The Holestone in Ballymoney

Caitlyn and Kez were our servers for the night, we were a table of 11 plus a wee dog and it was a 21st. The staff were so friendly and helped bring out the cake for us. The food was lovely and the service was so quick as well.

Went in for lunch as its dog friendly. Decor quite nice, friendly greeting from staff. Wife ordered Korean chicken and chips, I went for their seafood linguine from their specials menu. Chicken was OK, chips were poor, we didn't eat them, very thick and dry. My linguine was exceptionally bad. I was quite hungry and I'm not a fussy eater, so thought I'd just eat it, but after a couple of mouthfuls I simply couldn't continue, it was just so bland and unpalatable. I dont understand how the fish and prawns were so tasteless. They must have been frozen for some time, couldn't have been fresh tasting like that. I ended up returning the dish as I just couldn't eat it. Waitress apologised and said she's make the chef aware. However, when I went to pay it was still on the bill, I wasn't going to argue over £16.99 on the £50 bill, so paid and left. Very disappointing. Few other issues, first waitress took order of water jug when we sat, she never appeared with it, had to ask a 2nd waitress. Also asked 2nd waitress for a small glass of wine, she provided a large which is awkward to return for a small, very poor attention from staff.

Very good dishes, a very varied menu, service a little long, placed at the entrance near the door (not the best place).

Beautiful little restaurant with gorgeous food!

Great food:: service slow but worth the wait...

The food in The Holestone was very tasty and the portion sizes were great. The servers that we encountered were very friendly and helpful. We would definitely go back.

Amazing food. Good prices and also many, many vegan options

Had an excellent Sunday lunch. Food is absolutely delicious and not too expensive. We'll be back!

Very disappointing meal, staff not helpful when complaining about food served

Myself and husband had the best vegan meal that we both have had in a long time! The seiten starter was exceptional, my husbands main of tempura broccoli with mustard mash and various sauces was one of the nicest things we've eaten out. The portion was massive and and very well thought out with the puree and cream sauce that brought the whole dish together. We enjoyed very moreish cocktails and shared a vegan dessert of spiced crumble which finished a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The staff were very attentive, friendly and helpful. We will definitely be back, soon!

The nut roast on the vegan menu is genuinely amazing. Easily the most delicious and fresh, and well prepared item of that type I've ever had at a restaurant. My only criticism is the music can be a little too loud, and one of the seats being right beside the bar seems a misstep and not really conducive to a relaxing and romantic meal. However, the food is so sensational that I wouldn't really care that much.

Made us and our large dog feel very welcome for lunch. Friendly staff and great food, will definitely be back again

This is an amazing place to eat. If you are ever going to visit Northern Ireland, it is a must visit restaurant. It is a hidden gem in Ballymoney. Delicious food, aesthetic ambience and so friendly staff.

Used to go regularly when this restaurant was in Park gate. First time in Ballymoney. Definitely won't be the last. Lovely welcome. Food as good as ever.

Went today for a birthday dinner and what I could only describe as complete shambles lunch was at 1.30pm and when taking the order for dinner now remembering it is Sunday and most people like a Roast dinner we're told they only had 5 chicken left and we were a table of 20+ people . We then waited another 90 minutes before the dinner arrived and to describe it as a small portion is an understatement a chicken breast stuffed wrapped in ham and cut in half and it is only a half of the breast of chicken per dinner .and the price £16:95 Having been over a year since I had been there it will be as long again before we are back . The sweet were similar took orders and then came to say they had none left . Left after 3 hour very disappointed 😞

We went out for a Christmas lunch today and were very disappointed by our experience....we ordered a vegetarian Christmas dinner for one member. This was served with non vegetarian pigs and blankets, very disappointed and dissatisfied!!!

Quality dishes with reasonable price. I do recommend this place

Was in on Tuesday evening for our Christmas Dinner Great staff Very accommodating Lovely food We hada great meal Recommended

Lovely wee restaurant with good food, nice staff and a it’s always very clean inside

We had a really good dinner here. The food was excellent and the servers very polite. The wait for the food was quite long, but I think that is because they do take the time to prepare it well. So be prepared to wait a bit, but it was worth the wait. I would say the desserts were good, but not quite as great as the starters and mains.

Amazing food, some of the best I have eaten. Great atomosphere, though heating was not strong. Starters came quickly but expect to wait a while (worth it) for the mains!

