The Poachers Pocket

1. Decided to go for a meal with family, and friends, the place Poachers pocket, was chosen.
   Plenty of parking, and a shop attached, which sells quite a lot of fresh stuff, of which you could buy a lot of.
   But as to the restaurant,
   we did arrive about 15 minutes early, and asked for a high chair, as we had a youngster with us.
   The staff were extremely accommodating and friendly, as we were shown to our table, and given time to browse the menu, as well as asked if we wanted any drinks.
   We ordered 2 starters, as we were going to share, and good choice, as the starters were delicious, chicken wings, and honey chilli chicken.
   But for the mains, we ordered scampi and chips, chicken and mash, fish and chips. All of which were perfectly cooked. The scampi was really light and perfectly cooked. We also ordered prawns of which came with garlic butter.
   The whole experience was a delight in dining.
   The pizza isn’t available until around 5pm, so unfortunately unable to order.
   Really beautiful time.

2. Great wee spot….food was fab, starter was so big, you could have had it as a main and just ordered a side with it! Decor n atmosphere great. Only disappointment was both me and my partner ordered scampi, her’s with a side of champ (came in a separate bowl). I’d ordered with a side of chips, they came under the scampi, and my partners stack of only scampi was still much much taller than mine. Was no more than maybe 7 or 8 pieces. Luckily enough she didn’t want all of hers. Will definitely be back!

3. Stopped for brunch on a Saturday morning. Good car park, certainly better than restaurants in certain other County Down villages! Was very quiet inside, only a couple of other tables occupied. Service was okay, but like everywhere else these days, different staff popping up to take orders, serve, clear etc. Ordered the smoked salmon with scrambled eggs and homemade wheaten bread which was very good and went down well. Partner ordered just a slice of wheaten to have with coffee and it also came fried as if it was a side order. Not good and probably a miscommunication between waiting and kitchen staff. Had time to spare so ordered a scone to share with tea. Scone was the size of Slieve Croob and served with butter and sberry jam. Took some eating even for both of us. Teapot could have filled Spelga too. No complaints there. Wish we’d known about the scones first! Like other reviews have said, nowhere to put a coat and spotted only one coat hook for the whole place. Bill for everything was just over £30 which I thought was a lot for one breakfast, one scone and drinks for two. Might be back for the cooked breakfast some time as it did look good sailing past our table…

4. First visit on a weekday evening. TLDR: recommend.

   There is a small car park, ~30 parking spots I’d estimate.

   Impressive array of awards displayed at one of the front doors so my expectations certainly went up a level!

   We visited the tiny pantry first, which was adorable. An amazing array of so much different produce, including a small vegan selection, and freshly baked products, itd be hard for anyone not to find something that tickles their taste.

   The lighting in the room, perhaps main seating area, was comfortable, though seats weren’t the type were you could hang a coat easily on. The lighting was also flickering, which can trigger migraines for me, but they were accommodating in switching it off. Music was at background level though it was quite hot (perhaps due to pizza ovens) so perhaps some open windows would have helped.

   Menu was similar to what I could see online which was nice, and there is an excellent mix of options.

   Starter of the miso chicken was nice, good portion size and flavours.

   The risotto main was lovely, but an extremely large serving size, and somewhat repetitive flavour wise. I think perhaps a green veg such as broccoli would have given it another dimension of flavour and texture.

   Dessert of apple & rhubarb crumble and custard was lovely though wasn’t personally a fan of them being served in separate pots, custard was slightly lumpy and had a cold spot and I would have likely slightly more crumble, but overall it was beautiful. Vanilla ice cream was artificially flavoured (an absolute pet peeve of mine) as there were no black vanilla seeds but I know this comes down to pricing mainly.

   Didn’t get to try any of the alcoholic drink options sadly but next time!

   Review of baked goods: brownie was OK but I am extremely fussy 😅, fifteen was lovely, very soft and generously filled with marshmallows and cherries, rocky road was nice too.

   Service was very attentive. Pricing of the 3 courses and baked treats was extremely reasonable. Overall, I will definitely be recommending and be back myself!

5. Staying in the area for a weekend away & found this lovely spot for breakfast! Really friendly staff, relaxing atmosphere & great food! Waitress even topped up our coffees! Thank you!! 🤩 x

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