Cafe Essence in North Down

Food is always excellent and service is always great

The food is excellent and the service friendly and efficient. There are two problems that prevent me giving it more stars: Hard seats - I always get cramp in my knees Supplements - the menu states '£29 for two courses' but virtually every item on it attracts a supplement (up to an eye-watering £25 for surf and turf). It's actually a lot dearer to eat here than in many other places that sell alcohol! Nevertheless, it's good enough to visit every so often for a treat, just not as your once a month/week restaurant. And all that said, it's worth coming here for the blackened monkfish on a bed of prawn risotto, it's out of this world.

Let's get the negatives out of the way first: The chairs are solid wood making them uncomfortable to sit on for any length of time and inevitably lead to cramp in my knees unless I keep shifting and stretching. Also the 'two courses for £29' is a bit of a bait-and-switch as there are few items on the menu which do not attract a supplement, ranging from a fair £6-£8 for some of the starters and mains, to an eye-watering £15 for lamb and £25 for surf & turf. Even though it's a bring-your-own restaurant it still works out a lot more expensive than one which sells alcohol. Belfast prices for a Bangor restaurant? On the plus side there is a great atmosphere in the restaurant, the staff are very friendly and helpful, and the food is excellent. The chef's signature dish of Blackened Monkfish on a bed of Prawn Risotto is one I would highly recommend, and it's worth visiting Café Essence for this alone. I tend to visit only for a special occasion when I don't mind splashing out a bit (or when the kids treat me for my birthday). Overall verdict: good, but expensive, reserve for a special treat.

BYO, as a newbie on the island I wasn't aware of this. Otherwise we were completely satisfied. However, the restaurant is difficult to access for people with walking difficulties. Narrow stairs to the 1st floor.

Cafe Essence is a relaxed, friendly restaurant, with superb menu, superb Food and is BYO. Six in our party, all had superb food, starter, main course and dessert, all were five star ⭐️ Superb!

Always consistently yummy food. Acoustics can be tricky, especially if there's a large table in! The craic usually cancels that out. Amazing local produce, perfectly delivered from Joanne's kitchen. It's one off our favourite places especially for the fish x

I can't believe, we did not know about this place before, the food was delicious, so flavourful and the staff were extremely friendly and knowledgeable about their dishes. Will definitely be back.

The lamb is to die for. Don't let the decor of this restaurant put you of. The food is always great and it is BYO

We ate at Cafe Essence for my husband’s 60th Birthday with some friends. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals, especially the fish specials. I like the fact that you can bring your own drinks. We will definitely come again.

The staff were very unhelpful could not wait for us to go we booked a table for 8 15pm couldn't get a taxi until 10 15 pm told us they were going at 10 pm they only got paid for the hour and we had to wait outside food was lovely need to sort your staff will never be back

Great food, what else do you need. And its z byo

Four of us went there this week. The decor is more like a cafe than a restaurant and its BYO with a £1.50 charge per person. Its £27.50 for two courses but beware because it soon mounts up as some starters and main courses courses have a £6 add on plus even more if you want extra side dishes. The food,which includes seafod, was good but I thought the bill at £150 for four people excluding drinks was very expensive for what we had

An amazing meal as always and finished by a chorus of happy birthday to me, which made our daughters night, cannot thank you all enough.

When we visit from England this is our go to place for dinner where we dine with my brother and sister in law. The food is outstanding and the service is top notch. An absolute gem of a restaurant and would highly recommend 👌

Wonderful food and service and bring your own drink is brilliant

Great food, especially the seafood and BYO is a plus!

Amazing food and peaceful ambience for a small group. Not much atmosphere and service not as much craic as it used to be