We brought our two dogs, an irish terrier and a cairn terrier, the wee girl made them so welcome, we will be back,

Wow, what a meal... don't count the calories and treat yourself to a feast... loved the cauliflower popcorn, Korean beef and the magnificent onion! Every main course choice was a winner too. What a range of cheesecake and sundae options..! Service was excellent and the surroundings are particularly cosy in the front room with the log burner blazing - quieter in the back room where we were seated but we moved to the fire for our coffees before dragging ourselves away

Great food, you can feel someone is really cooking in the kitchen.

We stopped in here while passing through Ballymoney and were looking for somewhere for lunch. Well, what a gem we ended up finding. A lovely little restaurant. We picked the 2 courses for £20 option and ordered the turkey and ham roast dinner and a dessert. The turkey and ham was delicious and well proportioned. The desserts were also beautiful. I would highly recommend this place, and if I'm ever passing through Ballymoney again or near the area, I will dining in here again. Top marks.

Went here for a Sunday roast. Chose beef roast dinner and it was very well cooked and delicious. The sticky toffee pudding was devine! For starters we had pork ribs which were also very tasty. The cost of the meal was good value for money and we would recommend eating there. This was our first time but we will be back!

Great restaurant! Visited for the first time and will definitely be back. We got the three course Sunday dinner. Couldn’t fault the food the roast beef was great and the portion sizes are great! Such a gem, would highly recommend

A fantastic restaurant in every way.

Ordered a takeaway, was told it would be 30 mins that was no problem however when we went to collect we ended up waiting an additional 30 mins. The restaurant was absolutely empty and only towards the end of the wait did someone come over and say that it was delayed as the “chefs” burnt the pizza but no apology. About that pizza, soggier than a wet sock, you couldn’t hold it without it tearing apart and the cheese was barely attached to it. Carbonara, probably the worst pasta we’ve ever had, absolutely no seasoning or taste at all it’s something when even the pasta itself has no taste, I don’t know how the restaurant or “chefs” aren’t embarrassed by this. Smaller issues such as the dips, big tub we thought at least they are generous with this but no tub wasn’t even a 1/3 full. Cheesecake, we got 2, £7 each for a tiny slab, don’t expect them to be flavoured as advertised such as milkybar the only milkybar in it is the few buttons they put on top of it, oh and can’t forget about the squirty cream from a can. £50 for this experience is just disgusting to be honest.

The waiting time was very long, it took more than an hour for the food to arrive and it was bland with no flavour.

Food good staff friendly dog friendly also.

A wonderful place to dine. They are very accommodating to food allergies. I've been here a few times and have never been disappointed. The staff are amazing. The menu covers a wide variety of cuisines, which is always cooked to perfection. It's my favourite place to eat in Ballymoney

Amazing as I'm GF staff couldn't do enough to accommodate. Food was freshly prepared and delicious. Really reassuring when made feel having food allergy wasn't a big issue for chef. Waitress gave me lots of options to choice from. I choose fish and chips and thoroughly enjoyed. Definitely return if in area again. Thank you.

Took MIL out for the day. Called in for a bite. Ordered MIL fish and chips, fish was mostly batter and very heavily cooked, dark brown, chips were fine. I had peppered chicken, chicken was hard as a brick. Champ, pepper sauce and tobacco onions were nice enough. Staff were lovely and the place is clean. Not overly mad on the seating and the tables are very small.

A lovely place to have a dinner. We were there two evenings in a row. Afraid to go to another restaurant because we knew it would only be dissapointing compared to the holestone. The girls that served us was very friendly.

Excellent, the best restaurant in the North Coast.

Terrible restaurant that served me a meal from the freezer which was still frozen. What about freshly made food? I DO NOT THINK EVEN GORDON RAMSAY HAD COME ACROSS A RESTAURANT SERVING FROZEN FOOD IN HIS PROGRAMME "KITCHEN NIGHTMARE ". How does a restaurant go from a 5 star award previously to a 1 star. If there had been an option to give No star, I would have taken that! Here is the story: Since its opening we had been going to this restaurant regularly encouraging our friends to go and bringing various friends. There are not many restaurants in Ballymoney, by the way. Sadly, over time we started to see a sharp downwards turn in their service and food. Waiting times are long over 1 hour for the main course at least. Some of our friends left after the starter as it took far too long. The portions have shrunk in size. There is no large Vegan Yorkshire pudding any longer with the Nut roast. The nutroast itself has shrunk to a quarter of its original size. The reason why there is no vegan Yorkshire pudding according to the owner Chloe Clarke, they can not source the ingredients. Being a cook myself I sent them a recipe as one only need alternative milk, flour, baking powder and water, I had even sent them a recipe. The Yorkshire pudding was never replaced leaving a big hole on the plate. The worst thing happened during our last visit in May. Again, it took over an hour for our dinner to arrive. We were so hungry, but my meal was totally uneatable. It was deeply frozen. A restaurant with aspirations of being of high standing, this is totally unacceptable. I go out for dinner to eat freshly prepared food not pre-prepared which had been in the freezer for God knows how long and warmed up in the microwave. It is really of no surprise. The chef was in and out of the kitchen smoking with two women in a car right outside the restaurant. I wrote a complaint to the co-owner Chloe Clarke and sadly no response. We were then given a voucher to dine at the Holestone by our friends not knowing about our awful experience. I decided to go to the Holestone in person to ask if the voucher could be redeemed for cash as our last experience was such that we did not want to dine there again. Chloe Clarke did not take any responsibility; she just became offence and aggressive ending with “We do not want you to come back here!”. Little does she know how much we have supported her business in the past.

