Ownies Bar in Carrickfergus

We were at Ownies today 16/10/2024 at 5pm for dinner, Had lamb, & chicken Curry and I must say it was so good and tasty, food was well prepared and on time, the server was vey polite and very helpful. We would definately recommend Owines to individuals, couples and large or small groups. Very well done guys, hopefully we be back soon and also for Christmas dinner.

Ownie's is an outstanding pub/bistro! The food, staff and atmosphere are excellent! Kudos to Jack the bartender and Brenda our server. We've been to Ownies before and it was even better than we remembered. For a great time I highly recommend Ownie's.

First class as usual. My Daughter,s favourite place. Gets better with age. Scampie is to die for. Again never disappointed. Back again. Never dissapoints. Barry

Good honest, pub grub, served quickly by friendly staff. Great atmosphere, too. Not to pricey either.

I've eaten here before and the food was fine but recently it's declined a lot, we went for an early evening meal, so it was a little busy but certainly not crammed so presumably the kitchen wouldn't have been under any pressure, so what they produced should not have been as poor as it was, basically no excuse for serving meals as bad as we just had, the garlic and chilli prawns were burnt to the point that the garlic was not just bitter but was black and tasted rancid, we had the smash burgers for main course and the burgers were OK but the chips had clearly been put in oil that wasn't hot enough and just tasted greasy and weren't edible, we really couldn't eat them, so they were left on the plate, it's not an overly expensive place to eat but when you are paying around £20-£25 for two courses you would expect to be able to eat the food and even hopefully enjoy it but certainly on this visit we could do neither. Don't think I'll be back any time soon.

I've eaten here before and the food was fine but recently it's declined a lot, we went for an early evening meal, so it was a little busy but certainly not crammed so presumably the kitchen wouldn't have been under any pressure, so what they produced should not have been as poor as it was, basically no excuse for serving meals as bad as we just had, the garlic and chilli prawns were burnt to the point that the garlic was not just bitter but was black and tasted rancid, we had the smash burgers for main course and the burgers were OK but the chips had clearly been put in oil that wasn't hot enough and just tasted greasy and weren't edible, we really couldn't eat them, so they were left on the plate, it's not an overly expensive place to eat but when you are paying around £20-£25 for two courses you would expect to be able to eat the food and even hopefully enjoy it but certainly on this visit we could do neither. Don't think I'll be back any time soon.

Went there today for lunch with my wife and sister, The food was excellent and the staff were very helpful and friendly. The other surprise I got was that you are allowed to bring your dog with you

Great place. In carrickfergus for work and this place was recommended to me for somewhere to eat and I ended up eating here all week. Cannot fault anything, food is great, Guinness is great and the price is exceptional for what you get.

Food lovely service brilliant and atmosphere 👌

Best food we've had in N Ireland

Best food we've had in N Ireland

Excellent restaurant, plat très généreux. Personnel très souriant et serviable. Très grande carte de vin du monde. Bon rapport qualité prix.

Had a steak sandwich and a dessert. Great meal, very enjoyable. Liked the atmosphere in the place. 5 out of 5 for their scores-on-the-doors. Was able to park close outside on the street. I was driving, so didn't drink, but its a full pub as well as a restaurant.

Consistently a great place to be. Food, service and staff all great.

Went for 80th Birthday dinner. Food was amazing and the service was excellent. My partner & I had the sirloin and it was cooked to perfection. The birthday girl had chowder and loved it. Definitely recommend

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Ownies Bar and Bistro, and I can't stop raving about this hidden gem! From the moment I walked in, I was captivated by the warm and inviting atmosphere. The cozy ambiance, with its tasteful decor and soft lighting, made it the perfect place for a relaxed evening out. The service at Ownies is top-notch. The staff are not only friendly and attentive but also genuinely passionate about ensuring that every guest has an unforgettable dining experience. They strike the perfect balance between being attentive and giving you space to enjoy your meal, which I greatly appreciated. Now, let's talk about the food – it's simply outstanding. The menu offers a wonderful variety of dishes, all reasonably priced, making it accessible for everyone to indulge in a fantastic meal. However, the star of the evening was, without a doubt, the sea bass. Cooked to perfection, the sea bass was fresh, flaky, and bursting with flavor. The accompanying sides complemented the dish beautifully, making it a truly memorable dining experience. Whether you're looking for a casual dinner with friends or a special night out, Ownies Bar and Bistro is the place to be. With its lovely atmosphere, excellent service, and exceptional food – especially that unforgettable sea bass – it's a spot I'll be returning to again and again. Highly recommended!