The restaurant is really the upstairs front of a converted terrace house. It is relatively small as a result, and has a limited number of tables set out for twos and larger groups up to six or so. The menu is set at £27.50 for two courses and is bring your own bottle as the restaurant is not licensed. There is a £1.50 per person glass charge. We were a party of six and two ordered the 12 oz steaks and one the rack of lamb both of which had a £6 supplement charge. One ordered one of the specials which was silver hake served with tomato and chorizo and baby boiled potatoes. Before that two of us had a starter of seafood salad - smoked salmon, prawns and mackeral pate. The starter was very basic, a few lettuce cuttings, a small piece of smoked salmon, half a dozen very small prawns glazed in marie rose sauce and a spoonful size quinell of pate on an equally small sized piece of bruschetta. There was no dressing to pull the salad together. It was very unprofessional, very basic and non chef like. The steaks came on a plate with nothing else, no garnish, nothing. The chips came separately. This was literally steak and chips; once again very basic. The silver hake with tomato and chorizo looked very good but that's were it ended. The hake was nicely cooked but completely tasteless. Even adding salt it did not improve, there was just no flavour whatsoever. The tomato and chorizo was separate on the plate, it was not a sauce and so didn't add anything to improve the fish. As for the baby boiled potatoes they were very watery and once again tasteless. The rack of lamb came with one slab of dauphinoise pototo and no other vegetables whatsover. We had to order a side of cauliflower cheese which was another £3.50 on top of the £6 supplement for the lamb. The meal itself was very good and the rack of lamb a good size. One of our party had the stuffed breast of chicken but again it came with no vegetables other than the side of chips that was ordered, and again we had to order a vegetable side at another £3.50. The chicken however was nicely cooked and moist. When we asked about there being no vegetables with the lamb and other mains, we were told they stopped doing this as people were leaving a lot and it was costly. Not the answer we expected nor wanted to hear! In other words pay extra if you want them. Two of our party had creme brulee desserts instead of starters and these were very good. The food quality therefore was very mixed and the presentation and what was sent out on the plate should have been much better. The final cost of £67 per couple for two courses and with no drinks at all was way over what it was worth, having considered all of the above. On a positive note the staff were very friendly and helpful.

We went to Cafe Essence for my son's birthday. I was a bit put off by the steps as I have an issue with the muscles in my left leg but I managed. We were a party of 6 and were seated around the corner. The service was perfect with friendly, helpful staff. The food was excellent - clean plates all round. The menu is not extensive but there was enough variety for all of us to have a choice. This includes my son who is vegetarian. I would highly recommend Cafe Essence to anyone and will definitely go again.

Not been here for a while and food is good, Great prices too. What I like about cafe essence is the no nonsense, they dont try to be fine dining like so many other places (and fail) and add a hefty price tag. They serve great food at decent prices. I had the cod main and the flavours were sublime

Food was cold, staff kept insisting they would "warm it over" .... I kept saying that I didn't want it! The restaurant has about as much atmosphere as a railway platform. It will be a long time before I'll be back.

Bit disappointed with my "King" prawn started. Very small prawns. Cod main course was nice. Not suitable for a person with mobility issues as the stairs up to the restaurant is steep and narrow, plastic chairs not very comfortable and the room is very small so it gets too noisy. Won't be back again, sorry.

Great food enjoyed by my husband and me on my birthday. Lobster, scallops for starters, delicious lamb and amazing peanut butter ice cream dessert. We will definitely be back !

Absolutely fantastic. Delicious.

Super food, great staff, BYO. Seafood is amazing every time.

Great food and friendly welcome..highly reccomend 👍

We had dinner here and the food and service was so good we decided to return again for Sunday lunch. My friend had the surf and turf and I had the rack of lamb. Absolutely delicious and as you are allowed to bring your own wine we came prepared!.

Delicious meal, fantastic service by the lovely waitress Stephanie. Bring your own makes it even more appealing. Recommend for sure.

Food was fantastic and staff are excellent!

We were lucky enough to get a cancellation on the date we required.. always booked well in advance. Whilst the surroundings aren't fancy the food was delicious.. good wholesome home cooking, as we like it - and it arrived with a smile. Rack of lamb and fish of the day ( hake) didn't disappoint. Bring your own alcohol .. always a bonus :) We'll be back very soon - plan to make this a regular.

Went with group and chose meal before the night. Had a starter of Pate which wasn't too bad but main meal arrived luke warm. Didn't want to make a fuss on the night as l was with a group who I'd not met before. Main consisted of 2 squares of dauphinoise potatoes some long stem broccoli and pork fillet that wasn't particularly tender. Needless to say, l won't be returning.

On a wet Thursday night, what a gem of a find!! Spoilt for choice with the menu. However I throughly recommend the amazing Crispy beef starter and the hake in Lobster Bisque was out of this world. Succulent, juicy and full of flavour. Excellent value for money as it is a bring your own wine. Summary- YUM!

Top drawer food, service and ambience. Excellent central location.

Excellent food, excellent service : couldn’t fault this restaurant. Can’t stop going back! The service is so personal and always with a smile. We were so pleased when the lobster came back to the surf and turf. Seafood - amazing. So good with my young son too. Go to this restaurant and you won’t be disappointed!

