Hare's Gap Cafe & Bistro in Down

Though they were short staffed they served us quickly and the food was delicious!

A great little cafe. A great little town. The original county seat of Taylor County, until Abilene stole it.

Stop by and you won't be disappointed. Get one of the cookies as well - seriously.

Crowded and small portions are kinda small for quiche if that's all you're eating. Decent food but it's so crowed and hard to get a table I'll only be placing to go orders in the future.

Good lil place to get a bite to eat. There was a 30 minute wait, so we went to the flea market. It was quite good, but spare. One piece of bread with the original breakfast. A really small piece of sourdough. The food was good though. The breakfast burrito was average size. The prices were good for what you got, so we appreciated that. The blueberry muffins in the bakery case, now those were something to talk about. Large and yummy.

This is my favorite little spot to go and have a nice brunch with myself, or with my baby or family! It’s tucked away but they’re always busy. Food is good, baked goods are yummy and staff is sweet!

Great brunch spot in a historic location

Great brunch spot in a historic location

Bacon, egg, cheese, green chili burrito was 5/5 delicious! The biscuits and gravy were okay, the biscuits were REALLY thick and heavy, but the sausage and gravy were delicious. Cute little spot for breakfast. We bought wedding cookies on the way out. When I got to the truck I saw on the bottom the date was 6/30, so they are 17 days old. I went back inside to ask if they had fresher cookies and then ended up not having any. They offered a refund, or to sub them with other cookies. Just seems like a long time to have cookies sitting on a shelf.

Bacon, egg, cheese, green chili burrito was 5/5 delicious! The biscuits and gravy were okay, the biscuits were REALLY thick and heavy, but the sausage and gravy were delicious. Cute little spot for breakfast. We bought wedding cookies on the way out. When I got to the truck I saw on the bottom the date was 6/30, so they are 17 days old. I went back inside to ask if they had fresher cookies and then ended up not having any. They offered a refund, or to sub them with other cookies. Just seems like a long time to have cookies sitting on a shelf.

If you want cold mediocre food. Abysmal non existent service. Expect to wait at least an hour for food and have to complain to get it, then this is your place.

Ok breakfast, small portions but pretty good. Biscuits were dry and not enough gravy.

This cafe is always delicious and worth a visit.

A quaint country cafe with a delicious breakfast, lunch & brunch menu. We loved it! Then we crossed the street to the Perini country market. So cute!

Good food and consistently good service.

After reading other reviews, I suppose my expectations were higher for this Cafe. It was nice, staff was friendly. They were busy. I ordered crispy bacon, it came out limp ( both pieces) staff went back to get crispy bacon, and came back with jist 1 piece. Ok fine. Didn't make me happy. Coffee was just ok. They never came around to refill my coffee. Prices are fine.

Very warm and inviting. Food was good.

I absolutely loved my visit to The Gap Cafe! The atmosphere is so inviting and comfortable, making it a perfect spot for relaxing. The staff was incredibly welcoming and attentive, adding to the great experience. Plus, the food was delicious! I highly recommend stopping by for a wonderful dining experience.

Way overpriced for the quality. This is a place for hipsters to feel fancy. I paid $10 for a Frito pie that fit in the palm of my hand. The chili was bland and made Hormel look gourmet. Also the chilli was so greasy that the Fritos were already soaked and soggy when it was served.

Nice little Cafe. Simple menu with lightl portions. Tasty cinnamon roll. Worth the drive from Abilene.

Love this place!! I’m a lover of brunch and a brunch is only brunch with a mimosa so I hope that can be added to the menu soon, but I’ve heard it’s in the works! Love this place and the atmosphere.

Just had lunch here and it was phenomenal. The chicken fry and their homemade fries are among if not the best I've ever had. Delicious homemade gravy. The building is very rustic, which fits the theme of the area, but may not be everyone's cup of tea. This is definitely on the list of places to return to. Do note that they only serve breakfast and lunch.

I cannot express the nostalgia in this establishment. The floors and walls exude history. The coffee was fresh and hot. The food was fantastic! Absolutely worth it!

I had a great brunch here. The rustic vibe is very nice, and the food and service are great, too. Would definitely recommend The Gap Cafe for a nice breakfast/brunch.

Went for breakfast and had the skillet. Food was great along with the service.

I’m a regular at the Gap Cafe. I love the atmosphere, it’s intimate, not a lot of tables, so not noisy; very comforting feel, cabin-like interior. I put a lot of emphasis on atmosphere, but you do need good food to keep you coming back. Food is good, not a lengthy menu, but I’m not looking for lots of variety. We usually go for breakfast. Lunch is served as well. Good service; often meet other friendly customers when we’re there. Always go across the street to the Market after a meal. Another very cozy space with exceptionally friendly staff. They feel like old friends.