Great meal in a dog friendly restaurant very reasonable price

Have been here a few times before,but WON'T be back. Had a starter between us,two mains and still waiting for the desert. My Korean chicken was fine but my friend asked for a sirloin steak. We should have gotten two and they could have been used to resole a pair of shoes. The unfortunate waitress was overrun, as she was also making cocktails, collecting meals from the upstairs kitchen and trying to clear tables while taking orders. OWNER GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER

Stopped in for late lunch on a drive back from Giants Causeway to Belfast. This was a sleepy little town. There were a few restaurants along the Main Street and we opted for this one. The ambiance was pleasant and fairly casual. Service was nice, but slowwww. Took us a while to get our bill and leave at the end. I know this is more common in Ireland/EU, but this was particularly long as we were generally ignored after food arrived. Maybe the time of day and minimal staff. Anyway the food was pretty good. There were vegan options. A kids menu. And the beer hit the spot. Would probably try another spot next time, but no real reason not to return here. Give it a try!

Good community atmosphere amongst a football presentation and a singer/guitarist bravely persevering. Good value food of good quality. Particularly liked the sea bass and the goats cheese mousse was a nice change. Gluten free options available. Run out of non-alcoholic beer though.

Lovely little place. Food is the best part.

Plats fabuleux, le meilleur fish and chips de tout notre périple le long de la WAW. Sans parler du cheesecake qui est incroyable. Serveuse sympa et efficace, belle décoration, que demander de plus ! Bravo !

Had lunch here while visiting for the spring fair, servers were excellent, really nice, friendly, welcoming, would come back to see them alone! Food was lovely too, bit of a wait but due to how busy it was for the spring fair it's understandable

Truly wonderful service, food, cocktails and wine. Could not recommend this place more! Well thought through menu including sourdough pizzas (hard to get this quality), vegan options and specials. Staff offered recommendations and they were 👌🏻. Nice addition of guitarist/singer. Highly recommend!

Lovely food, great for veggies! Tasty cocktails.

Food was very good. There is a whole Vegan menu which really suited my partner. She loved her food too and there was loads of it. There was live music, a solo guitarist/singer who was very very good. Perfect atmosphere. Price was good. Will be back.

A smashing find on our recent holiday. Clean and bright, a grand welcome and a comprehensive menu. So good we went 3 times. Great food, excellent service by friendly staff. Highly recommended.

Beautiful food and charming service will be back very soon and would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone passing

Friendly staff, delicious food, talented live musician....makes for a good night.

The vegan pizza was so tasty I didn't realise until I got home that there wasn't any meat free sausage/bacon on it - this was the reason I went for the pizza over the nut roast. Good size pizza, stir-fried veg cooked lovely.

Beautiful menu but atmosphere could do with work.

Went on a Monday night for my Birthday. Found the seating very strange and not comfortable. My son was looking forward to a steak but was told NONE available. Menu wasn't huge so he settled for a chicken Burger. Had starters, main then sat for ages waiting for our table to be cleared and get a desert menu this only happened when my son approached a waiter. Decided no didn't want a desert or a cocktail. Sorry won't be back. This is the first time l ever had to made a negative review on a local restaurant.

Only reason atmosphere got 4 stars is it was between lunch and dinner so was very quiet

Loved the Holestone since it was in Parkgate and miss it being "our local". Delighted to visit the new venue lastnight. Food as delicious as always and a bright welcome from Chloe and Jonny. A pleasure as always to be there!

An absolute gem of a restaurant in the heart of the town. Not sure how I stumbled upon this place but visited for a birthday lunch and it was fabulous! Menu is very nice, very reasonable prices and plenty to suit everyone’s taste. Also very impressed at the vegan menu! We tried the BBQ and Korean chicken for starters, which was amazing. Goujons and chips were lovely. The vegan nut roast which also very lovely too. Service was prompt. There was a really nice atmosphere. The waitresses were incredibly friendly and had great customer service. The ladies bathrooms were also extremely nice 😂 genuinely one of the nicest I’ve been in in a while in a public place. Highly recommend!! We’ll definitely be back again.

