The Olive Bizarre is a great place to get anything from a nicely prepared coffee and a top notch…read moretray bake to afternoon tea served on one of those little stands with the dainty sandwiches and buns all lined up to be turned into a feeling of satisfaction and a small pile of crumbs. The food is up there with the best of them for the most part, just falling (very slightly) short of the standards of the likes of Picnic in Killyleagh. On the other hand though the place is more spacious and comfortable that the aforementioned eatery and has a nice view out over the bay. The staff are friendly and helpful and the quirky décor is a pleasure. Even the toilets have Astroturf walls! Although it may be a little less convenient that some of the places closer to the centre of Newcastle it's worth going the 2 minute up the road (in the car) to give this place a whirl.

Great location here in Newcastle over looking the sea. Especially if u are lucky enough to get a…read moreseat outside. Quirky decor and variety of homemade food options. The afternoon tea looked amazing and very popular as it is Jam packed. I went for a quiche which was delish!

Coffee was okay to me nothing really exceptional but didnt try the food so i cant say much about…read morethe food but all i can say the coffee was pretty basic to me. Cheers!

Fresh food. Great service by friendly staff, particularly Jen! Authentic maple syrup and freshly…read moremade pancakes. Highly recommend.

Wanted to find a nice local spot for brunch while we were in Belfast. This was a 5 min walk from…read moreour AirBnB. It looked like a serious coffee shop, so we decided to give it a try. This was a great choice. I grabbed a cinnamon roll, and ordered a cup of their filtered coffee (they no longer offer Chemex, sadly) and an order of poached eggs on toast with a side of bacon. This was something new for me, and I loved the simplicity of it. The sourdough toast was amazing, and the poached eggs went with it perfectly. High marks for the bacon also! Service was quick, and everything was brought out promptly. This is a nice coffee shop, plenty of seating, and a quiet place to have a conversation or get some work done. I know the people in the UK love their tea, but I would happily be a regular here if I lived in Belfast.

The food, service, and vibes were immaculate! Would definitely recommend this place to anyone for…read morebreakfast.

Rumour's Coffee House has recently opened up in what for many years, used to be the old 'Twilight…read moreZone' gaming centre. It has a great position right in the centre of the town, with fantastic views of the castle and Belfast Lough. The inside is bright and has lots of seating. They offer the usual teas and coffees, with an amazing range of milkshakes, soft drinks and hot chocolate. I had a bacon butty when I visited which was delicious, but they also have a good range of sandwiches, sweet treats, and waffles! Limited parking is available on the street outside, and further up Main Street. Failing that there is lots of free parking available in the Castle Car Park, just a short walk away.

Superb coffee and I'm a coffee snob! Moist scones with good jam. A great view to boot.read more

We stopped into the Yard coffee house while walking through/exploring Castletown in the Isle of…read moreMan. We stopped in just for a cappuccino and tea, but they had an amazing afternoon tea special for 11.95 for two which contained either coffee (cappuccino) or tea and two platters full of various types of sandwiches and deserts. It was probably big enough for four people and we definitely couldn't finish it, although it was not for lack of trying. Service was quick and friendly and it was a pleasant atmosphere. It is a large place which allows for it to get quite busy. It was a quiet weekend when we were there, but it was still quite busy. If anything, I would say that would be a testament to the quality of this place.

I went in and ordered a hot chocolate. It was far from hot and very cold!. The service wasn't good,…read morethere was crumbs on our table and I had to clear them all off There was a creepy looking man staring at the other table and nobody seemed to care Not going back

Couldn't rate this place highly enough…read more Their food is delicious and the coffee is just unbelievable and the variety of food and coffee. My wife and I go every time we are in Ballymena and we will continue too.

Great spot this. I was new to the spa experience when I went here for the first time a couple of…read moreyears ago under duress. I was a convert pretty soon after getting to the place. Thanks to an overnight mid-week deal which they run throughout the year (check their website for it) we got a package, for a night, dinner and breakfast and unlimited use of the spa for the duration of the stay. My better half assured me I would like spas but I only went for the promise of a night in a nice hotel and being fed like a foie gras goose. Firstly the hotel surpassed my expectations, immaculately kept, luxurious furnishings and attentive, welcoming and friendly staff. Everything you'd hope to find if you were going to a hotel that you already expected to be a cut above the standard. The food was good too, to be completely honest although good, it was just a fraction below a standard that would be in keeping with the rest of the place. The breakfast was excellent so this just applies to the dinner. We were given a separate menu as part of the deal were there on so perhaps that is why, I've never eaten in the restaurant as a 'normal' diner, just when staying on the deal and eating off the deal menu. Finally the spa, it was amazing, a great pool with various massage features around it, 3 different types of sauna/steam room type things and, a fountain the dispenses ice shavings to close your pores after the hot treatments and two full body massage showers. There are too many other little touches and facilities that made the experience top class to go into here, so I'd urge you to try it for yourself as I've been quite a few times now and never yet been let down.

It was a cool, dry 5c this morning in this Irish border town. It was St Patrick's day eve…read more We were in the town's 'legal quarter' near their courts where people receive the law rather than 'justice'. The two are rarely seen together and when they are often it's unintended. Unlike my Yelp friend Grey, who seems rarely to slow or stop, I arose early reluctantly on this morning, as I normally only do so to go on holiday, but I had agreed to assist someone negotiate a complex matter that once done with the dotted line signed (it was a dotted line) a human life saw a familiar world change utterly completely in a few seconds and I believe very likely for the better. We'll see. As we left the official task which took a whole 25 minutes we enquired about good coffee from our host, who pointed us to 23 Seats just a short walk away from our Roden place venue. We were assured it was wonderful. It was. The wall sign above the door reads 23 eats until you get close enough to see the S wedged into the front wall. They've done well if they have 23 seats. I doubt they could host 23 folks simultaneously. I didn't count them but it sure is a compact and bijou coffee place. It's within Dundalk town centre, with character and a soul; quirky music tastes, environmentally focussed, and vegans cheerfully catered for oh and I smile to confirm its pet friendly too. We only needed good coffee and that's what we got: we opted for one cappuccino and one flat white - €6 for both. We paid up front by card so we could just go when we were done. We had a table near the rear entrance and, as they were receiving a delivery, it wasn't pleasant as a chilly damp breeze came through the door left open. This is one of those places that are now rare to me as I really want to go back to explore their food selections as it's not a typical coffee stop - they think about the environment and they focus on meeting diverse customer needs. So five green stars. I'm not a vegan but if the ingredients are to my taste I couldn't care less about the label. Who wants chemical filled food of food coloured by derivatives from the crude oil and petroleum industry; I'd rather not. The staff too were charming despite the huge pressures small independent businesses and poorer families must faces for at least the next five years. We in the West are in a war economy between Wu flu and a lunatic white supremacist admired maybe emboldened by a (now thankfully) former US president; an autocrat with unfettered power, who has accumulated personal wealth and with his mongrel side-kick seems to think they can control 45 million people against their will with in humane force. I do not wish him well.

I have discovered the chai latte and an amazing pizza : CHEESE LOVER…read more I remember one waiter soooooo cool. An institution in dundalk !!!