Service great, food very good. Nice little hole in wall place. Had a good time

I have been here for breakfast and lunch, and both times, the food and service were excellent. I got the quiche, and my husband got the biscuits and gravy. With the first bite, we both looked at each other in amazement. The crust of my quiche was so buttery and flaky. The mixture of egg and veggies was fresh and had a great texture. The biscuits were fresh, and the gravy had lots of sausage in it. Their frites are amazing too! We loved them as a late afternoon snack. Their coffee is tasty and strong. Great place!

Mind-blowingly excellent food. I’m often amazed how good restaurants in tiny towns can be, and this place proves it again. I can honestly say I had some of the best fish tacos I’ve ever had here.

Limited menu, mostly breakfast items. My Cobb salad was excellent. The place is quaint and cute, very clean. Antique items add to the charm.

It would have been a five star if the coffee machine was working.

Nice smooth tasting coffee. Great start to my mornings last week. Cheers Guys

We were visiting Tullymore forest park as an over 55 club with 24 members and since there is now no cafe in the park (in the middle of summer!!!) we were looking for a snack and were told about this place. Food was very reasonably priced service was excellent and views were to die for. Well done for the people who put an effort to running this place.

This is Eliza I highly recommend the Gap Cafe! The Breakfast and lunch are soooooo delicious I live in Abilene and believe me it's worth the drive

Awesome cafe! Ate there today for the first time. Loved their quiche & coffee. Will go back again sometime when we are in the area.

I stopped by because I was hungry and didn't know it was Tom's place. I had the chicken fry with the pomme frittes. It was truly outstanding. This was rib-eye done in a seasoned batter that was spot on. The fries were thin-cut, double-fried and salt/peppered to perfection. The service was great. The menu is typical Perini. Do a few things really well. The table next to me had other items on the lunch menu that looked great. GO EAT HERE.

Enjoyed the food and atmosphere

Great food. Neat atmosphere. Very friendly and professional staff. You wont be disappointed!

Food was great. Service is terrible. Inside temperature is very cold.

A gem of a cafe if you're near Abilene or staying at Abilene State Park. Many items are gluten free but not marked on the menu. Just ask. Yummy!

Neat place to have lunch, clean, friendly, fast service and the food was very good. Enjoyed myself.

Great bakery and lunch choices!

The first time I experienced the Cafe - was great. The second time was a disappointment. The waitress was distracted and simply too busy. We got seated right away but waited a long time- eventually our meals arrived at different times and were not right or incomplete. Food wasn’t great. The young lady that waited on us wasn’t attentive or kind- just there. Maybe they could use some training and more assistance. I know it’s hard to find good help lately.

Excellent food. Okay service. The place has a really weird and uncomfortable set up plus it was super cold inside. Again food was great.

Wonderful & refreshing! Will return without hesitation.

Food was good but service was not. Waited over an hour to get seated while people who came in after us got seated first. Waitress seemed like she had no idea what the restaurant served. Then waited another hour for our food. Horrible service

The food was great! Staff was very friendly.

Excellent experience here. Friendly staff and great food. Who’s idea was it to fry jalapeños with the french fries? Brilliant!! They go so well with the CFS, adding just the right amount of spicy flavor. The Cowboy Coffee was best coffee I’ve had in Texas. I will definitely come back.

Neu-Fredricksburg, TX experience.

Most places you only get a single cup of tea or maybe two. I got three full cups out of my pot and it was a reasonable price too. Otherwise my filled soda was good, the place was clean and comfortable and there was a fine view of the mournes in the background.

Great location. Great food. Great baked goods.

This restaurant is a gem! If you are ever in Buffalo Gap or near it, you have to stop in! The food is fresh, the breads and muffins are baked daily!!

The building wood inside we were told is the original wood, 100s of years old. A post office in the corner was old as well. There's a bar also on one side of the large room and tables on the other side. Breakfast is served until 11AM, it was delicious!

Great little spot to stop for breakfast if you are in the area. Simple bit delicious menu, good coffee, and very friendly service.

We ordered 2 patty melts, chicken fried steak, and cowboy coffee. The coffee had clearly been sitting on the burner too long. When we all sampled the chicken fried steak, there was a clear taste of fish in the coating. Patty melts were fine. Service was good and the cookies from the bakery were delicious.

Great little place for a quick meal.

Friendly service. Excellent food.

Breakfast was great and waiter staff excellent 👌

Got a take-out strawberry cinnamon roll. It was super delicious and was very reasonably priced. Would have sat down but they were quite busy when we were in.

