The Lighthouse Bistro & Bakehouse — Restaurant in Northern Ireland

We have eaten Joni Lutzman's food before at coastal coffee so we're waiting to see what he and his wife's new bistro would be like - and it's just as we expected, excellent. Family birthday, small group of four for dinner early Thursday evening. First impressions of location are good. It's a great spot and has variously been in the past a small eat in and take away fish and chip shop, a Chinese takeaway and a couple of other things. These seating for about 30 and it's small so be aware it can be a bit difficult to hear if there's a more raucous party in - that didn't bother us neither did the proximity to two other tables - whose guests we soon exchanged a few words with in typical NI style. Decor is sea/lighthouse theme and works very well. Dark sea coloured walls do well in the evening light. Serving staff are a dream. I spent time in the states and studied some of the restaurant marketing techniques.....basically have all your serving staff taste and understand what is on offer so they can speak knowledgeably - these do just that. Their knowledge and suggestions were spot on as was their pleasantness and enthusiasm. We had three starters off the menu, lobster, chowder and chicken but the 84 yr old didn't fancy anything on the menu so the waitress came back with the suggestion of a tomato based vegetable soup they still had - perfect. The chowder was the nicest I've had since the days when he served it at coastal coffee. The lobster was lovely - delicate tastes and the warmed chicken salad had a hint of fennel we think. Our mains were mostly steak and chicken as we all like similar food and I always think you can judge a restaurant by the steak....ours ranged from well done to as bleu as you can get it without the animal still mooing. All just as each person requested. I buy the same steak from the same butcher but trust me it never tastes like this. We only needed 3 sides between us and then we progressed to desserts. Oh my! The explosion of tastes and flavours from delicate to blast you in the face chocolate was wonderful. Hang the diet for the night. We took our own bottle. Thank you NO corkage.....it's a pet hate of mine so well done for just letting us bring our own. Currently it's only open three evenings and a lunchtime but I am sure the pressure will soon be on for a couple more nights which I don't doubt if the pricing stays the same, will be full to bursting. Our bill was just under 120.00 for four starters, main courses, 3 sides, 3 desserts and four coffees. Absolutely excellent value and a price point which means we will be back even more frequently! Good luck...

Had a great meal here. For a starter I chose the Jubilee Pork Arancini. Here they source high quality local ingredients. That starter, for instance, uses pork from a community-owned and run enterprise called Jubilee Community Farm. It’s the first such farm in Northern Ireland, so its great this restaurant is supporting them by using their produce.

My main course was the (local again) Carnbrooke house smoked beef brisket. Loved it, had some potato skins with it. My dessert choice was their gluten-free Chocolate Cake. It was nice to have some ice cream on the side of the cake. From Bonugli’s over a century ago, through many other businesses in between, people have come here to enjoy ice cream by the sea. Speaking of which, they’re just around a corner from Whitehead’s famous promenade. When the weather is good they add tables down on the promenade itself, a dining location like no other. Around the corner up the street is the train station.

They win 5 out of 5 for their scores-on-the-doors hygiene rating. Service was excellent. For a peer-reviewed judgement just look at their outside wall. You’ll see their unbroken chain of Taste of Ulster awards won every year from 2018 to 2023. That’s every year...

Lovely little bistro in the colourful and quiet little village of Whitehead. We were greeted by friendly and attentive staff and seated safely and socially distant from other diners. This place is clearly very popular and had a great atmosphere.

It was obvious our food was prepared with passion and we enjoyed a delicious meal to mark the last night of our holiday. The seafood was excellent and perfect for the seaside setting.

Couple of things note for anyone thinking of dining here: • BYOB - waiting on a liquor licence • There’s no vegan option • A lot of the fish options also contained meat so not great for pescatarians, although maybe this could be prepared without on request?

• wish I’d known there was a vegan menu, it wasn’t noted anywhere, why does it need to be separate? I usually eat a plant based diet and ate fish last night for the first time in years. Obviously my choice but would have good to have known...