Hello everyone, two posts in one week!!!! winning!
As you probably already know I live in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland and Ireland as a whole have become a hive of tourism in the last 20 years. I don’t think I would be speaking out of turn if I said that Ireland is a magnificent place, the scenery, the people and the craic! ( Google craic, if you don’t already know what it means) One other thing that we enjoy here is good food and Northern Ireland itself boasts some excellent restaurants and eateries.
I have decided to start a series of blog posts where I go around little hidden gems that are off the beaten track and give you my take on the food on offer, just in case you decide to come and visit us here or perhaps you already live in Northern Ireland and fancy trying somewhere a little different.
The first cuisine that I am going to cover is lunch, and the first place I have decided to review is Oranmore Guest House & Tea Rooms, Gracehill, Ballymena
Lunch Menu
Scones & Preserves
Soup Of The Day
Toasted Sandwiches
Chicken Caesar salad
Goats Cheese Salad with figs, walnuts house chutney and freshly baked wheaten bread
Poached Egg, Avocado, and Smoked Salmon served on freshly baked wheaten bread (I had this one)
Afternoon Tea (I may have to go back and sample this)
Their were a few other dishes on offer but this will give you an idea of the type of food being served here.
Sweet Options
Drink Options
Tea
Coffee
Latte
Various other coffees and I believe hot chocolate
Fully licensed bar
Now, how did it taste? I had the Poached Egg, Avocado, Smoked Salmon, on home baked wheaten bread, their was also a gorgeous chutney layered into the dish. The eggs were poached exactly to my liking, the smoked salmon was fresh and the home baked bread was to die for. It was fabulous! I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. I love dessert, so decided to go for the sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and ice-cream. Now I’m usually quite civilised in public, but I never came so close to licking my plate. The pudding was so light, not stodgy like some sticky toffee puddings can be, the butterscotch sauce was unreal so rich but not sickening and the vanilla ice cream they served with it was just delicious and complimented the pudding perfectly.
Not only was the food first class the service and hospitality was also top notch, so welcoming and nothing was too much trouble. The setting was also superb, both inside and out. The house and gardens are maintained to the same standard as a stately home, so relaxing and serene.
You can visit their website here:- http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/Oranmore-Guest-House-Gracehill-Ballymena
Star Rating Out Of 5 :- *****
I will post my next instalment in this series very soon. Speak soon….
Jules xo