This place is simply amazing! And yummy. 😋

We've only eaten here once, but we'll definitely be back. Prices are good and the food was great. We had the chicken fried steak and French fries with jalapeños. And the dessert was awesome!!!

We had a really nice breakfast. No frills, just a really tasty breakfast sandwich. Loved the building and the rustic feel. The waitress was sweet and very attentive. Can't wait to go back!

Food good. Service not as much. Slow to get refills. Bakery items delicious!

What looked to be a very small cafe turn out to be a decent size restaurant. Unfortunately, the service not the menu are that great. I order a chicken fried stake with fries and ice tea to drink. The stack and gravy was very good but the portions where small by comparison to other restaurants. The side where nothing special, just french fries that where not that impressive. All for ~$17.00+tip. The service was also poor with hardly any refills on our drinks. Our cups sat empty till our food was serverd then sat empty again till we left. The restaurant wasn that busy so I didn't see why no one paid us much attention. For that price and service, I should just gone to IHOP and gotten a better deal and service. Their fried steak is good but overpriced with french fries and slow service.

A lady friend and I met for lunch at The Gap Cafe. The cafe is a quaint comfortable space and the staff is extremely friendly. We ordered the Steak Sandwich, Pomme Frites, bottled soda à la carte and dessert. The steak sandwich, a "Thinly sliced grilled steak, blue cheese crumbles, lettuce, tomato, topped with blue cheese dressing on a homemade baguette" that was delicious but extremely small for the price. The fries were described as "French fries the way they are supposed to be – twice fried. And, ours are tossed with fried jalapeño chips (because we’re in Texas)." These were a disappointment. Honestly they were small and tasted like any other fry. For our drinks, she ordered a Coke and I ordered a Diet Coke. We were told they were bottled but was not aware that they were the traditional Coke glass containers. My friend's Coke was 12oz and my Diet Coke was only 8 oz. for the same price. For dessert we ordered a pastry and cookie which were both amazing! Service was friendly but the kitchen was slow considering there was only 4/5 customers in the Cafe. Bottom line, it was somewhat of a discouraging visit. Will I eat at this restaurant again ... still debating.

Excellent breakfast. Excellent coffee.

Good food with great service. We go there about once a week and the staff is very friendly and helpful.

Cozy little Cafe with great food, baked goods and service! Highly recommended!

We ordered food and it never came. We went to check out, after waiting thirty minutes, and let the server know that we were only paying for drinks and she didn't seem to care one bit that we never got our order. Great coffee though.

Quaint, rustic, peaceful location and atmosphere. Exemplary service, and delightfully delicious food.

Good food,had to wait a little bit

The skillet breakfast was great. Then monkey bread for later, yum.

I had the chicken-fried steak and it was excellent. And the people are so friendly. Take time and pay them a visit well worth it

Overpriced. Toast was cold and hard.

We took the 20 minute drive to try out this cafe we have been hearing about and boy were we impressed! The cafe itself is so charming! The customer service was so friendly and inviting! We had a chicken fried steak and a grilled chicken sandwich...both came with fries and both were so delicious! We got a key lime pie to go and that was so good as well! This is definitely a nice little place to hit up for a lunch date with a friend or grab a coffee and pastry and just enjoy your company and the atmosphere. We can't wait to go back and try their breakfast!

The food is PHENOMENAL. The service was friendly, but the timeliness of the delivery of our meal was awful. Hope they work on speeding things up in the kitchen. I’ll definitely return, but won’t wait until I’m starving to go. Entreé pictured is the steamy sandwich.

The food is always great, but service has gotten very poor. The coffee was cold, and refills were non existent.

We had lunch at The Gap today! Chicken fried steak, gravy, and jalapeno pomme frites! Amazing. For dessert we had a lemonade cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting with chunks of fresh stawberries! Melt-in-your- DELICIOUS! We bought pastries, cookies, and biscuits to bring home. Just ate an "everything bagel" biscuit with cream cheese filling! Beyond bounds deliciousness! Had a few bites of the jalapeno poppers biscuit 😋😋🥰! We've had the cookies before but bought one of each: chocolate chip, cowboy cookie, and snickerdoodle! If you haven't had one yet...get there! No other cookies compare! We also bought a pastry that we haven't tried yet..it is a strawberry cinnamon roll with strawberry buttercream frosting with fresh stawberry pieces on top...how bad can it be! WE'LL BE BACK!

This place is great! We got some tasty avacado toast and some amazing bacon jalapeno bagel bombs! The service is wonderful. Come try it.

