Roark's Kitchen — Restaurant in Northern Ireland

A delightful little restaurant that we had the good fortune to frequent during our stay at Harbourview Cottage in Ballintoy Harbour. We learned later that the restaurant was open for the week due to the Northwest 200 event in nearby Portrush. Normally they aren't open until the summer season begins in June. Our first day in Ballintoy, we dined for lunch. Excellent Seafood Chowder! A generous serving with wheaton bread. Oh my goodness. We were sold! and decided we would skip cooking at our place and just dine at Roark's. Johnny and Megan were very friendly and chatted with us each time we visited, which on our first day was twice (and multiple times during our stay). We came back after hiking the coastline to have dessert. Hands down the BEST! We had the Strawberry Pavlova. Unbelievable. With every spoonful, it was a wonderful mouth-sensation with a lightness that made you believe you could order a second -- but dare not. We learned that their popularity has grown increasingly since the filming of Game of Thrones--another little fun fact we acquired after our arrival. We didn't mind waiting; we were assured of the quality of food for a reasonable price. The three-generation restaurant still uses Megan's grandmother's recipes. To us, it was well-worth going each time. Photo credit: @LITphotographyni and The...

New management is downhill. There used to be a huge table with all sorts of cakes and pies, they’d cut the slices in front of you and there was so much choice! You could get a pot of tea and proper cups and saucers, they sold fudge… It used to have a wonderful homemade grandmotherly feel : it’s all gone. We’d patronized this place for decades every summer, and to see the charming cake display replaced by the run-of-the-mill cake per slice behind your standard glass counter, was heartbreaking for us dessert lovers. Plus now the tea is only served in paper cups to go, you can’t sit down with a proper pot of tea and mugs. The cakes were good, but not as varied or flavorful/homemade as before. When i went we had the pavlova, rhubarb pie, apple pie, summer fruit oat crumble, a fifteen, and the chocolatey one, that we all shared, some were better than the others, but really not as great as before overall. Apparently it’s the granddaughter who took over we were told. I understand it’s probably cheaper and far less work to have less desserts (plus they look more made by a bakery and less homemade), and no washing of cups and teapots, but it’s a pity. The modern feel is simply not as nice. We were three families going there the same week at different times and we all at the same sinking...

Place could be so much more. The food is gorgeous altho the cake slice was so thin it was literally crumbles on my cardboard tray. And crass signs saying cash only..... really !!!! Coffee was good however serving food on proper plates with proper forks and cups would enhance the quaint irish cottage theme as would more traditional music. Years ago it was more traditional now it's recycling mania which I understand to a point but come on service, atmosphere and experience is more important. Especially for tourists. I live not far from here and was embarrassed by the rushed dismissive attitude of the young girls and the sourly face of the male chef and the need for cardboard for everything. Such a beautiful spot to be treated like a cash cow. Has so much more potential as it was not that busy for the number of thronging tourists...