The Muffler is a great place for coffee and hot food/scones/tray bakes and the like that I feel…read moremany people probably drive passed on their way through Balloo and perhaps don't know it is there as it is round the back of the shop/post office facing the main road. The guy that runs it is very nice and welcoming and the food and coffee is pretty decent across the board (scones!!). Also it has a nice atmosphere and is a good place to sit. It is affectively a conservatory that bright and airy and now since Corona pushing more outdoor spaces there are nice picnic tables outside to enjoy in the good weather!

This cafe is up a narrow lane at the side of the SPAR store. It is in a large conservatory. The…read morefood is really good with very unusual selections. My friend had a large slice of quiche which had a complete chicken breast on top while I had salmon with chilli sauce. These came with a selection of excellent salads and were delicious. The items on the menu are also available in the farm shop inside the store. The conservatory is unfortunately somewhat lacking in atmosphere (hence 4 and not 5 stars) but I was assured that this will change with developments planned for the future. It is very well worth a visit.

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

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.

If you are looking for a good healthy and tasty breakfast then look no further. Lots of options…read morethat should appeal to everyone. Everything tasted so clean. This place is something different that the Lisburn Road really needed. The decor is rustic and the staff are wonderful and knowledgeable. They have a wide selection of tray bakes and cakes which cater to anyone with food allergies. For tea connoisseurs, you will be in heaven. This is a refreshing alternative to the big coffee chains on the Lisburn Road.

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.

Came here after hearing great great things from family in the area. We had the shakshuka and…read morecoffee. It was just amazing. And then we had desserts which was just out of this world. Stranfield we will be back

Vegetarian café with great food and ambiance (4.5/5 Green Stars)…read more We stopped here en route to Carlingford on a friend's recommendation and all three of us were very happy we did. The place is lovely - the café is filled with light and plants and the surroundings are beautiful. Mum is a picky eater but she relished the mushroom quiche and finished the entire piece even though it was huge! (Seriously - about three times the size of portions elsewhere.) My brother loved his herbed rice bowl and I liked the organic porridge with fruit and the pistachio plum cake. The only kink was that several items arrived much later than the food - the coffees, bread, and honey for my porridge (I had already finished my porridge by then). The store is filled with great stuff - fresh fruit and veg, and a good selection of some of the most ethical products. Weirdly, the Strandfield website contains no info other than an address, so you have to rely on reviews to get info in advance. The lunch menu is mostly comprised of sourdough pizza, salads (including a quinoa bowl and herbed rice bowl), and sandwiches - see menu photo. There are also lots of bakery items, including freshly baked scones, cakes and wheaten bread (which was really good - I bought one to take home). I'm giving Strandfield café 4.5 out of 5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact, for these reasons: · I didn't actually notice at the time but the menu is 100% vegetarian! · Strandfield uses free range eggs from their own farm. · My porridge was made with organic oats · Flowers and plants in the café come from Stranfield's own nursery · The grocer sources local and organic fruits and vegetables along free range eggs, and organic health foods · The store stocks a really good selection of ethical goods - I could do most of my shopping here if I lived here. · Strandfield would benefit from providing more info (on the website or menu) on ingredient sourcing.

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 !!!

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!

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.

It definitely took me a good ten minutes to work our why this little cafe was littered with little…read morelemon ornaments, lemon shaped candles, lemon wall hangings / plaques, and other associated lemon-esque accessories. As I looked around at the various features, I was left wondering 'why so many lemons?!' And then it hit me. The cafe was called The Lemon Tree, and I hadn't even noticed. How embarrassing. Aside from the lemon tree theme and name, there wasn't a literal lemon to be seen. Not even on my sister's scampi (which was deemed delicious despite the lack of said lemon). Cute name though. The Lemon Tree is somewhere you would imagine to be located in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales. With it's wooden chairs, old-fashioned lace table cloths, huge dark fireplace and low ceilings, this cafe certainly has a very snug and traditional feel to it. The menu reflects this, with a good number of solid 'pub grub' type options, including soup, pies, sandwiches etc. As I previously mentioned, my sister opted for the scampi, which came with a massive side of chunky chips, while I went for the chicken goujons (predictable...as always) with a load of those fab chips, plus a sweet chilli dip. The scampi was gorgeous, the chips were wonderful, and the goujons weren't bad at all. If only they'd been coated in breadcrumbs though...why do these places insist on making them in batter?! A very pleasant, homely experience, which left us well-fed and happy...no bitter tastes whatsoever.

The Lemon Tree from the outside is barely identifiable as a coffee house, it just blends into the…read moremain street of Saintfield as if it were just a house, but inside it is a small and quaint little cafe/ coffee house. I t is not exactly cutting edge here, it is more meeting your granny for a scone and afternoon tea than moccachinos and lattes to energise you and then send you off to a high street of hustle and bustle. They do a range of breakfast meals like fried and pancakes, soups, quiches, salads, sandwiches, wraps, scones and a range of tray bakes, all of a homemade nature. Everything is lovingly made and prepared. Things here are homely, filling and satisfying, if nothing particularly mind-blowing. A chance stop off here will not be a bad choice, though try and go in will someone older or you may feel a bit out of place!