The Thatch Inn & Restaurant in Ballymena

Wish I had found this establishment years ago. Great little jem of a pub/restaurant. Lovely old building with great decor for a traditional pub. The owners were really friendly and a great laugh. Food was amazing, that good that we visited more than once working in ballymena. Came in very close to the end of the serving times with the possibility of it being to late. The owners were really hospitable and fitted us in. There Guinness is lovely also. Will return on next job.

Extensive menu. Generous portions. Helpful staff.

We are at an arranged event, the meal was lovely and we had a great evening.

Food was fantastic and atmosphere was very good too

A great place to eat. Old fashioned village pub with fireplace, excellent service and good food.

First time to visit the Thatch Inn and it was excellent. The staff are very helpful and friendly. The food was lovely. I had the mixed kebab with sweet potato fries, there was plenty of chicken and beef. There was salad, peppers and onion with it. I really enjoyed the experience and look forward to returning soon.

Fantastic food. Fast service and excellent value for money

An iconic pub with a bar full of atmosphere and a large dining room.

Visit experience whilst on holiday. Lovely open fire. Quaint

Everything was 100% perfect, the food was delicious and the staff were very friendly, attentive and extremely helpful, it was exactly what we were hoping our first night out in Broughshane would be like, thank you Team 🇦🇺

Always good food and friendly atmosphere..

Food was delicious roast beef dinner are the ticket, open fire 🔥 beautiful cosy , staff friendly and very attentive, we had a friend over from Nashville and all she talked about was roast beef dinner and it certainly did not disappoint defo be back SOON!!!

A good pint in comfortable surroundings.

A beautiful bar and restaurant staff very friendly we called in to have a small lunch on our way home to ballygowan would recommen this bar very highly .

Absolutely loved this pub restaurant, atmosphere and surroundings are beautiful and friendly. 6 of us arrived , no booking but they accommodated us graciously in the pool room. Food review was mixed from us all. Personally i thoroughly enjoyed the lasagne but the kebab was very dry. Would love to have this pub closed to home. Really lovely vibe. Would've stayed longer but couldn't. Next trip already organised.

Nice little bar called in for a drink while in area

Came to watch the Man utd vs Liverpool game and have a few drinks. Not till after ordering do they tell me that they don't show sky sports so don't come here if you want to watch any sports!!

Having come from France to eat a typical dish and dessert in this nice pub, we were delighted with Alison’s service. She was friendly and smiling and advised us on the dish and beer. Good foods and beer and excellent customer service. Thank you

The Thatch was recommended to us and we were not disappointed. Easy to find, ample parking and all the staff were very welcoming. We ate downstairs in the bar area. We enjoyed a burger, vegetable curry, pork chop and the rump steak. We especially enjoyed their music tastes as an 80's medley was playing in the background.

First time in here won't be my last, food was lovely, really lovely staff especially bar staff downstairs, and a nice vibe in bar area.

Huge, with friendly staff. Very cozy.

Great pub grub, doesn't disapont,will go back again.

Brilliant food, great atmosphere, friendly staff, relaxed place to chill out, have a lovely meal or spend an evening with friends. You definitely will not leave here hungry! Would recommend a visit!!

Nice food and very friendly staff

Really good lovely fire suits our weather

Good food, always busy, nice atmosphere.

Out for a 50th birthday party everything from The meal the service brilliant staff the atmosphere were fantastic thankyou Alison and team everything was great definatley be back and recommend 100%

Anyone who has been in the Thatch know is a good place to visit for something to eat.

Called in for lunch on the recommendation of family and it was a great choice. Very friendly staff and service was great throughout. I would say this is at the top end of pub grub that I would happily eat in a restaurant. My wife had scampi and I went for their ‘famous chicken’ with garlic fries. Both dishes were tasty with good portions. Definitely worth a return visit.

This was a great location after our hike at Slemish. Easy to get to, good parking, nice places to sit, super variety with the menu, great selection of beverages and dessert, and very friendly white staff! The atmosphere was fabulous. We would come back here again.

Good pub grub and prices reasonable. Friendly atmosphere.

Greeted by friendly staff, service was great, quick and courteous, when ordering meals nothing was a problem and dishes twicked to suit, portion sizes were very good and all at a reasonable price, very well done The Thatch Inn, highly recommend trying this establishment you won't be disappointed.

Good Hearty Pub food , very reasonably priced and attentive staff .

