I am so so disappointed I was looking forward to trying this place as I'd heard so much buzz about…read moreit. The food itself was delicious, service was glacial though - clearly not enough staff to handle the lunchtime rush and with a small child in tow, keeping him entertained for that length of time just wasn't easy. Got the worst food poisoning of my life the following morning. It couldn't have come from anywhere else. As expected, the manager vehemently denied it was his chicken, or the bacon in the veggies. But I won't be back.

Knags continues to do well and on my visit today was busy. I met a friend for lunch. We were served…read morecomplimentary water in customised porcelain/rubber stopped bottle and glasses with the Knags logo. He had lunch-I an Americano coffee. The coffee was fab,had it with cream. My mate had chicken tikka pita pocket with salad and sweet potato fries. The fries and salad were lovely, as was the garlic sauce over the chicken however the chicken was not chicken tikka, more like fried spiced chicken! The place was spotless, great staff and reasonable price with a super menu selection.

First of all, places as good as this are not plentiful enough. Second, if I could give it 8 stars I…read morewould. This place came recommended, but with a codicil I hear from time to time - the portions are small. I don't really mind this, provided the quality is there, and the tastes are wonderful. For the most part the tastes and the quality here are wonderful. So four of us, all first time diners here, arrived with anticipation. Last time we four dined together was in Disney's Boathouse Orlando and I've separately reviewed this below average place. It was a cold evening about 6c as we arrived. I think we got the last car parking space; it doesn't have extensive parking. The greeting was warm and it felt like we were going into an old barn, the impressive brick walls are feet thick and lots of exposed old wood. Cosy enough. My starter was seared scallop with confit chicken wing, crisp chicken skin, chicken sauce and wild mushrooms. It was delicious and hard to discern the best bit. It was all very good with a moreish sauce. Two companions has the citrus cured salmon, with cucumber relish, salad cream and granary crisp bread. They raved about it. The salmon was a cured chunk, mostly raw within and perhaps blow torched to magnificence on the outside. One of our hungry bunch had celeriac soup which she found divine together served with tasty, chunky wheaten bread and butter. So let's pause. I read somewhere that this is a British restaurant. Ok. If you say so, but with the stocks, gels, purées and reductions it more than nods to Escoffier and French haute cuisine cooking techniques. My main was salmon based, with deep fried rissoles stuffed with fine chopped mushrooms, puy lentils, steamed sprouting greens and some of the greens lightly battered and fried tempura style. Again everything on the plate was tasty. Desserts were glorious bar one. My wife and I shared the dark chocolate, cherry and honeycomb and wow. Chocolate heaven enhanced with the whole cherry and honeycomb piece. The peanut butter based pie too was light, delicate and very tasty but a tad more salt would lift it much more. After these two big hitters the rhubarb and custard trifle was disappointing. It is a vegetable treated like a fruit. It didn't wow, it had no sharpness, it was more like a gel and it was not the thump of taste that rhubarb can easily deliver. Even the custard was meh. I doubt I'd go for it again. Staff were delightful; the (£5) beers were tasty, the wine a generous pour (£5.25) but the (£7) gin of the week was weak, overly ice cubed, watery and generally diluted way out of balance. So next time we must double the gin measure and reduce the quantity of ice and mixer. Their cappuccino (£3) was very tasty too. I hope it's not too long before we return here. It was 4c as we left under the bright moon and as we were out in the country side the stars were noticeable.

