Hugh McCann's in Down

Really good for a wedding venue and kept very clean. My sister had an amazing wedding there.

We celebrated our full wedding day at Hugh McCann's in October 2024. We'd like to start by saying that absolutely everything was perfect!! Lee was our wedding coordinator and point of contact, and his passion and flair for the role did not go unnoticed. He is incredibly thorough and flexible for all the pre and post celebration sets. His courtesy and professionalism on the day to both my wife and I, and all of our guests was very much appreciated. The staff at McCann's are extremely hard working and dedicated to helping us create the wedding of our dreams. Sandra was there to assist with any requests and was closely connected to the top table to ensure we were well looked after. The venue itself is situated beautifully between the foot of Slieve Donard and the seaside. It's backdrop panoramic views offer an incredibly unique and picturesque view of the gorgeous Irish countryside. Our 3 course meal could not have been nicer. The food was clearly freshly prepared and served with speed and efficiency. There were a number of excellent alternatives which catered for dietary and allergen requirements. The venue itself holds an incredible country-like character. However it also lends itself to individual-specific tastes, themes and decorations. Our feedback from friends and family alike shares a common trend of happiness, impressive and special. A fantastic selection of drinks are available at the multiple bars within the venue. The immediate grounds outside offer multiple beautiful locations for pictures regardless of the seasons. All in all, we have absolutely only positive feedback for Lee and all the staff at Hugh McCann's. They helped us massively in creating the wedding of our dreams, and we cannot wait to attend another wedding there. Best wishes, M&T

Would like too know myself wasn't in it

We had our wedding here. Absolutely loved it. The views from the upstairs loft were incredible.

Enjoyed a meal in this place, good atmosphere meal reasonably priced.

Pub served some great steamed crab legs and a prawn deconstructed sandwich and a perfect pint of Guinness

Great experience First time visiting. staff on hand, very attentive. Service was impeccable. Food second to none. We had the Roast dinner, one Turkey and one Roast beef. Will definitely be back again. Thank you to the hostess who served us two guy's.

We couldn't recommend Hugh McCanns for a wedding highly enough. It was very affordable, the build up to the day was organised and stress free. Lee was exceptionally easy to work with and made sure that everything was covered. The staff were efficient so everything ran on time (we have been to many weddings in different venues where this wasn't the case). We had a full vegan menu which was not only accommodated with no hesitation, but also was delicious, we had many comments from meat eaters who were very impressed. The venue is stunning and picturesque. So many of the guests were commenting on how beautiful the venue was. We even got a lovely sunny day (though I am not sure I can give them credit for that). We had the best day and the only downside is that we don't get to do it again. If you're thinking of booking this venue, do it! You won't regret it.

Nice place to drink after a walk up the highest mountain

Shocking customer service. Pointed to a table to sit at not took over by waitrrss. We then had to ask for menus and our drinks order to be took after 20 mins waiting. Only 2 out of 4 drinks arrived. Mains were brought down before starters and kids meals so had to ask for that to be took back and our starters first. Another 30-40 mins later kids meals and startered arrived. Not one person came near to ask was everything okay or were we finished with starters. Another 45-50 mins went past and we ended up paying for what we received and asked for mains to be cancelled. Absolutely shocking service, definitely won't be back.

Was at my Neices birthday party Saturday night my view this place was awful the food was average. Soup for starters and 1hr wait for main course. The table we had was small marble with 3 of us eating from...the service was awful not one asked if our meal was ok..would never eat again in this place my rate 5/10

Previous experience was a bit disappointing but this was a wonderful experience - great portions, brilliant service and lovely food.

Great dog friendly pub with lots of seating outside and inside. Decent food and a nice pint of Guinness. Shows the Rugby and Football at the weekends

Never finish a hike in Mournes without calling in here for a pint. Always very dog friendly which gets my vote.

Food was very nice. Restaura nt was quite cold on day of eating though otherwise would have been 5 stars.

