Balloo House
“Good Modern Irish cooking in a welcoming country pub” - AA Inspector
NEWTOWNARDS, COUNTY DOWN
Our Inspector's view
Balloo House is a charming country pub and restaurant just two miles from the shores of Strangford Lough. Downstairs is country pub style, with open fires, exposed brick, natural daylight and lots of objets d'art. Staff are friendly, helpful and very attentive. A more formal restaurant is open on a Saturday night upstairs.
Awards, accolades and Welcome Schemes
1 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Facilities – at a glance
Children welcome
Credit cards accepted
Private dining
Service charge
Vegetarian menu
Features
- Seats: 80
- Private dining available
- On-site parking available
- Wheelchair accessible
- Accessible toilets
- Assist dogs welcome
- Closed: 25 December
- Wines under £30: 45
- Wines over £30: 15
- Wines by the glass: 9
- Cuisine style: Modern Irish
- Vegetarian menu
Also in the area
About the area
Discover County Down
Geographically, County Down seems to put a long arm around Strangford Lough, over 70 square miles of water. The arm is the Ards Peninsula, the most easterly part of Ireland.
Strangford Lough is a ria (a drowned estuary), caused by rising sea levels at the end of the Ice Age It is dotted with some 70 small islands, actually the highest points of drowned drumlins (small rounded hills) formed of material left behind by glaciers. The Lough is home to large flocks of wintering wildfowl that congregate on the mudflats surrounding its shores. About 9 square miles of the lough are a designated reserve for this reason.
Bangor is at the top of the peninsula, and with its picturesque seafront promenades, a charming marina and many shops and restaurants, it is regularly voted the most desirable place to live in Northern Ireland. Much of the town dates from the Victorian era with some historic buildings as well as some more modern development, and one of the largest open-air markets in Northern Ireland.
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