Map and Directions
Rooms and Rates
No of rooms: 12Double Room from £70.00
Single Room from £50.00
Cuisine
French, Grande Mère
Food Prices
Set Dinner £19.95House Wine From £13.95
Food Serving Times
Dinner served Tuesday - Saturday 19.00 - 22.00.Closed Mondays & Sundays – Food available to residents only by prior arrangement
Seasonal Closures
Week of 12th of July
Member type
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Facilities
Babysitter ServiceCar Parking
Children welcome
Childrens meals
Garden for visitors use
Meeting /Boardroom
Wine
Interests
Food & BusinessFood & Family
Food & Gardens
Food & Walking
Setting
LakesideRural
Style
CasualRelaxing
Other Info
Golf Course, Angling, Horse Riding, Sailing & Water Sports NearbyOld Schoolhouse Inn (The)
Comber | DownIt’s a bit of an unusual experience to eat dinner in a classroom. Particularly one that still has some of the old school features - the cast iron radiators, the large wall clock, the high windows, the sepia pictures, the globe and some old uniforms. But if – or indeed when – you pay a visit to The Old Schoolhouse, this is where you’ll find yourself. You come into the restaurant through the Boys Door, (the Girls entrance is at the other end where the kitchen is), along a corridor that has the old coat hooks, and into what was the middle one of the three classrooms.
Luckily, decent tables, tastefully adorned with candles and a fresh flower, have replaced the old desks. But you’ll soon forget these distractions and find yourself concentrating on the wonderful food.
Back in 1985, Terry and Avril Brown rescued Ballydrain School, did a wonderful conversion and opened a restaurant. Since then, Avril’s cooking –she’s a Euro toque chef – has won appreciation from diners all over the globe.
Food might be old-style but there’s no doubting it’s top class. Avril sources her ingredients locally. Millview Farm is just across the way and supplies organic salad leaves, tomatoes, vegetables and soft fruits. (The delicious broad beans we ate were picked at lunchtime and tasted gloriously fresh.). There’s a French influence to Avril’s cooking and combined with the freshest of ingredients, it makes for a wonderful meal. Starters include Cream of Carrot and Orange Soup, Melon with Parma Ham, Organic Leaves and Sundried Tomatoes or Grilled Goat’s Cheese on a Slice of Apple with Wild Honey and Walnut Salad. Mains offer local fish – Seared Halibut, Salmon Fillet, Hake Fillet. Meat dishes include the popular Finnebrogue Venison, here served with Claret and Thyme Jus, Noisettes of Lamb with Rosemary and Redcurrant Jus or my choice of Chicken Fillet with Mushroom and Sherry Sauce.
How much more local can you get than your own garden? My fruit crumble included damsons and blackberries from the garden and apples from the farm across the road. This farm can also provide fresh raspberries and strawberries well into December, allowing Avril serve them plain or make creative use of them.
There’s an excellent wine list with very reasonably priced house wines from £stg13.95, mainly Spanish. Old World wines are from France, Italy and Spain; the New World is represented by Australia, South Africa and Chile. Six varieties of quarter bottles are also available.
The restaurant is open on Christmas Day on New Year’s Eve with a special menu.
After dinner, Terry is only too happy to show off the memorabilia that he’s collected over the years, including a banjo signed by none other than George Best! The original Ballydrain School was red bricked and this brick is continued in the guesthouse, on the left, where a couple of old bikes lean lazily against the wall.
Rooms in the guesthouse are named after American Presidents with Northern Ireland roots. They’re very comfortable, well furnished, with white painted furniture, armchairs with embroidered antimacassars on the backs, an ironing press and a vase of lovely rose buds. And a picture of the particular President on the wall! Bathrooms are spacious, with large, fluffy towels. The resident’s sitting room offers tea and coffee making facilities, with Avril’s homemade biscuits and a small fridge that’s the Honesty Bar. This is a wonderful place to relax to read the paper that’s provided or perhaps browse through one of the many cookery books on the shelves.
Breakfast is served here in the house, in a room that used to be the family dining room. There are French windows leading to a small terrace for breakfasting al fresco. In fact, there is plenty of seating in the gardens for dining al fresco or relaxing with a drink. The restaurant has a long terrace, with wooden tables and chairs, overlooking the garden. Unusually, the garden is home to an old fire engine, given to Terry by Lord Brookeborough, and there’s also an old plough, a potato picker and a 200-year-old mangle adorns the terrace.
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If you have had an enjoyable experience here and would like to share it with other friends of Good Food Ireland please click here to add your reviewContact Details
To Contact a Member Directly, please click on the email or website below
100 Ballydrain RoadComber
Co Down BT23 6EA
+44 (0) 28 97541182
Email: info@theoldschoolhouseinn.com
Web: www.theoldschoolhouseinn.com
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