Squid Shack (Ballyhackamore) in Ards

HAD NOT BEEN AT SQUID SHACK SINCE JULY 2023 UNTIL NOW. BACK THEN THE FOOD WAS EXCELLENT AND PLENTIFUL. I RECOMMENDED IT TO EVERYONE WHO LIKES SEAFOOD AND SCAMPI IN PARTICULAR. HOWEVER THIS VISIT DISAPPOINTED ME GREATLY. THE QUALITY MAY BE ALMOST AS GOOD BUT THE QUANTITY OF SCAMPI WAS WAS NOT ONLY REDUCED FROM 24 & 23 PIECES PREVIOUSLY TO 14 PIECES NOW, BUT THE PIECES WERE PROBABLY SMALLER AS WELL. PREVIOUSLY GOOD VALUE BUT NO LONGER THE CASE. I AM WONDERING HAS IT BEEN TAKEN OVER BY DIFFERENT MANAGMENT. ALSO PREVIOUSLY PEOPLE SITTING AND ALWAYS TWO OR THREE OF A QUEUE FOR TAKEAWAY. NOW ONLY ONE OTHER PERSON AND NO SIT INS. HAS THE POPULARITY DROPPED DUE TO MY EXPERIENCE OR DID I JUST VISIT ON A QUIET NIGHT?

Ballyhackamore is well known for its places to eat and this was new to me as I moved to Scotland 4 years ago. My wife and daughter are scottish and I wanted to show them where I lived when we met. Went for lunch on Saturday as it was also new to me. The server was great and very helpful, offering to read the menu for me as I'm registered blind but I was OK as I had my magnifier with me. Our daughter had chips as she us autistic with food aversions. When she finished she asked would they open near us in Scotland. I went for the plain burger and the meat was top notch and the lettuce fresh and crisp. My wife had the prawn tacos and was impressed with the quality and flavour, just a nice kick without being too strong. The atmosphere was relaxed with a few other groups dining at the same time. Another great addition to the area and we will be back to try the lobster burger. We call ourselves the wonky family, I'm blind, autistic and have a brain I jury, my wife has cancer and a severe neurological condition and our daughter is autistic. I'm not her birth father but to us we are father and daughter.

Magnificent Fish Emporium Wow! Despite the fact that This little Gem has been open for a while, this was my first visit. I am not a massive fish eater, so honestly I don’t know what brought me in here! Super friendly staff were a big plus point. A young chef came from the kitchen to give me a recommendation and he was spot on the money! I ordered the Scampi and chips against my best judgement, and boy what an amazing surprise. It was light and immensely tasty and the chips were fresh, golden and piping hot. No trace of a refried chip in this place!! If there was a Fish and chip shop in paradise this would be it! The staff are its best feature! Nothing is too much trouble for these guys). The price was very very competitive too. It was high class food for Chip Shop prices! Looking forward to my next visit already!

Back again for a second helping got the fish this time and the fish was a brilliant size plenty of chips ,great staff ,and always with a smile this place gets better and better and at a great price

The food is incredible, we've been several times now and it's very reasonably priced. I would absolutely recommend it however there was one thing that let down our last experience. The two young chefs were listening to music in the kitchen, Irish folk which was fine, however even though we were as far from the kitchen as it was possible to be it was very annoying to hear different music being pumped into the dining area. Two conflicting songs at the same volume definitely detracted from our dining experience. Before I could say anything however they turned up the volume to play "The Fields of Athenry" again this is a song I have no issue with however if I was the owner of this establishment and knew the chefs were playing a song which is traditionally played at Celtic matches and at a markedly higher volume than the previous songs, I'd be having a word to them about inclusivity and wanting to ensure you were appealing to all customers. They've obviously not taken into account that a service industry job depends upon repeat custom and should learn exactly what that entails.

Came into squid shack at lunch time , I had the lunch special salt and chill squid deal for £6.50 with a drink and fries , only complaint is it’s served in a paper cone so the squid is on top so have to eat the squid first to reach the fries below would be better on a plate or box , but all in all was very good and wooden cutlery good for recycling

Have used here a couple of times after a friend's recommendation and been good quality and quantity. Collected a fish supper tonight and like a child's portion and chips and fish not of same quality. Given a 15 min drive from home and £11 I won't be back. Also doesn't seem to be a phone number on their website so no way to advise them directly,very poor customer service.

The food was absolutely dreadful. I ordered the fish and chips. The chips were just bland and tasteless. The fish was burnt with a large pool of fat floating on the surface. If you can't get the basics right you are in trouble.

Had heard positive reviews from some friends so tried it out. Unfortunately we were really disappointed. Service really slow (& no, it wasn't busy). Huge portions, but aside from the salt & chilli chicken and squid greasy and tasteless. Just didn't hit the spot.