Life

Eating Out: A warm welcome on far side of Antrim

The restaurant bar is all dark wood and patterned carpet the style of which you expect from a country hotel
The restaurant bar is all dark wood and patterned carpet the style of which you expect from a country hotel The restaurant bar is all dark wood and patterned carpet the style of which you expect from a country hotel

Dunsilly Hotel

20 Dunsilly Road

Antrim

BT14 2JH

028 9446 2929

ANTRIM town is not the most charming of places – despite living less than 15 minutes away I wouldn't go out of my way to shop or socialise there.

While I realise I'm not selling this, it was with an open mind and a hungry belly that I travelled to the Dunsilly Hotel for a midweek supper.

There had been free pizza dished out in work at lunchtime that day but by the time I returned from an interview it was all gone. I blame the sports reporters – they are like locusts, with nothing but food and GAA on their minds.

The result was that I'd no lunch and was ready to eat my own shoe by the time we arrived at the hotel on the Dunsilly Road "in the heart of Antrim", the website helpfully points out. It is in fact slightly outside the town down a nice country road but easily accessible with the aid of Google maps.

I'd had a look at the online menu beforehand and it all seemed pretty traditional – lots of steaks and pasta dishes, the usual sort of hotel restaurant-type grub. The hotel itself is lovely, old fashioned but in a charming, comforting way.

The restaurant bar is to the rear of the hotel, all dark wood and patterned carpet the style of which you come to expect from this type of country style hotel. We were shown to our table by very friendly staff, given menus and drinks orders taken.

Starters were fairly standard – prawns, chicken and soup – but I opted for a goats cheese stack. My dining partner passed on a starter, going instead for a massive main of steak and rib combo.

I ordered the roast duck with stir-fried vegetables. There was no end of other options including curry and a traditional roast dinner from a huge menu.

A Torres Finca glass of white was ordered while the designated driver stuck to soft drinks. The starter was really delicious – lots of salad, dressed in sharp, tangy dressing with a huge slab of warm goats cheese. If anything, there was too much and it was far too rich to finish an entire portion that would make a nice light lunch.

Mains were fairly promptly delivered after my starter plate was cleared away. The steak looked slightly insipid in colour but was pink in the middle, well cooked and seasoned and the ribs were slow cooked, falling easily from the bone.

The stir fry with my duck was delicious a range of veg including lots of asparagus and a fruity sauce. The skin on the duck, however, wasn't crispy but flabby and as such not edible, with the meat slightly overdone and therefore dry. Looking at other plates being dished up around us, I definitely picked badly.

The Dunsilly is obviously popular with locals. Even on a midweek night there was a bustling crowd, a range of people from birthday parties to couples all having a great time and enjoying the simple but hearty fare.

I passed on a dessert but there were some really nice looking puddings getting scoffed at the other tables. Maybe next time.

I'm still not sold on Antrim town but if you drive straight through it and don't stop until you to the Dunsilly Hotel you're sure of a good feed with a nice warm welcome.

Cola x2 £3.90

Orange x 2 £3.90

Glass of wine £5.50

Goats cheese starter £4.95

Roast duck £14.50

Steak and rib combo £17.25

Total £50