Fullerton Arms, Ballintoy 02-2019

After watching the sun setting around (unfortunately it isn't over) Giant's Causeway, the last dinner was tossed up between Fullerton Arms and Tartine at the Distillers Arms. Both menus sounds nice, but Fullerton won because it had local mussels, a fireplace and a local pub feel to it.

It was a quiet evening and the roaring fireplace set a lovely scenery (although maybe too hot to sit at that table). The TV above distracted a little by showing The Simpsons and then wacky YouTube video TV. But it's only minor. There's a Game of Thrones door in homage to the mother of dragons, and an Iron Throne to sit on in the next room also. An older couple from near Belfast engaged us in next-table conversation and were very friendly.

In true Irish pub meal style, the meal sizes were very large. I was disappointed they didn't have any local cider. They told me all were local, and the one I got was from Cork. Sorry, that's not local. The staff also weren't ones to give out smiles at all.

- Strangford mussels Jawbox (Jawbox Belfast gin, ginger, coconut cream) £8.95 for small - the mussels themselves weren't special. The flavour was ok but they were just too small in terms of meat. However the sauce was delectable almost curry-like and worked nicely with the surprisingly sweet wheaten bread it was served with (cooked with sugar or honey probably);
- Steak & stout casserole (puff pastry lid, french style peas) £10.95 - the puff pastry was ok, soft underneath and crisp on top, adequate without being great. But underneath the chunky steak pieces (with variable tenderness) soaked in a warming stew with the dark beer flavour coming through. Really excellent traditional cuisine I was looking for;
- Side of rocket & pine nut salad (free with the main casserole) - an excellent fresh large salad topped with generous amounts of goat's cheese.

I'd come back to try the Guiness pork belly ribs and the seafood chowder. They use a lot of local produce. They also gave me 20% off the food for no good reason - "just because we are nice" they said. Just wonderful overall.

Harry's Shack, Portstewart 02-2019

Harry's Shack is located along the beach in Portstewart. It's a drive away from town which means I suppose it is quieter (although I'm sure in summer it is rammed). Cars drive onto and park along the beach. The winter winds were blowing sand across the ground, but the blue skies, sun shining and cloud formations made up for it.

It wasn't warm enough to eat outside and the inside had a lovely strong smell of fish & chips, a nice looking and obviously popular dish.

- Seafood chowder (smoked cod, hake, haddock, mussels, new potato) £11 - chunks of fish with a smoky and creamy sauce. I don't think there were any mussels. Unfortunately I hoped for much more liquid and even some bread to mop up with, but not so. It was nice, but the fish & chips would probably have been better value, if you don't want liquid and something slightly soupy;
- Local sole on the bone (pickled cucumber, cornichon, caper, cockle, almond butter, pink fir potatoes) £15 - the local cod drew me in to at least something domestic and it was a real winner. The fish was cooked perfectly with soft succulent meat sliding off the bones. Did they give me two fish? I think so. The topping was a flavoursome blend of salty capers, tiny salty cockles, rich butter, crunchy tangy bits of pickles and was so very good. The potatoes were a side addition and fine.

A lovely location, a sunny beach and very good tasting local seafood. What more do you need to go?

Ursa Minor, Ballycastle 02-2019

Winter seems to mean a lot of food places are closed. Finding lunch along the Causeway Coastal route was actually unexpectedly difficult (and because I'm picky and want select places only). Mary McBride's bar wasn't open for lunch and being renovated, Morton's fish & chips wasn't open until 3pm, and so hopefully a simple bakery would be open.

Luckily it was and it had a cafe area for sitting down, reading their books on food, healthy living and photography or history, and just enjoying being alive.

The coffee was apparently bitter, which was disappointing.

- Lime leaf & miso noodle broth £5 - a warming bowl of noodles with quite a bit of tangyness, but less miso flavour. The noodles were too soft and way overcooked unfortunately. It's odd to have bread served with noodle soup, but I happily ate it;
- Roasted winter tomatoes, Irish cheddar, coconut bacon, with sorrel oil on toasted sourdough £6 - a wonderful open sandwich bursting with flavour from the strong cheddar, the sweet and remarkably (first encounter) with coconut bacon, and the lovely rich tomatoes and green oil. All on top of a crispy piece of sourdough. Definitely great. I could have had another.

The light rye sourdough to takeaway (they sliced it for me too) is a truly outstanding loaf. The bread has excellent chewy texture and a strong amount of sourness. I was glad it was available. I wonder if this is probably the cheapest healthy meal in a cafe anywhere in the UK.

Morelli's, Portstewart 02-2019

We were recommended Maud's icecream by a girl at Sixt and I had also read about it. However all the Maud's we came across along the Causeway Coastal route (Portstewart, Larne, Ballycastle) were all closed for winter. What a disappointment.

A waiter at Harry's Shack asked why we wanted to go there when Morelli's is better? A fair question. They even had Guinness flavour.

After discovering Maud's in Portstewart was definitely closed, we wandered to Morelli's. It was a cold sunny day, glorious for eating icecream and watching the ocean.

Morelli's didn't have Guiness flavour and just looking at the fluoro colours, I would usually be turned off. But there weren't many other options (there was another icecream place a few doors away, but we didn't look there).

Coconut and chocolate were both ok. Not bad by any means, but neither were very strongly flavoured. They were very very creamy in texture.

I'd try for Maud's next time.

Neptune & Prawn, Portrush 02-2019

Winter in Northern Ireland doesn't necessarily mean cold (12C days in February) but it does mean a lot of the restaurants are closed or only semi-open. Within Portrush itself, I had heard of (and been recommended by the Sixt customer representative at Belfast International airport) to try Ramore's 3rd floor (adults only but likely not open) or the 2nd floor (children also but good food). Sadly only their ground floor was open that day with a rather unexciting menu. Along that port area, also the Harbour Inn was only serving drinks and their food area wasn't open. Quiet season I suppose.

Across the way was Neptune & Prawn, known for some seafood with Asian twists. To be honest the menu didn't sound the best (how hard it is to find a good seafood restaurant in the area surprised me) but there weren't many other alternatives. It's rarely a good thing when a(n Asian) menu has one type of dish/sauce and an option to serve it with different proteins. I stuck to the dishes that had some N&P mentioned in the description.

- Salt & Chilli Neptune Prawns £12.95 - actually a very flavoursome dish of prawn crackers, crisp well seasoned prawns with firm bitey meat and an unexpected chilli and oil underneath with mayo;
- Lamb shank massaman (traditional Indian dish served N&P style, peanuts & cucumber salad) £14.95 - this was a creative take on curry served Peking duck style. The large shank had a solid amount of relatively tender meat. The thick curry was earthy although not heavily spiced. It tasted similar to katsu I thought. And had some potato and a kind of crunchy pulse also. The spring onion and cucumber added freshness and the chutney topped it off. Actually very good. If I had stomach space, I would definitely have ordered rice to finish off the sauce.

It's a nice setting with friendly (and quite attractive) staff. I would eat here again.