Not much of a menu for vegans/veggies

Great food at a really reasonable price. Friendly atmosphere and really polite staff. Here for a week for work, tried it one night and came back for more another night. Highly recommend.

Everything excellent food service and very helpful and nice people working there 👍 😊

staff were really friendly, sat upstairs for food, was quite busy but service was still quick and there wasn’t much of a wait. cannot fault the food, it was incredible. portions were large and the prices were very reasonable for the standard and quality of food there. the bar had a really nice atmosphere and the live music was great entertainment

Myself, my Husband and Our teenage Son visited before going to the cinema. The food was fantastic. My Husband said the Lasagne was the best he had ever tasted and hes fussy. I had the special which was slow cooked beef it fell off the bone absolutely delicious, my Son had the Steak burger and loved it saying it was a proper burger. Staff helpful couldnt fault them. Never get dissappointed when visiting Ownies. Again big shout out to the chefs. Only place in Carrick we would eat.

Used this on a number of occasions over the years. The food is always good and the atmosphere is pleasant. I would use it and recommend it any time.

Great food & atmosphere, well worth a visit. Dog friendly

Great food, great service lovely people

Meet up with brother and sister in law for breakfast very enjoyable food and excellent service

Very disappointed I got the full Ulster fry and Tea I asked for a we top of hot water they charged me for another cup of tea £2.50

Lovely meal, upstairs in restaurant. Live music downstairs....we will be back 😃

Haven’t been for a while and decided to stop for a quick lunch. Two of our party ordered fish and chips. You would have thought that a restaurant in a seaside town could not go wrong with serving fish. Batter was soggy and tasteless - Wetherspoon’s serves better. The other meals were pretty good but the fish meals were disappointing.

Delicious food and friendly staff - just remember to book if it’s busy so you can avoid disappointment!!

We traveled here from London and it was the first meal out of our holiday. It was also the best meal out on the holiday. When we first entered, we thought we'd have to leave because the music was VERY loud, however, when seated, our area was not impacted by the noise, it was relatively quiet. We had lovely servers, My dad and I got Guinness pie, and my mom and husband got lamb with scalloped potatoes. The pies were okay. I was disappointed with the crust as it was a puff pastry and only a small topper on it. The filling was flavorful and far more than I could eat. The lamb meals were raved about. My husband, who has lamb frequently, said it was the best meal he'd had in a long time. My mom and I split a pavlova. It was light and lush. I would eat here again for sure.

Fantastic pub facing the bay.nice pint.good lunch.

Great as always and offer a good range of GF options

Great food and very friendly staff. Thoroughly recommend it

The fish dishes here are especially good.

Great spot, the food hasn't let me down yet. I will return.

Was there tonight (27/06/240for our wedding anniversary and boy what a wonderful night. the staff are absolutely fantastic, customer service is excellent and boy the food is excellent. By far the best restaurant in Carrickfergus. Very well done to all.

A fantastic effort by the team in Ownies. Fifteen of us - all received the most delicious Sunday lunch - hot, tasty and served with a smile - we all managed to eat at the same time as well!!! Such a great effort by the management. We all really appreciated this and had a wonderful family gathering:)

Great food and service. My wife had the best vegetarian meal she has had since we have been in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Ordered the seafood chowder. Really good!!!

The food were tasty n the ambience were cozy.

Clean and tidy, not serving breakfast til 09:00 is definitely a drawback, they could supply instant porridge, yoghurt or breakfast bars in the fridge provided

Very polite and efficient staff

Went on a Wednesday evening,ukulele musicians group were playing 7.30-10pm. Fantastic atmosphere !😃

Great value for money and service greatly appreciated thank you Ian, Vittorio and Tara 🐕‍🦺

The food is the best in Carrickfergus! Basically you can order anything and your going to love it! The Music is amazing and the staff are so friendly. Fantastic atmosphere.

