Where to eat Gastropub food in Hillsborough: The Best Restaurants and Bars

October 23, 2019 Flossie Demartino

Discover Restaurants offering the best Gastropub food in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom including Hillside, The Cardan Bar and Grill, Gowdys of Down Royal
Things to do in Hillsborough

1. Hillside

21 Main Street, Hillsborough BT26 6AE Northern Ireland Bar, British, Pub, Gastropub Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, Late Night Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music [email protected] +44 28 9268 9233 http://hillsidehillsborough.co.uk/
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Overall Ratings

4 based on 331 reviews

Hillside

The Hillside is a charming, rustic pub situated in the historic Georgian village of Hillsborough, County Down, only 15 minutes drive from Belfast city centre. The Hillside first opened its doors to patrons in 1752 and has been enjoying a busy trade ever s

Reviewed By Rugbydude_12

Having visited at Christmas for a function this seemed like a great restaurant to celebrate an engagement and birthday with family. What a bad choice. The evening was ruined by the combined efforts of the staff at the Hillside. 1. The waitress was simply incompetent:- Unable to count past 5 when she was taking the orders from a table of 7;- failed to clear the table of unused wine glasses or other empty glasses/bottles throughout the night;- debated how my wife’s steak should be cooked - because she thought it was a steak sandwich;- brought chips when a house salad was ordered - because the chef couldn’t read her writing, then didn’t replace the chips with the missing salad;- spilled a bowl of tobacco onions then giggled, saying ‘its the thought that counts’ - after a steak was sent back for being improperly cooked she left the side order anyway before being told to take that back until the steak was ready;- left the bill with the guest who’s birthday was being celebrated, causing some embarrassment as if they were expected to pay.2. The kitchen -- failed to cook any of the 3 steaks correctly. One of these was ‘medium/rare’ was cooked ‘well done’ - so not even close to being right. The other 2 were over cooked and should have been returned but we were too generous thinking the meal would otherwise be good;- the Katsu curry (a Japanese meal) was bland, tasteless and served with a poppadom (an Indian side), which was soggy;- the hamburger was like a hockey puck - hard, over cooked and tasteless.3. The management:- were invisible. Not once did a manager come to ask how the meal was. Even after the waitress asked - and was told how unhappy we were, still no manager followed up;- the door to the courtyard was open, as it was a nice summers night, but that allowed wasps to come into the restaurant. We caught at least 3 wasps and released them, just to see them reappear. You don’t need the risk of being stung when eating a meal INSIDE!- Despite this being so bad an evening the bill was presented in its entirety - no refund, no gesture of apology. Only after a complaint was made by me was some measure of remedial action taken. A refund of the value of the badly cooked steak was made. No attempt was made to improve the evening with any offer of (for example) free desserts/ coffee etc. This was so bad an evening that we left, with no desserts or coffee, and went to The Parsons Nose to finish the evening.Until the Hillside gets serious about its customer focus, and hires a chef who can cook a steak, we won’t be back.

Best Bar food near Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

2. The Cardan Bar and Grill

41 Railway Street, Lisburn BT28 1XP Northern Ireland Bar, Pub, British, Gastropub Lunch, Dinner, Late Night, Drinks Takeout, Reservations, Buffet, Seating, Television, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Accepts American Express, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Digital Payments, Free Wifi, Table Service, Live Music [email protected] +44 28 9267 8065 http://www.thecardan.com
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Overall Ratings

4 based on 309 reviews

The Cardan Bar and Grill

Reviewed By Baileyxxxx

Visited last night as party of a party of 7 girls. We arrived just before 7pm and had been able to book for the early menu specials. Amazing value. Food was absolutely delicious. The staff are more than attentive. One in particular Alan looked after the 7 of us. Was more than attentive kept checking in on us did we need anything more drinks, how did the food taste etc. Customer service exceptional. Will most definitely be returning and recommending to others. Food was really superb. Really went out of their way to make us feel really welcome. Food was really delicious. Well done indeed.

Most Popular European food in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

3. Gowdys of Down Royal

Maze 60 Gravelhill Road, Lisburn BT27 5RW Northern Ireland Irish, Bar, British, Pub, Gastropub Lunch, Brunch, Dinner, Late Night Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Television, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service +44 28 9262 2147 http://gowdysofdownroyal.com
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Overall Ratings

4 based on 236 reviews

Gowdys of Down Royal

Reviewed By danielledoc123

We visited today as a family of three for Sunday lunch, and as usual the food was fantastic. The staff are friendly and prompt, and we enjoyed sitting near a roaring open fire. We had the spicy chicken wings and the chicken liver pate to start, and roast dinners for main while my son went for the Jamaican Jerk chicken sandwich. My husband is a chef and was impressed by the roast dinners - proper gravy made from scratch, gorgeous creamy mash and nice presentation. We’ll definitely be back again soon!

Top 10 Cafe food in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

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