Whilst the taste of the food was beautiful, the portion sizes are pathetic. 1 piece of carrot 1 piece of broccoli 1 mashed potato and 1 roast potato along with thinly sliced meat. Really disappointed

Went for something to eat with Mr Arlo our golden retriever we were made very welcome even giving Arlo a little bowl of treats

Good food good drinks good location good price

Great spot with good atmosphere. Nice food and busy bar

Never cleaned our table outside and it was disgusting with left over food everywhere. expected the customer to carry their own cuttelry and jug of water to table. For the prices they charge I would expect a much better service

Great place great food very friendly staff

Lovely relaxing place for a quiet pint

Food is beautiful. Friendly staff and environment

Great bar. Was busy when we went there for Sunday lunch but they had plenty of staff and we didn't wait long for our food. The food was great, as was the Guinness!

Food was lovely! Staff were dead on. Tables a bit grubby

Nice building and staff let down by very bland food that is way overpriced. Really disappointed with all 5 dishes our party ordered.

Staff are to busy talking to each other behind bar couldnt get served everytime went up even though they new you were there had to go and nearly wave to them to get attention and when asked anyting about food menu none of them new anything poor service and unfriendly wont be back.

Was OK, I got the chicken burger and chips. Chicken burger was cooked but the coleslaw (which I usually love) tasted weird. It wasn't like normal homemade coleslaw it tasted more like co op or Iceland coleslaw. The chips were hard and cold. I doubt we'd go back unfortunately. The staff however are friendly in the restaurant part. Only problem was we asked a member of staff do tou wait here to be seated, he said yes so alot of staff walked past us while we're standing at the entrance inside then I noticed 3 couples going up to the bar in the restaurant and asking for a table for 2 so we stood waiting there for about 7-8mins and there was no need to.

Lovely food very helpful staff.i can't eat somethings but was no bother to staff to change what I couldn't eat..

Awesome food! Had a roast and it was crazy delicious, especially after a hike, and when I ordered "wheaten bread" on the side two different servers tried to bring it to me (which made my bread belly so happy). Would bring the fam back here in a second, great atmosphere!

Delicious fish and muscles. Price is suprisely low to the locattion, amount, and quality of food.i will come back here definitely. Note: few extra staff for cleaning the table could be more beneficial for this restaurant.

Staff were lovely and dog friendly

Terrific views. Food is quite good. Staff go above and beyond. Would recommend highly

Stayed here at the weekend for my sons wedding, just like to say a big thank you to the staff for your hospitality and looking after us

Great atmosphere great food and a great pint

Excellent service, atmosphere and food, real value for money, and truly family friendly... 5 Stars.

Dog friendly place with ok pub grub. 10 ppl ordered and 4 meals were wrong. I ordered the roast of the day and recieved half a carrot and 1 piece of broccoli. Ok priced

good meal portion sizes. tasty and filling, haddock looked particularly nice

Pet friendly, excellent atmosphere nice day out

Fabtastic place we had our wedding here and they are just wonderful today we came for drinks and as usual service was fantastic

I recently officiated a wedding ceremony at Hugh Mc Cann's and I could not recommend the venue or the staff highly enough! Lee and the team went over and beyond to ensure that every detail was in order for the ceremony to run smoothly. The ceremony, itself, was outside in their gorgeous secret garden, and with the uninterrupted views of the Mourne Mountains, it was a truly wonderful experience. I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to this venue and I look forward to returning someday soon! :)

Had some lunch and drinks here recenlty with our 2 dogs in the beer garden. The service was great, the food was excellent too. Water and treats provided for the mutts too. Good value meals and very tasty too! We'll be back again.

Had a great gluten free burger and chips which is hard to come by

Dog friendly places are always a great choice! Lovely staff and atmosphere!

At one point of the evening 7 people were behind the bar and no service. Customer service is shocking

Good food, staff could have been better that were serving food

Wow, I can honestly say I had the best tasting meal out here. Chicken stack was amazing, cheesecake delicious. Staff were lovely and welcoming. I'll 100% be back again

A decent venue for a wedding, luckily the weather was good and we could use the outside areas. Drinks were very expensive

Service was a bit slow despite sufficient number of bar staff and being relatively quiet in terms of awaiting customer. Friendly enough staff and food looked good but can't review as didn't try it.

Good weekend had by all. Great location on the coast. Great craic and very friendly staff.

Terrible service and ok food. Wouldn't recommend

My favourite place in Newcastle.