Great place to go whether on your own or with a party.

Booked for Sunday lunch, thankfully none of us have mobility issues as bookings are only for the restaurant which is upstairs. It was quite quiet when we arrived. Staff are friendly and polite. One of the party fancied a roast, as quite particular about how they take their beef, opted for the turkey and ham. The portion of meat was quite small and for some reason the cabbage was on top of the mash, just beneath the turkey and ham. The stuffing was also quite a small portion and not over powering with onion or herbs. More turkey and ham wouldn't be unreasonable given it was £16.50. The lasagne was good size and plate was cleared but apparently " tastes the same as any other lasagne " lol. When we left around 1.30 it was still quite quiet, possibly due to good weather. It has improved but as others have mentioned portions could be bigger and that's from someone who doesn't normally manage to finish a restaurant / bar meal.

Excellent. Have been away and returned today for Sunday lunch. Warmly welcomed and enjoyed the best of local food. Service was good and the atmosphere warm and engaging. You won’t find better. Regards to all the staff.

We loved it, we had a beautiful meal on May day not too busy but the meal was lovely

Fantastic ...1st time iv been in ..in 20yrs ...such a change ..beautiful set up ..friendly staff...i dont think it will be another 20yrs ..before im back

Fantastic food and great service, only down side £2.50 for a 200ml bottle of Coke, I refuse to buy 200ml so drank water all night.

Food is pretty good, bar staff can be rude.

Great food and lovely staff let down by the self service style setup. Staff do their best but get let down by managements choice in service style. You find ur own table, and then have to queue at bar to order along with those just trying to get a drink. Lack of staff numbers means frustration and mistakes are made which happened to us. Which is a shame as the food is great, the environment is nice and the staff who are there are superb but trying to do their best in a difficult environment. Recommend management invest in more staff. If you are bringing a big group, bring pen and paper for your order and trying to remember once u get served is a nightmare.

Food is always great, never disappoints

A very relaxed and good dining experience. Have been on a number of occasions and have always been more than satisfied.

Enjoyed a fabulous meal there a few days ago ...good portions ..fair prices and helpful staff ..

Great food and service at a brilliant price. Loved the fact there was dogs in the bar - really added to the experience

Looks small from the outside - it's a Tardis!! Good food and beer, pleasant staff.

Ownies is a lovely place for a meal. Traditional European / local food at a very reasonable price. I can’t handle gluten and my son is allergic to milk but there were plenty of dinner and desert options for both of us.

Mothers day breakfast very poor

Ate here for years for a reason . Good value and food never fails

Great Guinness in this Carrickfergus bar. Busy at the weekend.

This place is bigger inside than it looks from the outside - lovely meal upstairs and then downstairs to enjoy some live music on a Friday night.

Great food, rotating specials menu, pub grub also. Plenty of pints and live entertainment in the evenings!

Recently found out about this place been here twice in the last month. Out for my daughters birthday six of us in total. From start to finish couldn't be faulted service food first class will definitely be coming here again. Very enjoyable experience thank you.

Had my dads 90 th birthday celebration in the upstairs function room in Onies on Saturday.Cant praise this establishment enough from my first point of contact. The food and service was excellent and a memorable night was had by all attending. Highly recommended.

Nice dog friendly bar and restaurant on the front very near Carrickfergus Castle. The staff were lovely. Although I didn't have food, the restaurant area was busy.

Had lunch there today. My friend ordered a chicken burger - cut it in half and it was pink and raw in middle. We sent it back. They brought out another one and halfway through eating it discovered it was bloody. Told waitress who informed us that chef had checked temperature on it and it would be safe to eat. Needless to say my friend didn’t eat it as she’d lost her appetite. To add insult to injury they made us pay for the burger only knocking fifteen percent off bill. My friend couldn’t eat her burger! Unless you want salmonella avoid avoid avoid!!

Staff were very helpful and friendly, the food was delicious, the atmosphere was great, I shall be going back, this place has never disappointed us.