Nipped in here for lunch on the recommendation of a friend and it didn't disappoint!…read more I admit staring at the menu with a bit of immediate terror at all the fancy schmancy things staring back at me, but - I had the fish and Parmesan fries, hubby had the steak sandwich and chunky chips. For dessert we had the pear crumble, burnt cream of the day (coffee) and the sticky toffee pudding mini desserts. Great place to have lunch, it was quiet, service was friendly - though there was a looooong wait between courses and we ended up in a bit of a time crunch to get the child from school - but it was absolutely delicious, a great wee find tucked away. I imagine Christmas time here would be lovely

My two daughters, wife and I had the pleasure of dining in the biggest restaurant in Glengormley,…read morethat is The Loft. Perched above a row of shops in the busy Industrial area of Mallusk is this fully equipped 120 seater restaurant. When we ascended the stairway and entered the reception area we were amazed at the size!! The kitchen hatch was immediately to our left and at the helm was local chef John Hadden (who has worked in Ballyclare Golf Club, Knags, Sugar Rays and Blue Chicago). John has just introduced a new and very appetising menu......more on that later!! Further along was the fully stocked bar, with a myriad of wines, beers, spirits and soft drinks and I hear they do cocktails!! To the right as we entered was the seated reception area (above), where live bands and entertainers will play on busy weekend nights. We were taken through the dining area and seated in our well accommodating booth, overlooking the car park. The booth was set for four and would have fitted six!! Chef John's passion for good quality wholesome fresh food showed through in the menu. John was saying that there will be an express corporate lunch starting soon at £5.95 to cater for the many corporate clients and office workers in the area, who want good quality food, quickly and at a reasonable price. There were so many dishes that screamed out, "Eat me!!!" So we decided to take the plunge and order. My two girls had the pork sausages (2 pcs) with skinny fries and freshly breaded chicken strips (3). My wife opted for the salmon sizzler and chunky chips,whilst I had the chicken stack. We all loved the presentation of the food John served up. The baskets for the kids meals went down a treat with them, the sizzler really sizzled and my stack was well stacked!! The breaded mushrooms were really crispy and served on a simple dressed salad with garlic mayo. The chicken strips and sausages were piping hot, the salmon and prawns were delicious and not over cooked and the chunky chips worked well with the fish. My stack was the best!!! The champ was perfectly cooked with tasty crunchy scallions, chicken was butterflied and succulent, the pepper sauce was reduced well and spot on and the tobacco onions were juicy and moist and not oily!! The portion sizes were big and we all polished the food off, leaving just enough room for dessert. Kids having mint chocolate ice cream and strawberry ice cream respectively whilst my wife and I shared the banoffee. We were well and truly filled after all this and all for less than £40......because kids eat free on a Monday and Tuesday night!!! There is BYO on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (can only avail of one offer per order) and Steak Night on a Thursday. This restaurant is a truly fantastic family friendly place which offers great quality food at very competitive prices. There is also scope for corporate/business lunches with the advantage of having a section able area to the rear which can be used for presentations, product launches, training, conferences, private parties, communions/christening and the whole venue can be used for large parties and even weddings. As can be seen this is a truly remarkable restaurant and we are so lucky to have it on our doorstep. Do call in and try for yourself......watch out for promotions and the new flyer, it will have a discount on it!!!!

I used to work in one of the industrial areas in Mallusk, and on the odd Friday, our boss would…read moretake us all out and get us our lunch. Due to being in Mallusk, there isn't a great variety of places to go, so the Loft (or the Jolly Beggar, as it was called) was the place we always went. Additonally, if you actually live in Mallusk, this is pretty much the only place to go in the immediate vicinity. It's in a rather large building, so there is plenty of room and you are pretty much always guaranteed to get a table. The service was always good, and the menu had something for everyone, burgers, chips, sandwiches, wraps, paninis etc - in my time I've probably tried them all, although the chicken wraps were a particular favourite. The pricing is reasonable too, not that we paid as we were always treated to it! Although I often travel through Mallusk nowadays, I never stop off, and the Loft isn't great enough to warrant a special trip just for that, but if you are in the area, give it a try.