First visit. Food delicious, served by pleasant and helpful staff. Price reasonable.

Friendly staff, great service and the best vegan menu and food in the triangle, Ballymoney area 👍

That's twice my wife and I have tried to eat in this restaurant and twice we have been unsuccessful. Lack of staff is the problem the ones you have need training in customer care. On both occasions we have been asked "could you come back in 10mins to save you waiting here." Even though there are plenty of empty tables. How does that work lottery would be easier.

Very disappointed, Had my daughters birthday party in here last weekend which had been booked in advance , so they knew how many to exspect. Only had 2 staff on, the service was awful we sat ages before even someone came near us to take r order, the wait on Starters took a long time then had to go ask them if they could come lift plates so that we could get main course. One meal was steak had to be sent back as was ment to be medium to well done and was barely cooked and like rubber, had the same steak brought back was slightly more cooked but still uneatable. Same again had to go up ask if they could collect plates so some of us could get desserts, just so slow...Got 5 kids meals and was charged an additional 5pound each for icecream so kids food and icecream cost £11. Table was booked for 1:30 we wernt getting out of place til 4:30, Definitely would not recommend and will not be back here again. 😑

My wife and I ate here on New Years Eve. The food ( starter, main, and dessert) was excellent, and despite the crowd, it was served promptly whilst still hot. The service from Caitlin was first class (friendly and helpful), and we will definitely return. Our bill (£60) included 4 drinks and was not overpriced. Highly recommended.

We eat here any time we go out. Food is excellent and staff are so helpful and friendly. Couldn’t ask for more and we’ll be keeping going back. Definitely my favourite restaurant and best food I’ve had in a long time especially the rump steak!!

Best food iv ever had i cant wait to go back the decor was amazing and staff very friendly

Pleasant staff the food was excellent a little slow but well worth the wait, you should take cash with you as Internet payment intermittent. Overall really enjoyed food, booking recommended.

Service a wee bit slow, changeover of staff I think. Food was glorious.

Very pleasant staff, food and drinks came much faster than previous visit. Food nice and well presented

Excellent food and great service

We went here last night and it was absolutely amazing! Lovely place with a good atmosphere, good music and delicious food. With 3/4 of the group being vegetarian we’ve been struggling in the area to get some good vegetarian choices but this place had a full vegan menu and everything looked and tasted great. Would highly recommend ☺️🤌

Visited recently and had dinner. Husband and I had the soup which was not too bad. I had the two tacos (entree side) with the pulled beef. The beef was a bit dried out and very chewy. Husband had the fish and chips and said it was ok. Nice setting and the staff were excellent, very friendly and efficient.

Absolutely beautiful food and service. lovely place to have a meal And dog 🐶friendly We will be back again real soon

Fantastic fresh lunch at the Holestone. My partner and I loved the modern decor and fresh fish dishes. Staff are so friendly and service was excellent! We will definitely return and continue to recommend to friends.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this place. The food was unbelievably tasty. There were several great vegetarian and vegan options, and the staff were so lovely and friendly. Thank you!

Music was great with Harry!?! Food very good and service from Mr Graham 👌 but at times slow and attention to detail needed from all staff in my opinion. Great night and will be back!?

Lovely late lunch and a wee alcoholic beverage staff lovely and attentive

Perfect Sunday roast, wait Glenn is friendly and other staffs are very dedicated too.

2 of us had lunch here today and it was very reasonably priced. £53 for 1 starter, 2 mains, 1 side, 1 dessert and 2 pints. The food was fantastic and the quality and presentation, along with the impeccable customer service provided by Graham and Glenn was second to none. Can't wait to come back. This place is a hidden gem along the North Coast. :)

Had a lovely night tonight, meal was lovely, the best espresso martini and service to die for! Great entertainment too. Well worth a visit!

Hard to beat!!! Food tasty and plentiful with first class service

If you don't like salt stay away from this place. Ordered a steak tonight. Ate a quarter of it. I'd have been better eating a bag of dulse and would have been a lot cheaper. It was as if the chef didn't want us to taste the steak. Good luck in the future. Yous are gonna need it.

Have to say on first visit a few weeks ago was very disappointed, didn’t complain but both meals were steaks both over cooked, balsamic salad was wilted , fries Well we’re awful. Sadly won’t be back

Great little place and we went on steak night. Lovely meal and service was very good.

