"People who love to eat are always the best people." -Julia Child (1912-2004)…read more One of the stops on our Belfast food tour, Sawers was a tremendous hit. Crowded at lunchtime on a weekday, we managed to nab a table when another couple finished their meal. It's super busy and inside, it's full of gourmet delights. Anyone who thinks Northern Ireland doesn't have good good needs to come here. Smoked salmon on toasted bread, hard Irish cheese, crunchy baguette, sliced turkey, even chilli sauce and something called "black butter." Oh, and wine. You can't have a midday snack without wine, right? Much/most of the food here is quite local (the wine is Spanish) and the staff are helpful. Check the "sandwich board" out front for specials. The Spanish Board for £25 would be my choice! [Review 1893 of 2024 - 871 in United Kingdom - 22915 overall]

Found this gem while strolling the streets of downtown Belfast. This place has it all! A great…read moreselection of various packaged food, a deli that makes fresh sandwiches, pastries, fresh cheeses to cut and an olive bar. Browsing the store, I saw that it's separated into sections. An Italian section with lots of varieties of pastas and sauces. Cookies from Italy and limoncello! There is a very small Mexican section, which in my opinion was pretty darn good for being in Ireland! They had tortillas, various dry chilies and hot sauces. Lots of cookies, candies, jams and jelly's and a very large tea selection. The cheese case and deli were loaded with so many choices, it was hard to choose! You can order food and eat at tables that are just outside the front of the store. A definite recommend but if you're a foodie, be prepared to be dazzled!

This is my favourite butchers in Moira. The staff are always friendly and the quality of the meat…read moreis second to none.

If I was a true country bumpkin, I would love this little greengrocers. It's so rustic and…read morecountrified that you almost feel like you've just dandered into something off Emmerdale. That's where there them culchies come from, ya know? Anyway, yes, The Barrow was a sweet little greengrocers with a good variety of stock including locally made jams, honey, marmalade and jellies, as well as nuts and seeds and all those sort of healthy food things that I haven't a notion about. I did pick up three nectarines and a little packet of cherry tomatoes for £2.36, which I felt was a bit expensive, especially given that the nectarines weren't even that nice in the end. Ah well. So, being a city girl through and through, I guess I didn't appreciate The Barrow quite as much as I should have done. It was just that little bit too expensive for me. However, given the fact that it's located in Moira I don't think I should expect much less...

I don't usually do markets when I'm on holiday but tagged along with my family and I enjoyed it,…read morehaving a browse at all the stalls and treated myself to a few momento's and this market has everything from food to clothes to jewellery to toys to vinyls and posters, it would difficult not to find something you wouldn't love.

This market is well know for sundar gardening so I went on Sunday morning. Try cute and unique,…read morefilled with art works foods and drinks. Plenty of options for foods. Traditional (mostly) or international & lots of local coffee shop. Some stalls can have a long line since it makes to order and that can take up to 30mins for more. Most folks are just chills and seat back and relax with their families or friends. For me, it's a small market but great vibe and definitely go there on Sunday to see the true local social life.

This place is massive and has a lot of produce on sale for really good prices…read more I called in recently to buy onions and mushrooms for a curry. The guy who served me was singing at the top of his voice so I started chatting to him about what else I could put in a curry. He suggested peppers, garlic and sweetcorn. I listened to his suggestions but didn't bother but I will tell you if I needed any more vegetables or fruit or herbs I wouldn't have needed to go anywhere else. Lots of fresh produce, very centrally located on the Ormeau Road and a massive airy space. I actually thought as I was leaving that they could expand into a deli or open a dessert section as the place is so big - maybe the could open a curry counter? Yer man was still singing when I left. Very friendly place.

A pretty massive green grocers and one with a truely lovely vibe when you walk in. I like to try…read moreand eat a little bit healthy while eating locla produce and trying to avoid the bigger chains as much as possible. As long as the local stores aren't stupidly expensive then I think its an obligation to try and support local businesses as much as possible. With this in mind I try and call in here after work to pick up my fruit and veg and have always found the staff friendly and helpful, always serving me in a polite way with a smile on their face. The prices are pretty standard and certainly not prohibitive if you want to shop locally. I like its old school vibe and would certainly recommend anyone who is up on the Ormeau Road to pop in and try to support a locally owned, sourced, provided and staffed shop.