Out for a quick pint with work mates. Lovely, atmospheric pub. Will definitely be back

Staff, food and atmosphere were really good. Would definitely recommend The Thatch for a meal out with a big group. Thanks

Really good food and very friendly staff We were here for lunch, so it was relatively quiet. I would imagine the atmosphere would be very good in the evening. Definitely be back again.

food has slipped a bit over last few years, back again in Easter Monday 2024 and pleased to report all was well, great food good service. 👍

Lovely place have been back a few times

First time visiting and will definitely be back,such a nice bar big open fire was lovely,staff couldnt of been nicer service was on point and the food was perfect 👌

We had lunch in The Thatch in Broughshane today and it was really nice! I had Chinese Chicken which came on flat bread with coleslaw and dip of choice, my wife had the double burger. The food was very good and the portion sizes were generous. Lunch is served in the bar/restaurant downstairs which is cosy and old fashioned looking as you might expect from a building with a thatched roof! There is plenty of parking out the back of the building so no worries there. Overall very good and worth a try if you're in the Ballymena area.

First visit hopefully not the last. Good varied menu. Friendly efficient staff.

Visited for the first time a few weeks ago and left very disappointed. I’d heard great things, so I booked a table for lunch, but when arrived we were surprised to be shown to a table in the bar area (not a restaurant). The atmosphere was a bit stage - lots of kids sitting on both sides of us and rugby players at the bar. I mean it was a proper pub atmosphere, but just not what we had expected for lunch. The food was disappointing - average at best, and we ate knowing we’d never be back What I would say thought was the bar staff were fantastic and very attentive.

This is a really welcoming pub/restaurant. They are a great support to local groups, and they love doing what they do. We all had 2 courses for only £21 hard to beat that !!

What can I say about this place, probably some of the best food you can get up north. Came here on a rare occasion (not from the area so sadly can’t go every day) and stopped in for a bite to eat and a pint of Guinness. Where to start, the server brought over the pint of Guinness and it was almost as if the gods had served me a pint of creamy heaven, nearly finished it before the food even arrived. When the food arrived, the pint felt so nice I had to do it twice and got another one. Onto the food however. Salt and chilli chicken straight from heaven, flavour was in full supply with this one. Perfectly breaded chicken, marinated in the best tasting sauce known to man. Garlic skinny fries, which thankfully to anyone I spoke to that day, weren’t overly garlicky. Garlic mayo served on the side must be a closely kept secret in that restaurant because I have never tasted a sauce like it. Overall the atmosphere in this place was that of an old Irish pub, good craic, beautiful pints and great staff that were as welcoming as anyone could be. Only critique I have for this restaurant is that it’s not close enough to home for me, nor does it let you live there to have that amazing food everyday

The service and food was first class. The roaring fire and relaxed Amosphere makes me want to return very soon !!!!! Highly recommend

Visiting old friends and surprising my niece who works there. I had the Brie for starters and Gammon as a main. Was sadly too stuffed for dessert as portions were more than I expected.

Classic food served in a Thatched pub in front of a big open fire. Food was tasty reasonable priced and not a long wait even though they were really busy

Best fish and chips I have had in a long while, great service!

Food not great don't know what the hype is about .Just average frozen food fried

Great place for a superb pint of Guinness at a realistic price lovely atmosphere pleasant staff Lovely hearth fire in the bar A little gem in County Antrim

Open 🔥 great atmosphere and food.

Very friendly staff. Lovely ambience. Old building. Open fire. Warm and welcoming. Nice food - we had their soup and sandwich special lunch and a few drinks. Very nice. Plenty of people in - it’s very popular.

Great service and staff are very friendly and efficient. Food was of a high quality with a good range also. The fire lit gives a very homely feel to it. My partner said the Guinness was one of the best he had tried. Would definitely return.

Food and service first class. Friendly and cosy atmosphere. Food was excellent we all got something different and have to say not one complaint everything was outstanding. We ate upstairs in the restaurant it was busy and then finished off by going downstairs we sat in the front parlour beside the blazing fire and finished off with an extremely amazing pint of Guinness. Lovely night good food good atmosphere will be returning

The Thatch is by far my favourite restaurant in NI, sadly I no longer live locally to it but me and my partner will still travel from Lisburn up to it when we can. The food is generally always fantastic, and since the new management have taken over in recent years it has remained a fantastic spot to eat. The current manager is a fantastic hostess, very attentive and accommodating. Even if the food wasn't as nice as it is, I would still go for the service and atmosphere.

Absolutely ridiculous today at the thatch been their before and it was ok. Left a good tip as well. But today was horrible the staff don’t seem to give a toss can’t get orders right and when the food arrived it was cold and under cooked. Paid extra 😂😂 for bushmills sauce and they bought me runny milk the peppered sauce had skin on it as it was cold. Couldn’t see anyone to complain to as they all disappear for some reason. Then waitress approached to lift our plates so I told her food was cold she didn’t seem to care. Said she would tell the manager. Got up to pay and it was the manager that took our money he never said I thing Nothing. What a joke and no way to run a business. Won’t be back again ridiculous and ignorant people serve up slop and put their hand out for money 😡 absolutely pathetic

What a wee gem this place is. Warm and inviting setting with a blaring fire for a cosy feel.staff attentive and friendly and the food was delicious,steak cooked too perfection👌

Glad I booked a table the restaurant was very busy when we arrived a lady acknowledged us and said she would be with us. The other lady looked at her booking sheet and sat us and wished us a Happy New Year. She took a drink order and got our drinks to us quickly then she said Alice would be with us shortly to take our order… It was about 15mins wait however worth the wait. We couldn’t fault it the food was excellent and was asked if we would like any more drinks when the meal arrived. The 2 blonde hair ladies seemed to be doing a lot they looked under pressure at times what seemed to be them 2 and 2 young ones a girl and a boy bringing out the food and desserts. So I hope they get credit where due for the busy day they had.