Very disappointing all round. We were eventually shown to a seat after standing for 5 minutes and two people asking if they could help us. We weren't asked if we had any allergies but were seated in an area which I can only assume is their 'dog friendly area' and were promptly surrounded by 4 dogs. Once seated we weren't asked for our drink order which is usually the first thing any server asks. There was one girl taking orders every 10 minutes or so or whenever it seemed to suit her. Even though we had been waiting 25 minutes she went to the table beside us who had just arrived and took their order. We left after this and went to the Harbour House where we had a lovely meal with exceptional service from start to finish.

Enjoyable views great atmosphere staff were friendly,the food was excellent highly recommend.

Tastiest food I have had in a long time. Unfortunately it was cold when it arrived.

They provided the best Christmas party nite we've had in as long as many of us can remember

Great location with multiple areas with bar access on two levels, both indoor and outdoor. Unfortunately, I had a flat draught cider that was undrinkable. I can only assume that it was the first time the keg was used in a while.

Always a great place to visit Staff, facilities & food all fab. Thanks again from Make My Day Photography & Disco NI ♡

Great food, service and atmosphere. Will be back again no doubt..

Very dog-friendly bar area that serves food. Great service and good atmosphere.

Great spot for a wedding reception

No one to greet/seat on arrival. Staff member disappeared after we asked him about our table. Plenty of staff on...not overly busy. We moved on inside, got a table. After 10 minutes I had to "Ask" for drinks order to be taken...normally first thing waiting staff do normally as it's a good earner? Were told there hadn't been a Sunday carvery for some time, even though we were told it was when we booked? Starters: we ordered 7 soup, 2 cold and 3 not what we ordered, 2 didn't arrive? Apologies accepted, we ordered mains. Roast beef thick,rubbery under done, not well done as we had ordered,steak sandwich too tough, turkey dry tasteless, gravy terrible. Some staff may need re- training, communication with kitchen may need improvement, I'm sorry chef but Sunday lunch isn't rocket science, very poor fare! This was a family lunch nightmare... we didn't stay for dessert or more drinks, sales that were needlessly lost by this establishment as we would have moved into the bar area later. Very dissatisfied, angry, felt sorry for staff who have to hear complaints, although some seemed already aware and weary of the poor standards tolerated by the management.

£5.20 for a CAN of orchard thieves cider..total rip off..AVOID if poss..

Great wee pub with plenty of outdoor space and dog friendly :)

Had a bad dinner experience , 2 drinks didn't show up at all then dinner was served and one person's dinner didn't show, at this time we had been up to talk to staff twice about what had happened. Some food didn't show up at all and drinks needed to be asked for a few times to get when dinner was over. Think this was a one off as I have ate here before and believe it was just a mistake. Not many or at all options for certain allergy's/intolerances , would really hope in the future they do. Staff are friendly and polite and parking is at rear of building. Food that did come was lovely

Absolutely terrible service from the sour bake girl that works behind the bar with pony tale purple-ish hair just wants to ignore you and get other people drinks while she knows fine rightly youve been standing there first waiting. Absolute shambles from her but went up to the Avoca got nice service and food there very friendly.

My dinner as gluten free was lovely my husband and the rest of people at our table had roast beef didn't like the roast beef they said it was tough and most people didn't finish it we are back in June for another wedding hopefully the roast beef will be cooked more as both of us have ordered beef

Such a fantastic place. The decorations in this pain change from room to room but are amazing. Seating is well thought out and staff are friendly and helpful. We stayed here for the night and the rooms are clean and tidy with very comfortable beds too. Views of the mornes are superb too. Loved it

Outrageous prices tbh. 5 pound for a pint of Guinness and 15 pound for a bit of chicken, mash and fried onions that left me hungry. It did taste quite nice but was nothing special. Staff in restaurant were clearly under pressure so orders took a long time. High prices obviously not being used to pay staff anyway.

Brilliant place . At wedding there . First class

first time we went was great, second time mixed our orders up, staff had an attitude problem, throwing plates and drinks down onto the table and walking away, sticking to the table. our party will not be back

Tasty food but the chicken stack is tiny for being £15, I don’t have a big appetite and wasn’t close to full after eating it all

The main bar man was first class. Good banter and good Service. The food was slightly disappointing, although it was nice the kids portions were bigger than the burger and chip I ordered. Only for that 5 stars...