Staff are very friendly and food lovely but just a bit expensive

We went here for a meal as I alway went when it was formerly Mollys, but was kinda disappointed. Long wait on food, I ask for my steak to be medium to well done and no blood, it came almost rare. I politely asked for it to be cooked more and no blood again, it came back re-plated and exactly the same. I braved trying to eat it but just wasn’t to my taste. Disappointed as the rest of the food was delicious and my partners vegan meal was amazing. Also on menu it said a free drink with meals and we got charged for this extra, when I paid and noticed I waited for about 10 mins to speak to someone but no one came to bar. Could have been busy but they would have seen me. Staff all looked to be really hard working and kudos to them. Better experience when it was formerly Mollys. Not sure I’d go back.

Great vegan menu with a fabulous variety to choose from . Even presented a vegan dessert. I was really surprised at this. The food was well presented and tasted marvellous. The staff were attentive and pleasant with very nice manners. The atmosphere was welcoming with smooth jazz quietly playing in the background. We definitely would recommend The Holestone as a excellent dining experience.

Lovely lunch. Food delicious and staff very friendly. Will definitely be back.

Had a beautiful meal today in Holestone had the fish was beautiful and the service was great x

Went to the holestone about 2 weeks ago. I got the chilli chicken penne pasta and my wife got the calzone, we shared a side of salt and chilli fries. My wife really enjoyed hers, and I thought mine was OK as the sauce was quite watery, not really to my taste. Everytime I lifted pasta out the sauce splashed everywhere. The staff were very friendly, and I can't say anything negative against them. The one negative I did have was the fact it took almost 50 minutes for our food to come out from when we ordered it. It wasn't overly busy either, there was maybe 6-7 tables with the biggest party I could see totalling 5 or 6 people. I know a lot of people like the place, but I don't think I'll be rushing back.

The food was good. But the place wasn’t full and the wait was way too long. I was on my own at my table, and I ordered the soup of the day and a dessert, two things that should take 5 mins to bring. I was 1h30 in this restaurant, between the wait to get a menu, the wait to get the order, the wait to get a simple soup (1/2h) and the wait to get the dessert…

Food good, staff all pleasant but would not go back because service soooooooo slow 😴

Brillant! Eines der besten Restaurants welches ich kenne. Sehr tolle vegane Sachen, einfach unfassbar Lecker! Auch eine überragende Bedienung (Ryan, Maddie) Also wer in der Nähe ist, ihr müsst auf jeden Fall hier her!

Oh get the burger it is first class we love going to the holestone staff are lovely the menu is great but couldn't bear the burger. Through the day the burger is £10 this whopping burger that has tobacco onions on it comes with chips and a wee dish of pepper sauce is excellent value

Great service, great food, reasonably priced.

we had a lovely meal in The Holestone, in pleasant surroundings, all of the staff were friendly and polite. The food was all very tasty starters and main courses had by all, with no room left for desserts. In particular the salt & chilli prawns and home made sourdough pizzas were excellent

Lovely staff and great food. We were just passing thru. Wud Def recommend

We had lunch today here. There were 13 of us. Fabulous attention from staff and amazing food. We ordered a range of food and we were not disappointed. We’ll be back.

Last night (25/6/22) was my third visit to the Holestone. The first time in March the service was slow but we assumed as we were a group of 8 that was the reason. The second time we were a party of two and service was good, hence our return with friends last night. The food in The Holestone is delicious, the atmosphere makes it one of the nicest places we've eaten in, but the service lets them down so much. In our time there, tables around us were waiting so long for their food, we waited about 45 minutes or more for a drinks order to be taken too. I don't blame the floor staff, they were all lovely, but a couple were completely out of their depth and seemed inexperienced, again not their fault - staff training needed. This could have become a regular spot for us, but after last night's experience I don't think we'd go back, such a shame.

Table was booked for 8pm 25.6.22 we were placed at a table near the door beside the musician, we assumed while our table was being made ready. They were going to make us eat there, were we couldnt hear ourselves talk. After refusing we got to our table around 9.15, we were not getting food until 10pm. What a disaster, I'd recommended this place to two friends and this was their first and I'd say last time there. This was also the case when I was there in March but I thought a one off staff called in sick, clearly not the case. Unfortunate given the lovely surroundings and food. You seriously need to rethink your staffing Holestone

Terrible organisation. Drinks delivered after meal. Kids meals at same time as adults. Everyone had steaks but took 3 times and 10 mins to get steak knives. No water on tables . Really poor service . Will never be back

Was expecting more than was delivered.

An excellent venue. Great food, great drinks (especially the cocktails) and amazing staff.