The Nook — Restaurant in Ardihannon

Where the View’s a Giant, but the Lunch is a Letdown

Nestled charmingly at the foot of the Giant’s Causeway, in what looks like a postcard-perfect stone cottage, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled upon a cosy, culinary gem. Alas, appearances can be deceiving – much like expecting a pot of gold and finding a parking ticket.

Let’s start with the food. Average, at best. We’re talking the sort of menu that feels like it was designed by someone who once read about flavour in a book. Chips? Fine. Soup? Warm. Sandwiches? Bread existed. But when the bill arrived – tipping the scales at nearly £100 for two adults and two small, not-yet-gourmet children – it felt more like a tourist toll than a family lunch. For that price, I expected fireworks. Or at least seasoning.

It quickly becomes obvious that The Nook isn’t built for regulars – because there won’t be any. With busloads of weary, wind-swept visitors tumbling in daily from across the globe, there’s little incentive to try hard. Why bother with quality when you've got quantity guaranteed?

Inside, the charm quickly fades. Tables are either elbow-to-elbow tiny or fashioned from what I can only assume were leftover props from a Victorian classroom. We ended up at one of the sloped bench setups, which felt less like dining and more like sliding slowly into your mash. Not ideal when your plate starts tilting towards your lap with each passing minute.

But, in fairness, not all was lost. They do pour a cracking pint of Guinness – rich, creamy, and surprisingly well-kept considering the chaos around it. If anything, it's the best argument for popping in. Just don’t linger for food unless you enjoy parting with your cash in exchange for mediocrity.

The setting is magic, the Guinness is good – but everything else? The Nook sadly feels more like a...

Very rudely barked at by a man in chef jacket that the car park was full even though we had parked with the intention of getting lunch for the family and weren't blocking anyone else. Even if there was an issue of potentially blocking someone in we were going to be in the place and would move the car immediately if needed. Might as well have been talking to the wall. This person's response was " I don't make the rules". Typically self important jobsworth I felt- can't help wondering how his employer would have felt about him driving away genuine customers. It was for the better though as we went to Bushmills instead and went to the Bushmills Inn. Now this is a great place an old coaching inn great ambience, food and very friendly and helpful staff- maybe the nook could learn a few things from them. The attitude we were meeting with in the nook was disappointing however as in two family trips to northern Ireland this was the only negative interaction we have encountered. We won't let the ignorance encountered at the nook negatively impact on our view of northern Ireland which is a great part of this island with some great people living there. My advice to visitors to the causeway coast- steer well wide of the nook unless you like dealing with complete d1ckheads. Go to the Bushmills inn, it's light years ahead. And to the pr1ck we encountered at the nook, you good sir, are a complete and utter w@nkshaft. Sincerely Dee Family, Co...

Was there either a tour bus day trip. Placed an order for their famous Irish stew and the Steak and Guinness pie. After about 30 minutes of waiting a staff member came and said they ran out of stew and what did we want to replace it with. It had already been a long while so my sister asked for the fish and chips. After another 30 minutes I went to inquire about the order b/c it had been an hour and we wanted to take the long walk down to the cliffs. The lady that appeared to be a manger was coming out with a plate she said it was ours. It wasn't what I thought fish and chips was supposed to be. I asked about table 3 and said it been an hour since we ordered. She was rude and something about yeah fish and chips, I looked at it funny and she said "or I can refund your money". Of course we were hungry and I told her we did need to eat.

She put the plate down and returned with another "fish and chips", mind you I ordered the Steak and Guinness pie. At that point I handed her my card and asked for a refund.

She brought me cash back. We could not do the long walk down and only went close enough to get good "zoomed in" pics so we didn't miss our bus.

Very frustrating! Very poor management, customer service, and the fish that was served was...