Lovely place Lovely bar and the staff are friendly Lovely food reasonable price Was at my son n daughter in laws wedding everyone had a brilliant day n night and then more food n drink the next day brilliant views of the Mournes from upstairs .

Very good and comfortable..reason we love this place is because after walking our furry friend he can join us for a lovely meal and staff very friendly and lovely

Always eat here when in Newcastle it's really dog friendly the food in the bar is tasty and the staff are so friendly best in the town

Very dingy don't adhere to covid protocols food very basic not impressed at all

What a disaster …….We chose to eat here to celebrate a birthday with family (6 adults & 2 children) while staying in Newcastle for a couple of days over the holidays. Really wish we hadn’t. From start to finish the experience was a disaster, we sat at a table that was free but not properly cleaned (COVID), we ordered some drinks which came out quite quick however wine arrived with only 2 glasses and we had to wait on 2 more glasses for around 10 minutes.While having drinks and reading the menu it was obvious that the few staff that were on were run off their feet as it was busy and there were only 4 servers that I could see doing both food and drinks. After ordering, starters arrived and were fine, we were lacking basics like salt and pepper on the table and sufficient cutlery and napkins but when we finally got a member of staff this was quickly fixed but a basic that should not need chased down. Mains arrived well some of them 4 burgers did initially and they were inedible all burger buns were rock hard, had obviously been sitting under a heater for some time, under the top of the bun was a cremated beef paddy, when shown to a member of staff she said she was sorry and that it looked completely burned, all 4 were the same!! During this time the remaining 2 mains still had not arrived. Time between 4 mains arriving and the remaining 2 mains arriving was approximately 15 minutes ( really not good!!) however at this time we had given up, no one wanted to stay and eat, we had no faith given the experience up until this point that we would be served a nice meal at the same time so we cut our losses. To add insult to injury we had to wait around while the ONE staff member that could sort our bill for what we did have was free. Again I appreciate this establishment may have been under staffed at a busy time and therefore this extremely negative review is not aimed at the staff but is aimed at management and ownership, really really poor and we will not be back. Finally, when we did get to pay the bill and explained all of the issues we experienced the manager gave very little apology and charged us for what we had, thought this was very poor service.

Only one word for this place. Magical

We booked our wedding at Hugh McCanns but due to the pandemic had to rearrange it 3 times. We ended up having our actual wedding day at another venue closer to home and having an evening party at Hugh McCanns in October 2021 when restrictions had lifted. It was a fantastic evening, special mention to Lee who looked after us throughout all of our date changes and on the evening itself. The buffet we had was delicious, guests commented on how good the pizza was especially and the views in the loft suite are amazing, would highly recommend!

Attended family wedding here yesterdsy, sat 16-10-21. The venue was in a lovely oldfashioned setting with lots of character.. ceremony and dining areas were dressed beautifully.Food was lovely and it was served hot.The staff were very professional and could,nt have been more helpful. The weather was grim but with McHughs roaring fire and cosy surroundings it didnt matter.

Very dog friendly. You can bring your dog into the bar and there are many outside tables in two different areas, some had wall heaters for chilly weather. At 2pm we had the choice of seats inside with our pouches. The staff were very friendly and water plus dog biscuits provided. Our food was well cooked standard pub meal with reasonable portions and prices. The pub has traditional wood deco with a roaring coal fire and Irish music. There are some other dog friendly places in Newcastle but some are more expensive so this did us for a quick lunch at a reasonable price. I would go back because it's dog friendly and the food was tasty. It is also handy to have a car park behind it's and it's handy to the town and also the start of the mountain walk. I would imagine at night people would have a great evening there for 'a bit of crack' if they liked a bar scene with a bit of holiday Irish thrown in.

Very friendly staff, food was lovely and bonus it is dog friendly. I was very pleased to hear I can take my dog in with us, there is very few places who accepts dogs in unfortunately they should take an example from these guys. 😊

Great place for a wedding venue highly recommend it

Excellent wedding venue, very pleasant helpful staff who went above and beyond to please. Very clean premises. Brilliant day 👍👍👍😁

Great buzz super staff lots of places to chill out and enjoy a drink. From the ballroom to the bar to the verandah to the many outdoor tables this place was a brilliant place to celebrate a wedding. Nothing was a problem and Donna was a super manager during the day! Fantastic day here!