Amazing food served with a smile. A fair price considering the great choice and quality. Enjoyed every bite, especially the lobster thermodore starter. I have had lobster only a couple of times before elsewhere, and thought it was alright, in Cafe essence it is the best you could hope for. Great place for high quality casual dining and also good for a very special occasion. Thank you. 👍😊

One of the best restaurants it has ever been my pleasure to eat in. Exceptional staff who endeavour to please. Also considering the quality of food extremely good value.

Without doubt, Bangor’s best kept secret. Service is always excellent. Super friendly and efficient. Seafood is amazing. Our group had some dietary requirements and staff were knowledgeable and nothing was too much trouble (or at least that was impression they gave us!!). Always consistent. Always top quality. Definitely my favourite place to eat out in Bangor. Oh….and it’s BYO….what’s not to love!!

As always Cafe Essence delivers on great, fresh food. Love it here, the roast monkfish on prawn risotto delicious. The rest of the party that had steaks said they were great.

This is definitely Bangor’s best kept secret!! Visited here on a recent Saturday evening, they seem to be operating two sitting so we chose the earlier one at 1745. We were first to arrive and shown straight to our table by an extremely pleasant waitress. We were given breads and she opened our BYO wine. The menu is fantastic, well laid out with an emphasis on fresh fish. Despite this I opted for chicken liver pate followed by a delightful sirloin steak. The food was absolutely faultless, the staff were fantastic and the prices were unbeatable for the quality of food. The set menu offers 2 courses for a mere £25. I have visited other fine dining restaurants in the Bangor area and this one is head and shoulders above them in terms of price and atmosphere. I was on the fence at actually submitting this review as I would like this place to remain a bit of a locals secret but if you are in the area definitely give it a try. You will not be disappointed!

Lovely food and brilliant friendly staff!

What a little gem of a place! Brilliant friendly service. Always great food with fresh quality ingredients served. Excellent for a Sunday lunch and I hear they do a great steak night during the week. Can't wait to go back. Thanks

Always a delight to be there, not a rip off, worth saving for and every bite a treat to the tongue. Quality local produce with simple ingredients cooked and served to perfection. Thank you so much for having us and being still here. 💞

Great service and wonderful food, as usual.

Relatively small restaurant but that only adds to the charm. Warm helpful staff and most importantly great food. Fish particularly my highlight but meat dishes superb and our one vegetarian came away more than happy too. Will be back!!

Excellent food. Always a great selection of fish and seafood. Good service.

Fantastic food, wonderful staff and great service, byo too!!

Our first visit in a long time and it was fantastic. Very Friendly and attentive Service with an excellent menu choice. There are a lot of tantalising fish dishes but well complimented with meat chooses ( Our adjoining table had a superb looking rack of lamb being served). When combined with being a BYO let’s you have the opportunity to splash out on wines you might not ordinarily purchase of o a wine list. What is not to like...???

Great staff as always,fabulous food as always, everything clean & felt safe,would highly recommend

A lovely small restaurant with great staff. BYO so cheaper if you are a wine sink. I had a very tasty seafood medley with mornay sauce. Mornay? More like moryay! For dessert a peanut butter and ice cream tort to die for. I may actually be dead.

Never fails, lovely to be back at Essence with their lovely friendly staff and wonderful mouthwatering food. We’ve spent months dreaming of your steaks, the real thing was all we hoped!

Another fantastic night in one of our favourite local restaurants! Great service from sarah and food was spectacular. My rack of lamb was cooked to perfection and the monk fish and prawn risotto never fails to impress. See you again very soon!

Great choice of food. Terrific fish and husband had the best steak ever! And he’s not easy to please! Very small restaurant but we had a lovely table by the window which made our evening more enjoyable. BYO helps with the cost but decent value for money. Only criticism was coffee watery but otherwise a super meal with very attentive and helpful staff.

Excellent food at sensible price.

Perfect as always food gorgeous and staff so friendly and helpful.

Excellent food, service and atmosphere. Cooked to perfection, every item on my was delicious. As always. The staff are attentive, friendly and can’t do enough to make your meal as enjoyable as possible. Maybe a few candles lit and the lights dimmed would add that little bit more.