I have a bit of an issue, it would seem, of going into a shop and buying the most unlikely of…read morethings. Take Masseys, for example. A family run butchers, with a huge range of meat and meat dishes, plus a deli...and I buy some Toffee Squares. I think my whole life is generally an oxymoron... To be fair, there is a small bakery section, plus a few shelves full of chutneys, oils and sauces, so it wasn't all that strange. I think. Mr Butcher certainly appreciated this anyway, for the following conversation ensued: Jolly Butcher: Hello there! [Looks at my sister] Are you not buying something too? Me: Nope, I'm the one with the money I'm afraid. Jolly Butcher: Awk ok [Looks at the both us, back and forth, back and forth] Me: Yes, we're sisters! [Laughs and smiles at the realisation dawns on Jolly Butcher's face] Jolly Butcher: Ah yes, I thought so! I can definitely see it. Me: Really? No-one ever thinks we do. [Pays for Toffee Squares] Jolly Butcher: Awk, well you can carry those [looks at my sister, and hands her plastic bag, and then hands me my change and receipt]. Me: I like you! And we bid him farewell. Once we got home, my mum had noticed the receipt lying on the table. As soon as she picked it up, she loudly enquired as to why we had bought £20.83 worth of fillet and sirloin steak, when we had obviously purchased Toffee Squares. Laughter ensued as I guaranteed her we hadn't bought any meat whatsoever, and I had merely been given the wrong receipt. Ah, my life is a barrel of laughs...made all the funnier by certain escapades in Masseys. Excellent in every way.

Massey's for me a a place that has some really good things going for it and some not so good, but…read morethe positives tend to come out on top. Massey's is a very clean and well presented butchers. It has a wider range than most butchers as they have milk, a bread stand and they sell other home sauces and tinned goods, as well as a large stand of their pre prepared meals. That for me is the main excellent and simultaneously bad thing about this place. Their meals were a great idea, as the concept was food to go but of a better quality.Unfortunatel y they has taken things for granted and the quality of these products has slipped, which is hard to accept when they are so expensive. The whole butchers isn't cheap but it is good quality and delicious, with locally sourced meats in all the varieties you could ever want.

McCartney's in Moira is primarily a butcher's particularly well-known for their extensive range of…read moresausages. They also have a very well-stocked delicatessen which includes an impressive cheese counter and it was this delicatessen which I recently explored. When I made my first visit to The Pie Shop across the street, I wanted to combine the pies with delicatessen stuff out of McCartney's, particularly salads and cheeses. I wanted two blue cheeses and I opted for Shropshire Blue (which I already knew from long ago) and a totally unfamiliar one called Blue Murder by Alex James of Blur. Now that was a find! I definitely want more. Salad-wise, I opted for a broccoli, carrot and nut salad which is in a mayonnaise mix. That's also my favourite side salad at a local deli and this is fairly similar to that. I already know how well it goes with lasagne and it's great with pastry pies too.

I love this butchers! Seriously, you cannot go wrong with a trip to McCartneys! Whether it's for a…read moregood cut of meat for a roast dinner, or a great steak, or for a lovely range of ready to cook products, you will not be disappointed. Their customer service is excellent, and all the staff really know their stuff, and go the extra mile to deliver that personal touch. As well as a fab butchery department, McCartneys have relatively recently extended their premises and now boast a fab deli and bistro/coffee shop. Once again, the food is outstanding and the customer service is the best. I couldn't recommend this place highly enough!

When I recently took a train trip to Moira to try out The Pie Shop, I was also eager to suss out…read morethe cafe scene for lunch. As Fat Gherkin is just a few doors up the hill from the Pie Shop and just across the street from my other destination (McCartney's), it was on my route anyway and I decided to look at the menu at the entrance. The menu satisfied me that it was of sufficient interest to proceed inside. I had a lovely whipped feta and filo salad. I've been back since then and had mushrooms on toasted sourdough, which was possibly even nicer. I also had nicer seating on the second visit. It was earlier in the lunch period and therefore busier but this meant that I was shown to the upstairs seating. This is a brighter area with more daylight and lighter woodwork, with the tables surrounding the stairwell.

Every time I visit the area I go here and I love it. Today I ordered the daily soup and a sandwich…read more I thought it would be just a 1/2 sandwich but it was whole. It was all so yummy. I also ordered a cappuccino and caramel square. YUM.

The address is wrong. Actually this business is not in the West Street. It is in the Atkinson…read moreavenue, Portadown, Craigavon BT62 3JQ. However, for customers KNOX's Food Court store makes very good impression.

"The authentic, original farm shop." In the middle of nowhere, my sister swore by this place so we…read moreswung by it on the way home from Ards Shopping Centre. I say we swung by it, that makes the journey sound simple, but it was anything but. We travelled about 50 (slight exaggeration) winding country roads and at one point I began to question the existence of this farm butchers and in turn began to question my big sis's sanity. We finally found it and I had to eat my words...again... The blurb on the website says; "Known locally as Drumhilla Farm, our home is on the farm, our shop is on the farm and our heart is on the farm. We take pride in our top class breeding, state-of-the-art facilities and an exemplar farm." This is absolutely bang on, we did get a warm welcome and we came away with some top quality meat at an even better price. I was informed that the butchers has loads of contracts with local restaurants, so if you have eaten out in North Down you may well have sampled the top class meat Corries offers. The farm shop is your best bet if you want to replicate the restaurant experience in your own home, they always have deals on for instance when we went in they had Chump Steak - 3.79plb 8.36pkg Mince Steak (5lb or over) - 1.99plb 4.39pkg. You can not really argue with these deals. Corries is well worth the trek and you will reap the benefits of your journey when you sit down to a tender slab of meat at the dinner table.