Had one of my best lunches anywhere, ever in recently-arrived Wine & Brine in Moira. The Princess said the food was so good she wanted to cry! The Blonde reckoned it was so good that the trip to Moira felt like being on a European mini break. It really was that good.
Opened just before Christmas 2015, Wine & Brine is the first restaurant of local man Chris McGowan who spent over a decade in the London kitchens of culinary megastars Richard Corrigan and Gary Rhodes so his provenance is pretty promising.
The welcome was friendly and professional and the dining room is bright and airy if perhaps a little lacking in atmosphere. It may have more ambience after dark. However the open kitchen is the focus of the room so you know they're serious about the food
The fabulous warm home-baked brown and white breads were accompanied by creamy, tart Goat's cheese curds with bacon crumbs and delicious caramelised butter - so good we had to ask for more.
Starters were Crubeens (little croquettes of pig's foot in a creamy mustard sauce), Black Pudding Sausage Rolls with a divine House mushroom ketchup and Goat's Cheese and Beetroot Croquettes. All were exceptional - so good that everyone tried everything - even those who would normally never touch black pudding or offal.
Mains were Steak Pie with Burnt Onion sauce, Confit Pork Jowl and Glen Hill Lamb. Again the food, flavours and presentation were superb and everyone had to share!
Waistbands were by now under pressure but we had to persevere and ordered 2 desserts between the three of us - a Hazlenut Affogato and a Lemon Yoghurt with Raspberries and Shortbread. Suffice to say we found room to finish them.
If the food is unbelievable then I need a new word for the prices. Starters and desserts are £3, mains are £8. So we're talking world class food at below pub grub prices and its 20 minutes mins from Belfast. Those prices surely can't last especially as
Wine & Brine was recently awarded Waitrose best local restaurant in the UK.
So you really need to get there soon. Wine & Brine just took NI restaurants to a whole new level. read more