The food was great as always, however we felt very rushed by the staff. I have worked in the hospitality industry years ago and I can understand if you are at the end of a long shift (after being told by the waitress that she was on from 11 that day) you want to get home, however I do not think it is appropriate to make paying customers feel rushed and an inconvenience. We were told at 7.40 that the kitchen was closing at 7.45 and our order needed to be taken, despite our table being booked for 7.30. The food was great as always, however again, the dessert menu was set down and literally a minute later the waitress again came down and said if we wanted a dessert we needed to order it, my husband and I felt that rushed we decided not to bother and the other couple literally picked the 1st thing they seen. We were out for a nice meal and a few drinks as it was Chrismas time, and again I understand it can be frustrating if you are at the end of a long day, however maybe at the time of booking inform the customers the kitchen closes at 7.45 and for staff to maybe not highlight the fact they want to get home. It wouldn't put me off going again as the food has always been good and the atmosphere so we will definitely be back again.

Haven’t been to the thatch in months and it didn’t disappoint we had a table reservation for 6 on Sunday and good job we booked! The restaurant was busy with 2 larger tables and only a handful of tables free. We were greeted by a l friendly pleasant young lady and she took a drink order and chatted to us the drinks arrived promptly. A few minutes passed the lady came back to take our food order. A few of our party ordered of the standard menu which was great to see 2 menus on offer. The food was generous portions and very tasty. I had turkey and ham and it was really lovely. I have to say the atmosphere was great the table we had was a nice cosy booth. The food and service was fantastic will definitely return.

Excellent 3 course dinner at the Thatch restaurant on Friday night. I attended as part of a large crowd 80+. service and food both excellent. Would recommend for any occasion.

I attended a large group dinner function event last Friday night with over 80 people upstairs in The Thatch. Food and Service were both Excellent. Pre-orders were submitted a few days in advance and everything went smoothly.

Lovely ambience in the bar with 2 large open fires.

Great service as always and quality of food is top tier.

We've been to The Thatch some time ago and it was good then, and our return visit tonight certainly did not disappoint. Celebrating a birthday with family we were looked after very well from the moment we entered. We were shown to our table not far from a cosy open fire and our drinks order was taken quickly with the drinks delivered in no time. Given time to browse the menu, our order was then taken and while waiting for our meal to arrive we relaxed by the fire. The food was beautiful with our main course choices including pan fried haddock, mixed house kebab, peppered chicken stack and crispy battered chicken goujons. The food quality, quantity, taste and presentation was outstanding ... every plate was cleared. Alison looked after us extremely well and even made special effort bringing birthday candles in the hot chocolate fudge cake (which was amazing too)!! With prices being reasonable too, all in all, we had a lovely family evening at The Thatch and will most definitely return again. Thank you to Alison and all those working hard behind the scenes ... you are doing a great job!

We arrived at 2.50 on the Sunday in September think it was 23 rd.went upstairs and stood for five minutes waiting to be seated.their was only two tables sitting and plenty of waitresses about so could not understand the delay.we were then shown to a table and ordered drinks.sat for another 15 minutes before we had our order taken.no roasts left so I ordered a mixed grill steak cooked medium and my wife a vegetarian meal.t this stage there was no one else in the restaurant.40 minutes later the food arrived.the waitress was walking away and I had to call her back to ask for salt and vinegar which should be on the table.the food was fine but sitting a short distance from us some of the kitchen staff and waiteress had sat down for a break.they were very vocal.anyway we finished our meal and waited.at no point did any of the four waitresses come to our table while we were eating to check everything was ok.i sat with arms folded waiting for plates to be lifted.we were still the only customers in.waitress after waitress walked by until I had to stop one to lift our plates.we asked for a sweet menu ordered pavlova and chocolate orange tart both are cold sweets but we still waited 15 minutes on them.the place needs an uplift including the floor staff.i have been manager of restaurants in Ballymena for the last 30 years and would definitely not have such unfriendly staff working for me.will not be back.i am only writing this now as I saw the thatch had won an award in the Ballymena business awards.would love to meet the judges.

This place is a must visit when coming to the island. I go here every year for dinner after the North West 200 motorcycle racing festival and have enjoyed great food and fantastic staff year after year.