Love this place ❤ got married here so it will always be special. Location is great, staff are lovely and the food is delicious 😋

Lovely venue for intimate weddings

First time in my life have i sent a meal back. Firstly when you entered the restaurant it was freezing.Door were all open and sea breeze could blow your hair off. Waiter was ver friendly. Menu was very small with only one starter and about 5 main meals. I order fish and chips and wife sitloin steak sandwich medium cooked. Food arrived ver quickly and the grease on the plate waved at me.It was grease grease everywhere.Chips were not half cooked.it had to go back. Wifes steak was obviously well done.it wasnt a sandwich it had one piece of bread and chips again half cooked.Its a pity have eat here twice before and was lovely.sorry i now will not go back.Owner needs to ask serious questions of a chef who in a place like newcastle renounrd for sea food they are serving frozen fish. Come on

Great spot by the Mourne Mountains, check out the garden.

Came with elderly parents, one in wheelchair, and our little dog. What a great place! Spoilt the pup rotten and didn't do a bad job looking after the hoomans. Absolute gem will recommend and definitely return.

Good food good staff and reasonable price 👍👍

My family visited the restaurant twice this weekend....lovely surroundings, great food and very attentive and friendly staff....will definitely be back!!!

Thank you to all the staff who made our wedding day fabulous. Donna kept me calm before the ceremony and Lee, Sonia, Jessica and the rest of the team were very efficient and friendly. All of our guests commented on the beautiful venue with stunning views of the Mourne mountains as the backdrop and that the dinner was delicious. The staff couldn't have been more helpful with some last minute setting up of the outside area, where the ceremony was taking place. All in all a great wedding venue, fantastic staff and delicious food. We would highly recommend this as a venue for your wedding.

Recently had my wedding here and absolutely loved it. Big thank you to all the staff, Donna & Lee. The room was beautiful and food was top class. Thank yous for everything! Janine & Mark

Nice bar. Cosy outside area! Shame about the massive queues at the bar. When I worked in hospitality I was always told to appear as if I was being speedy even if I wasn't., but the staff here seemed to be quite happy to work at a snails pace. Crazy when they didn't even have to wash glasses as it was all plastics

My daughter and i had lunch here today but had to ask 2 different waitresses to clean table as it was all wet stains and this took some time to materialize yet not even half of the tables were occupied and plenty of staff walking about - thought tables should be cleaned when clearing table - no sign of sanitising tables or seats plus waitress with english accent walking about with mask hanging from ear and not covering her mouth - we are still in a pandemic!! Food was good both had battered haddock though service was slow despite plenty of staff ?? Not sure if i would return as cleanliness a major issue here

Might be dog friendly but definitely not people friendly. Called in after hearing they were highly rated as a dog friendly restaurant in the town - arrived in and queued behind another few people who were waiting at the bar - however just as it was our turn 2 men arrived in skipped the queue and got served by what I assume was the manager and we got totally ignored as the other staff stood cleaning glasses - finally got served and told to have a seat, and a waitress would be with us - which she was only to make a fuss of the dog and say hello then wandered off without so much as a second glance at us. We sat for 20 minutes trying to get someone's attention so we could order a drink and food but noone came near us - as the only people sitting inside, we weren't hard to miss. Ended up walking out and leaving - not that they noticed. Would agree with the comments that unless your a regular you aren't getting served. Wouldn't rate and definitely won't be going back again.

Very friendly staff and extremely welcoming if you are walking with your dog, great place

Rude staff member with shaven head (possibly manager too) basically shouted at us to wear masks. Attitude and tone was cocky and aggressive. Then when I purchased drinks, not even a thank you. £5 pint in a half litre plastic glass, this is now twice I have found reason to write a review on McCann's bar and restaurant. Unfortunately both are not good. Beautiful place but poor manners from staff in recent visit and bad food on previous. I got married here 5 years ago about 150 people and booked the whole venue. My nephew got married here under my recommendation. I've rented accommodation belonging to this firm on central promenade along with other family to give Mc'Canns the business. Sunday carvery regularly before lockdown. So there has been £1000s spent. Well that's me done.