Great place for breakfast or lunch

This was a great place for coffee and breakfast. It's a really neat old general store feel. You're immediately greeted by the charm of this old rock building and the kindness of the staff you'd expect from an early 20th century general store. The coffee here was the best tasting black coffee I have had in this area. For breakfast I had the sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast burrito with a side of hash browns. The burrito comes with a side of salsa that was great and the hash browns are small cubed potatoes that were equally as good if not better than the burrito. I look forward to going back here with friends and business partners.

Great food and great service!!!

Staying close by, we called for elevenses. Only one other customer in the cafe and we sat at a table to take advantage of the stunning of the Mournes. After maybe 10 minutes our fellow diner advised that we should go to the counter and ring for service. True, at the counter there was a notice advising customers to ring a bell but nothing on the tables to make us aware of procedure. Had we been alone I think we may have given up long before anyone thought to check the dining room for customers. Staff were friendly but food very disappointing. The freshness of my scone was debatable- heated by microwave without my agreement - but no question that my wife's slice of lemon cake had been around longer than it should have been! All in all a disappointing experience especially when Hare's Gap cafe was highly recommended by friends. Maybe just an off day?

Had a quick overnighter one January past, on a snow covered Commedagh, so called in here on the way down. The food is just perfect for a cold worn out hiker :) I had a huge fry and my buddy had sausage beans and chips... I havnt been back since the work thats been completed recently but it looks good. Would highly recommend..

What a shock when we came across the great little place.Great friendly staff and the food was lovely. All of a sudden we watched the mist cover the mountains and the rain, all from the amazing view from the dining room. This place is def worth a visit

This is an ideal stopping place for walkers in the Mournes. We accessed it by car but it's a bit off the beaten track. Clean, modern and welcoming - all that can be asked of such a place. Didn't sample the full menu but the cake was nice!

Myself and my partner visited recently and I had soup ( which came with 2 pieces of wheaten) and he had the soup and sandwich combo. We also each had a tray bake and 2 fizzy drinks. It came to just under £19. I felt this was pretty reasonable. When the soup arrived the bowl was HUGE!! It was such a good sized portion. The soup itself was packed with veg! The wheaten I had was great. My partner really enjoyed his sandwich it was well filled! The bistro itself had amazing views. I would definitely go back!

We visited the 'bistro' for brunch before heading into the hills. We did not stay in the accommodation and so cannot comment on that. The cafe is plain but comfortable with plenty of seating indoors and outside on the terrace. The view from the cafe into the heart of the Mourne mountains is a definite plus as was the excellent Ulster fry washed down by a good cup of tea at reasonable prices. The downside was the background noise provided by Radio 1 playing music at high volume - just not appropriate for a venue wanting to be a 'Bistro' in a peaceful location. It's often the case that restaurants with loud inappropriate music are staffed by friendly but untrained younger staff and that seemed to be the case here. Getting the menu and ordering was slightly chaotic and staff had to be extracted from the kitchen when service was needed. One major plus point is free parking at an excellent place to enter the mountains but please give back by using the restaurant. Take your own water. I bought a small bottle and was shocked to be charged £1.80! Overall, a perfect spot to start or finish a walk but they need to sort out the music if they want the right ambiance and some training for staff would be helpful.

Had lunch here recently on a beautiful day looking out at the spectacular view. It is a pity but the food didn't live up to the surroundings. Had the most unappetising bowl of vegetable soup I have ever experienced. Just big shreds of green vegetables in a brown liquid. This was accompanied by the most uninspiring cheese and ham sandwich which was only half filled and totally dry. The place seems to be run by very young girls who try their best but are a bit incompetent. Sadly I won't be back.

Went for a bit of a hike 3 weeks ago. We parked at Meelmore Lodge (yes first of all thanks so much for the park - really appreciate that this is free and hopefully safer than some) and headed off in the direction of Spelga. Within half an hour we were walking in the mist which had turned into heavy rain before lunch. Not a very happy family I'm afraid - apart from the dog who was up to his "armpits" in mud and having a great time! I felt I should mention the context of my trip to the Bistro to help the reader understand just how much I appreciated Hare's Gap Bistro!! We stopped off at the Bistro before going home(by now I was very wet and very cold) and had a HUGE slice of the most amazing homemade rhubarb pie and a coffee. Wow it was fantastic! The rest of the family just had tea (the pot of tea for one would probably do about 4 people). I noticed there were some fine looking scones and homemade cakes. I am planning a return trip to try out some more of the menu. Just wanted to thank the guys at Meelmore for this brilliant facility - I hope you get the footfall you deserve. Can't recommend it enough.