Ballymena
The Grouse

The Grouse

United Kingdom, BT43 6, Ballymena

Steak • Irish • British • European


"We booked our lunch for 1.30pm and when we arrived we were seated at our table and told that someone would be over shortly to take a drinks and meal order. The waiter came over to take our drinks order but said that he could not take our food order at the minute as the kitchen was backed up and they had been asked to slow it down and that he would be back once they were ready to take our order. Our drinks arrived promptly and the waiter appeared again 20 minutes later to take our order which was a Christmas dinner and the Chicken stack. We waited and waited and we could see that a large table beside us got their starters then followed by their mains and had finished their mains and we were still waiting. Three ladies arrived 30 minutes after us and their meal arrived after 30 minutes and we were still waiting for our dinner. I then called over one of the waiters and explained that we had been waiting for an hour now and that the three ladies that arrived 30 minutes after us had got there meal before us, she said that she would let the kitchen know. Five minutes later another waiter called over to say that the hold up was the party of 24 beside us that had taken time to get out and that there was another large party to be served before us and that they would get to us after that. By 2.45pm and still no sign of our dinner we decided that we had waited long enough and how much longer were we going to have to wait. We went over to the bar and cancelled our meal and paid for our drinks. I know how a kitchen works and the dockets are prioritised as they come in for each table. If you have to many big parties all at once you need to space them out so as to let the kitchen cope and for diners like myself to get our meal at a reasonable waiting time. We normally dine here throughout the year and the service is very good but this time it was just utter chaos, we will remember to give it a miss next year in December."

Fratelli

Fratelli

130 Fenaghy Road, BT42 1EA, Ballymena, United Kingdom

Pizza • Pasta • Steak • Tapas


"Very underwhelming experience. We were staying at Galgorm for a special occasion (shepards hut) which is fab! Having read reviews about the restaurants on site it was a hard choice as they both sounded lovely but being Italian cuisine lovers we opted for Fratelli. I booked a table well in advance of our arrival but upon entering the restaurant we were greeted with a grunt and told to wait at the side until they ‘found’ our booking. We waited for a few moments and then were shown to our table which was situated in a corner in the dark beside all the bins which are on show (not a good look for a 5 star resort) and also where they collect all the glasses at the bar which is super noisy. The service was so slow and very hard to get anyone’s attention. It was like because we were shoved in a corner they had forgotten about us. The waiter kept forgetting our orders also so he kept coming back to ask us what we had ordered again. The food was nice but the portions are very small and for the price it’s definitively not worth it. What annoyed me the most was that even in my request to book a table I mentioned it was a special occasion and not even a little desert or a complimentary drink as a gesture was done. I could over look the price of the food for the potion sizes if the service and attention to my booking had of been looked after but unfortunately I would not recommend going here. I don’t think this restaurant is up to 5 star standards in such a luxurious resort. Disappointing. Wouldn’t recommend."