Tonight was the first time we visited as a couple to celebrate our anniversary. Couldn’t have picked a better place. If you love seafood it’s the place to visit in Bangor. Remember to book before hand as it’s always booked up. Bring you own alcohol there is a small corkage charge of £1.50pp. Not bad. Had the scallops to start with and they were cooked to perfection. My partner had tempura of cod with a dipping sauce. The onto the mains, a blackened monk fish with a prawn risotto, I had a sliver hale fish with a leek and pea and bacon base. Absolutely Devine. Can’t recommend this place enough. Even able to cope with my gluten intolerance.

Love it here. Food is freshly sourced daily. Most tasty dishes. Food is fantastic and service great. Fish is to die for

Food always freshly made superb and friendly staff excellent service

The food was excellent (as usual) and staff very attentitive as well as being good fun. 12 of us occupied the top room and had a fantastic night. Highly recommend it.

Probably the best in Bangor and tgere is some decent competition. Highly recommend the Surf and Turf on Thurs evening and the rack of lamb is tremendous. BYOB.

Sister and I arrived 20 mins earlier than booked but welcome was more like caught unaware. Ordered our meal in a fairly quiet cafe and had to wait a considerably long time before being served. We decided not to go for two courses and enquired about the cost of a main course only. We were told that it would be £19.00. I ordered chicken and she had ordered cod. However the waitress brought out two dishes of cod and argued that this was what I had ordered. She said that another customer had been given chicken. I reluctantly agreed to accept the dish so as not to create a fuss. We had been recommended to try this cafe but we were totally disappointed after paying £19.00 each for a small piece of cod dressed with a string bean, part of a courgette and part of a pepper. 3 small potatoes accompanied my dish.Not one to ever complain but felt it warranted it after speaking to several others. Went home hungry!

This place is a hidden gem and a credit to the Bangor restaurant scene. Food and service excellent. Thank you.

Very enjoyment evening food and service excellent..

Good food and a nice relaxing dining experience just forgot that you bring your own wine.

This restaurant is a hidden gem. It doesn’t have the most exciting kerb appeal but the food and service are first class. We visited as a group of friends. I have scallops for a starter, which were the best I’ve ever had, and monkfish for the main. The restaurant is byo which helps keep the price down.

Lovely meal service good cost great!

Café Essence is sometimes overlooked for the newer more trendy restaurant that seem to be opening all the time but it still remains amongst the best. Varied menu featuring some splendid seafood and fish and perhaps the best steak on offer in North Down! Another plus is the fact it is a "bring your own" so combined with friendly staff and a lovely ambience my advice would be to give it a try.

Had the chowder starter and pork medallion main. Was surprised that the chowder wasn't made with cream or milk and was more of a broth consistency. Surprising but not unpleasant. The pork medallions were fine but nothing beyond what could be made at home in one's own kitchen. My partner's steak was excellent in every regard, the nicest had in a long while but with the surcharge on top of the set price along with the relative simple meals I wouldn't be rushing back. Best saved as a treat rather than a regular visitor.

I'd like to start by saying that the food in Cafe Essence is just great. We've been a number of times and it has always been good. We went on Saturday night for my mum's birthday and again the food didn't disappoint. We did, however, have to wait over an hour for our starter - which wasn't great - which meant that our main course was later again, I appreciate that delays can occur but when you have to get up at 05:30 the next morning for work you don't want to be eating around 9:30/10:00. Overall though the food was worth waiting for and I look forward to going back again.

Went to cafe essence for a girlie night a Friday, we’re told menu was two courses for 25.00. Expensive but had been told food was exceptional so we thought we would give it a go. The actual restaurant certainly need some tlc tables were all marked even a table cloth would have made it more up market felt like we were in some cheap cafe! Menu was given and a range of specials were given to us by the waitress all were extra! There were only about three things on menu that did not have and extra price £5 for steak £3 for monkfish £2.50 for lamb. I asked waitress if I just had one course would there still be an extra charge and was told yes! The food was ok and really for what we got was way overpriced! We go out quite a lot and certainly would not recommend as I felt annoyed from the beginning about the extra charges!

Fantastic food and lovely staff

Been here for food 5 times and have never been disappointed, food is always of a very high standard, it’s bring your own which is great and staff are very helpful and friendly. Would recommend and will be back

I loved this place. BYOB which is always a bonus. This restaurant is pretty small and almost feels like you're in someones house. Fantastic value for money with a two course deal on. It is quite a fishy menu but I was still able to find something I liked on it. Chili beef to start with was divine and then vegetarian lasagna for main was filling and delicious. The staff were very friendly and and up for banter with us as we had had a few drinks before dinner. Would recommend this restaurant to anyone looking good food and not wanting to pay an arm and a leg for it

First time there tonight and the food and service was first class. Stuffed to the gills! Beautiful

We revisited Cafe Essence and had a fabulous meal

Nephews 18th Birthday party, party of 12, not a problem.