Food was fantastic and staff were super friendly.The price of food and drink were spot on.

Lovely homely feel and food pretty good.👍

Visited for our evening meal on Saturday, 23rd September when we were staying overnight in the area. The pub staff were warm and welcoming, helpful and professional. We both ordered the chicken goujons with chips, which was enormous and very tasty; sorry we couldn’t finish it all. Would highly recommend the food and pub, and hope one day to visit the area again 😊

Great bar . We popped in for some lunch on a Sunday, and although the Sunday lunch was sold out , it looked very good . We took off the menu in the bar . It was very tasty. Defo worth a visit

Called into our local for the first time in a while. Not disappointed: slick efficient, cheerful service, good food, value for money.

Great little gastropub on the main street. Have eaten here a few times and the food is always excellent. Good size carpark round the back.

Cosy with lovely food and friendly service.

We both had a fantastic meal. Service exceptional.

Lovely food quick service. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Great pub open fire, pub quiz most Wednesday

Love the deco loads of options for the kids 10/10 would go again

Very busy on the day we were in so explains food and service but would recommend to anybody .

Friendly staff, massive food portions and very tasty pub grub

Good evening meal friendly service

Gorgeous food, good prices and great portion sizes

Absolutely delicious meal, I had the tennesse pulled pork burger, really really nice.

Warm friendly staff very relaxed feal two coarse lunch in and out in 1 hour perfect menu

Visited the Thatch Inn in Broughshane with my Wife. Super sirloin steak. And friendly pleasant service from all the staff. Relaxed easy atmosphere. Very good

Great place & lovely people. I stopped in after arriving from Glasgow as I was having trouble getting in to my AirBnB which was close by. I enjoyed a drink sitting by the fire & decided to come back later on for dinner. Had the fish & chips which was delicious & all the staff were charming & attentive. Highly recommended.

Amazing food lovely staff beautiful relaxing atmosphere

Great food and great staff service. Will be in again.

Nice country pub and restaurant, with good menu.

Outstanding food and service. Relaxed atmosphere with welcoming staff. First class service every time!

Tremendous food that is well worth the stop. Don't forget to look for the pictures of King Charles having a pint there.

Our 'local'. Steady service and good food. Value for money

Would have considered it to have been a favourite haunt at a time but for various reasons hadn't been in sometime so thought when we had the chance we'd call in for lunch. Big mistake. It was busy when we called in but we got a table in the front end although my seat was half over an open door to the bar and back of the restaurant which was causing a draught. My seat was even too low for the table. After we got our drinks we were able to move to the bench seat in the corner by the fire. Much better. Or so we thought. Our order was taken and we settled back to relax with our drinks and have a chat. That was until the 3 young males at the next table started to tell tales of their "holiday experiences " The least said about it the better. But the noise was shocking. At no time did any member of staff have a "quiet" word. Yes it's a pub etc but if you are offering food, people want to be able to sit and chat in a pleasant atmosphere and surroundings. I couldn't even say that the food was that good that it made up for the racket, it was just OK. I won't say I'll never be back but it's going to be a very long time. It certainly isn't the place it once was, in my opinion. Disappointed.

Really friendly service, comfy seating and good tasting food with really good portions. Easy parking and good lication

Lots of diverse dishes to choose from on the menu. Something for everyone. The service was excellent and the food was delicious. We will definitely return.

Sunday 2nd of April 2023 My wife and myself were recommended The Thatch by several friends and family . We arrived around 3pm to find the bar pretty empty and a few people eating at the back of the restaurant. We ordered drinks and prawn cocktail between us to start. It came to the table very quickly and it was beautiful, great start. My wife ordered scampi and chips and I ordered the mixed grill with garlic fries. Again it arrived very quickly to out table. Mixed grill:- 6oz rump m/r Pork chop Bacon Sausage Fried egg Fried onions and mushrooms Peas First impressions it looked beautiful, until I check the egg. Fried hard. Pork chop was not fried or grilled as the fat was not rendered at all. Rump steak was perfectly cooked but had a taste of lemon, no idea. The bacon was just cooked and no more and the sausage was beautiful but over cooked. Chips, peas, onions and mushrooms were fine. Scampi and chips Again it looked perfect on the plate and for the most part it was nice apart from the oil that they were fried in, it had a very slight burnt taste as it needed changed. As The Thatch was recommended by so many people to us and I have read the reviews on Google I'm a thinking we hit it on a bad day. Atmosphere and the staff were very friendly .

10 out of 10 well worth a visit

A big improvement than my last visit, still great atmosphere and the fire is lit.

Had a beautiful meal in the Thatch , would recommend it to anyone

Popped in for dinner, walked in and the warm fires welcomed us in from the cold. Lovely food and lots of choice. Get service, friendly atmosphere and comfortable wee pub.