would.

In between my three visits separated by a whole year, I can't believe I'm still the first to review…read morethis exceptional patisserie... the definitive hidden gem! I honestly didn't expect to find such top notch French pastries in Northern Ireland (and see my French patisserie list in case you think I've not had my share!!). But, I looked through Instagram pictures of Lazy Claire in July 2018, checked a bunch of websites, found nothing on them (they've since developed a strong reputation locally), and walked in to find delectable made-from-scratch pastries. The surprise didn't end there. The owner, Daniel, introduced himself to me and told me that he's originally from Alabama... though he did learn his craft at Angelina in Paris. I'm glad I walked in, per habit, around the time a bakery opens (9 am in this case on weekdays). Glad because I was the first customer. The guy after me looked around the display cases and casually asked for 4 butter croissants and 5 chocolate croissants (or vice versa). I turned around to look at him and exclaimed: you bought everything! He pretended as if he didn't know. Though he clearly did (given the mismatched order size). Daniel laughed and told me I'd been lucky. He's a wonderful conversationalist and I spent an hour chatting up with him as he shared his experience of living and operating a business in Belfast. The croissants were flaky with layers of rolled dough, but the shatter effect was more prominent the day Daniel was working. (I'm not dinging the other bakers, they were considerate people having recognized me from back to back visits) I also tried the macarons, but loved the Millefeuille and pistachio eclairs more. I wish I'd been there around December to try the Black Forest bûche de Noël. It looked lovely on Instagram. The New Yorker in me believes one can walk around any city in the world, but I'd forgotten all about "the troubles" on my way to the patisserie. If you're a tourist and don't know your way around the city, be prepared to cab it back to your hotel. Lazy Claire is a can't miss experience in Belfast. Even though, you're probably there for the GoT tours...

From the owner: Lazy Claire Patisserie is one of the truest French patisseries in Belfast and Northern Ireland…read more Each pastry is handmade on site by our chefs using pure ingredients to classic French recipes. We offer items that you would be hard to find outside of France.