Tom's Bar and Fluid are nothing special, as you would have guessed.. but I quite like the vibe in…read moreboth premises. There is a sense of community, the staff are very friendly and if you go often enough, you will notice the regulars coming in and out and in Tom's, they actually have paintings up of all their regulars. Prices are reasonable.. although if they were a little less, it may help to bring in more people. Overall, it's alright if you want a drink in your local area and not wanting to travel far. Also okay if you are only wanting a couple of drinks or an hour or two.. but not the whole night.

i`ve only been in this little bar a few times and each time i've been really quite impressed with…read moreit. the staff are very friendly and are quite happy to have a bit of a chat with me on the quieter times i've been in. very nice little bar to call into for a guinness or five. I have eaten in the lounge bar (which is nicely seperate from the public bar) once, and the food was very nice, i had the ribeye which was delicious and the missus had scampi which she also enjoyed, the service was very good and it wasnt exactly dear with 3 courses for about a tenner. so its a lovely little spot that ill be returning to soon!!

The Whitehouse Working Mens Club (a.k.a. The Workies) is, as far as I've seen, a bar which is…read morepredominantly reserved for locals (if you're not a member you have to sign in upon arrival ) but the wee old man who sits at the front desk is the best of banter (He used to be my milk man!) he's still very pleasant and accommodating. The bar certainly can get busy over the weekends but I'd say it's pretty quiet for the rest of the time. It's a good bar for an older crowd to enjoy a quiet drink at the weekend. The bar itself is split in to various floors and sections so you can experience different surroundings. It's nothing fancy but no over the top airs or graces. It does what it says on the tin, a club for working (wo)men to come relax, have a drink or a meal. The restaurant has only opened a short while ago (then closed, apparently over row with chef, now reopened under new management) and although it is now a little more pricey it still does the same job. You can come and enjoy your Friday lunch here and won't have to worry about breaking the bank. You won't come any where near. Bonus, did I mention how cheap the pints are? Your round! Cheers!

Café Alfresco are known for their out of this world pizzas and relatively inexpensive foods. There…read moreare two branches of this café in Newtownabbey; one in the Abbey Centre and one in Glengormley. Both branches are frequented by local employees / staff from nearby shop on their lunch breaks who don't want to eat junk food or fast food, instead preferring the healthier option. Because of this it can mean that it gets very busy around noon / lunch time, but if you come later or earlier than this you'll generally find a great service, lovely staff and some scrummy sandwiches. It's a good option for the health conscious. Their dishes range from their gorgeous garlic sauté potatoes, substantial stews, mouth watering pizzas, plentiful pasta tubs (which come in a really good size) tempting toasties (my favourite!) lovely lasagne, I could go on but I'll leave it to you to go try it out. You can choose the greasy option, but if you like they'll make you up a superior salad bowl with stunning sauces or try one of the beautiful baked potatoes. Yum

We went along here on recommendation. It was my dad's treat as someone he worked with had told him…read moreit was good! It's situated in Glengormley which isn't that far from us so didn't take too long to get there. When we arrived my first impressions were that it was a converted outhouse, however we were warmly greeted and shown to our table. There was only the 4 of us, plus one other table of two there when we visited so service was really quick. I had a look at the menu, and there was only one thing I really fancied, which they told me they didn't have any left of when it came to taking our order. Cue a slight panic from me as I hadn't seen anything else. Thankfully, the lady serving us, offered to make something up which wasn't on the menu, which I really appreciated. All in all the experience was good here. They also do private room hire for functions and have the occasional family fun day too.

Relaxed, generally empty, local. Goggins is an exceptionally friendly pub, a family pub even. I…read morewent in the other day to find the barman nursing a baby. His mates had brought it along for a visit, it's that type of place. Gets a posh middle-aged crowd on Fridays and Saturdays. Has an excellent smoking area and a load of fireplaces, great for hot whiskeys around Christmas. The attached offy helps keep the party going, it's a nice pub to drop into for one or two before hitting the offy and the road.

Goggins is a darkish but open pub with a nice atmosphere. There are 2 parts to it, the older…read moretraditional bit to the front and a modern, carpeted groovy bit to the back. There are also a few Tvs scattered around the place which I absolutely hate in a pub but in the case of Goggins I am willing to forgive as it is about the only thing that is wrong with the place.