The Artisan Cookhouse — Restaurant in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council

First and last time I think I’ll be attending the artisan. Was hyped up for weeks, was so excited to go there only to be greeted with a rather small cafe like restaurant.

Had a table reserved for weeks, seated very promptly, no real small talk from whom I assume was the manager. Waiter brought us water, poured 3 glasses only to see something in the glass, some sort of black (dusty?) residue floating around. Mentioned to the waiter who gave us new glasses and a jug. Drank our water, ordered some drinks and asked for more water (which never arrived) Friend ordered a Jameson and ginger ale, which took no joke about 6-7 minutes to arrive. Asked if I could also order a drink, the waiter walked off asking “the same?” I had to shout “er…no” and place my order. My friend was drinking gin however wanted some advice on the drinks, the waiter was “recommended” the 3 most expensive gins on the menu and didn’t really answer the question my friend was asking. All felt very rushed.

Food prices were extortion, ordered the burger which arrived on a wooden plate which was incredibly awkward and not enjoyable, I know these plates regularly don’t go through the dishwasher either…

Friend ordered the steak, £37 for a very sparse looking plate of a steak with 4 onion rings on top…? No side salad, asparagus etc?

Desert was also very underwhelming, my friend ordered 2 scoops of the smallest scoops of icecream I’ve ever seen which coast a whopping £1.95 each.

Only 2 bathrooms as well, wasn’t a fan of the taps, thought it was broken at first (looks like a gravy boat)

Bill came to £119, absolutely shocking. Was very disappointed the management made no comment about the water which was my very first introduction to the artisan.

Don’t think I’ll be back with the prices and...

Whilst the room was very clean and provided what we needed we would not stay again. This establishment has no reception and no one is immediately available to my knowledge if need at night. It is attached to The Cookhouse restaurant in Strangford. Entry to the building and rooms is via a code. We were also shocked to discover that breakfast is not served until 10am and not on a Monday. If you are like us and stayed Friday to Sunday you may quite likely miss out on food. We had to be away early on Saturday to attend a wedding and so had no breakfast and again we left at 9 on Monday without food as the restaurant doesn’t open on a Monday. A poor service to those staying and there was no offer of an alternative. Additionally I am vegetarian. The menu whilst nice for those who are meat eaters was strictly adhered to and when I asked for scrambled egg was told that they ‘don’t do it!’ How hard is scrambled egg?! The three nights cost well over £300. Poor value for money. Air bnb...

We stumbled across The Artisan Cookhouse quite by chance while looking for a lunch option. Luckily for us they managed to fit us in as a walk-in despite being well booked up.

This was a great result as it meant that we could select from their well-priced set menu (£28 for 2 courses and a little more for another one). Given the quality of their cooking this is very competitive.

So for my starter I selected haddock chowder which came with a delightfully warm mini wheaten loaf. Very enjoyable. Then for the main course it was a proper chicken Sunday lunch with Yorkshire pudding.

Throughout the meal the staff were nicely attentive without being intrusive and we were able to take our time. To be honest everything went right with our lunch and that's why The Artisan Cookhouse gets 5...