Satisfactory food but expensive!

Dined here on Saturday night in a party of 8. It was my first visit, and some of the others had raved about it so I was looking forward to trying this place out. Well...I was not to be disappointed!!

We popped into the town whilst staying in a local hotel.The cafe Essence is beautifully laid out and the staff were very pleasant and cheerful.The variety of food was a delight and we had a nice snack/coffee Enjoyable - will be back

My favourite restaurant in Bangor.

Normally go to Cafe Essence for an occasion. The restaurant is cosy and has a good atmosphere but the food is the main reason that you go for. The blackened monkfish on risotto is gorgeous and the steaks are delicious too. The staff are friendly and helpful. I would recommend that you book especially for Thursday steak nights. Great little restaurant.

We went to cafe essence for the first time for an anniversary meal, we couldn't have picked better. Had a great meal, 2 courses each, tempura prawns and pork belly for starters and 12oz steak and blackened monkfish risotto for mains. Was a cracking meal and something that little bit special. If looking for something better than the rest then this is the place to go. We will be back

Food was lovely and reasonably priced. It's byob which is great but they only have a selection of soft drinks so if you take a certain mixer with your drink you're better bringing some with you. Service is friendly but not intrusive. They had run out of a lot of dishes the night we were there which is a great sign that the food is delicious and all fresh!

Delicious seafood and friendly staff. Highly recommended.

extremely helpful staff and excellent meal x 2 courses bring your own wine. we had surf and turf, generous helpings and very tasty sweets also great!

Friends from Dublin joined us for dinner. They offer a two course fixed price meal with set corkage - you know exactly how much the night out will cost.

Came to this restaurant with some friends, had a lovely evening.

A great local restaurant using locally sourced meat and fish to produce amazing food.

This is our second visit to this restaurant and we were not disappointed. Potato Leek soup was great. Crispy Chili Beef appetizer is highly recommended. I had a Brill Filet with a Sherry cream and cheese sauce...amazing. Everyone in our party thought the food was fantastic. Quaint atmosphere. Great way to top off a two week Irish vacation! BTW, bring your own wine or beer.

Reliable in that we have never had a bad meal.

While staying in Bangor my friend took me to Café Essence. It is an upstairs restaurant which is tucked away on the main street, but what a surprise!

Busy small restaurant good food at reasonable price. Dining room small but a good friendly atmosphere. Staff very attentive.

Lovely food, you will definitely not go hungry. Staff are friendly and have time to spend with you. They are so passionate about their food and customers. We will definitely recommend this restaurant to our guests.

Had not been at this restaurant for a few years but on celebration of our wedding anniversary my wife and I booked a meal and we were not disappointed the staff could not be faulted and although the owner Chris was not available due to illness the food was first class

Very good food in a nice relaxed atmosphere

Been here few times before and beautiful food so was peeved off when went at weekend to find food prices raised and food horrible . Menu also very deceiving as they have a “ specials menu” which is actually a supplement charge to main menu. Had steak cost approx £30 was like a bacon rasher swimming in garlic butter , when complained to waitress she took a strop and was extremely rude . Never again

Great excellent food . Cannot fault anything

My favourite restaurant! I have never been disappointed by the fabulous food on offer. The bill won't be hard to pay because you will be entirely satisfied. As an added bonus you can bring your own tipple.

Myself and 3 friends booked this restaurant for 5:30pm. On arrival the restaurant was absolutely freezing. There were a number of items not available off the menu. Two of us chose the seafood platter to start, smoked salmon, trout and prawns...when it arrived the server informed us that there was no trout so they had just given us more salmon. We would not have chosen this starter if we had known this. The main courses were just ok, the monkfish, which as a special was an extra £5, was overcooked. We ordered the cheeseboard which was bland without much choice. The service was very slow and we had to go hunting our server at 9:30pm for the bill..... Have eaten in this restaurant a number of times and always loved the atmosphere and the food, but this time really let it down...not great food, served in a room which did not heat up, by uninterested staff...

Another lovely park.On occasion I would ride my bike through from mates house to Bangor to Belfast coastal pathway. Nice scenic park.