Excellent meal in a cosy place. Staff friendly and profes sional. Food very good. I will be back and would recommend it 👌

First time eating here, but hopefully, not the last! Food was absolutely amazing. I had the grilled cod with baby potatoes and vegetables - delicious! Service was excellent

Nice cosy feel to the upstairs dining area. Always get a good meal here can not fault it. I like the fact that the kids meals come inclusive of a drink and ice cream dessert. I have always pre-booked so I don't know what their walk available is like.

Lovely staff an the food was so good.

First ever visit to this place. Lovely food. Really nice atmosphere. Staff friendly. Will definitely be back again.

I've been here many times, food is outstanding.

Really amazing food, especially the Irish Sirloin steak. It just melted in your mouth. Cosy atmosphere, great service, comfortable chairs and easy access including a lift to the dining room.

A pleasant enough experience for a typical pub lunch drop-in. Food was quite flavoursome & definitely better than the Christmas Dinner offering which was (at best & sorry to say) bland.

I have recently been Diagnosed with Gluten free Diet .the staff were very good..

Great local pub and staff very pleasant. Door staff very professional also

Great spot for food, drinks & entertainment

First time dining downstairs in the bar. Ordered and paid at the bar and food was served in a lovely cosy wee booth promptly. Had roast beef dinner and it was delicious. Staff were friendly and helpful.

I was happily surprised at the interior, I had wrongly assumed it was a dark shabby pub, not somewhere I would feel comfortable. But it was fresh and colourful with the Christmas decorations up, staff were really nice and our order came quickly. We all enjoyed our food, the only thing I'd say is, I had the open prawn sandwich, and the wheaten bread was hard and dense, not nice at all. Everything else was lovely

Lovely food and service. Went on a Sunday at 3.30 and had the beef, really good

Taken out for lunch by a friend, first time I had been had the steak sandwich very nice

Was there on a works Christmas dinner, the food was amazing as was the service *****

I have been in ownies for a drink only a few times over the years. This time I went for a meal and was not disappointed, the staff where excellent and so helpful, the chef produced an awesome feast and I would give him 10 out of 10, it was delicious 😋. Recommend 100%, I haven't met chef but a big cheers to him. Thank you very much.

Great day with doggies, food excellent

Great lunch this week beside cosy fire. Perfect

Great place to walk to after visiting the castle

A good pub and place to eat. Staff are friendly and helpful.

Love this place. I visit it every time that I go to N Ireland 🇮🇪 The atmosphere is so warm and friendly, the bar has a very wide selection of wines,beers and spirits and there is also a restaurant which has a very fair menu with plenty of choices for all sorts of dietary needs. Highly recommend.

Just right for our family birthday party

Brilliant little pub, always nice to go in with the fires lit. Lots of live music and a great place to gomin the winter or summer.

We really had great food an drinks there! We will come back soon!

Been coming here for a number of years on trips to NI .A great pub , great atmosphere , good selection of drinks , great Guinness .The food is excellent i've had breakfast here , bar food with a pint , and eaten in the main restaurant for a meal .The craic is great , they have a nice beer garden for the summer .The food is excellent in the main restaurant.Be sure to book , as it gets busy especially at weekends .It must be good staying in Belfast with friends we decided to jump on the train to Carrick , and have a bite and a couple of pints in Ownies .We all decided it was worth the trip 5*

Awful..stayed in Carrick on Friday and had heard good reports about the food.Resataurant was empty and we got put in a corner table. 5 mins later another couple put in a table right next to us..bear in mind the restaurant was empty. Food was mediocre and that's being kind. My lasagne was definitely microed..chips were oily and tasteless...in fact,both meals were poor . I'm not one for leaving reviews. But hey..I suppose this bar will miss me as much as I miss it.

Good with our 4 legged friends, food not bad to

Good atmosphere, friendly staff, the cowder was the best I've had

Food and staff excellent, atmosphere just a little loud as upstairs restaurant was quite full.

Went for Sunday lunch had the roast brisket, one complaint I just wish they mentioned the roast potatoes where in garlic, I hate garlic and ruined my dinner, having said that my wife loves garlic and the meal so not all lost.... just beware non garlic lovers.....