The Mitre, Culloden - North Down

We celebrated a family birthday at Vespers. The location was excellent and provided a lovely setting for our meal. We started with drinks in the lounge before moving to our table in the beautifully decorated dining room with a view of the grounds. The meal was promising, with one of us choosing the vegetarian option (gnocchi) and the others opting for roast beef. The beef was reportedly tender and delicious, but the roast potatoes were a bit tough and the gravy was lacking in flavor. The gnocchi was oily and overly salty, leading to it being left uneaten. The wine I chose to accompany the meal was lovely and complemented the food well. The desserts were a bit on the smaller and more contemporary side, which may not have been to everyone's taste. The service was professional and attentive. Overall, while the location and service were top-notch, the food could use some improvement. We may consider returning if the menu is updated to meet our expectations for a special occasion.

We went to the hotel for a special occasion and stayed on a Sunday night. We ate at the bar on the hotel grounds. We were hoping for fine dining at the hotel on Monday evening, but we were disappointed to find out that the restaurant is only open Thursday through Saturday. There was no notice in the restaurant informing us of this. We had to eat at the bar again, where we had the same soup two nights in a row and the same fish special on both nights. We were the only two people in the bar/restaurant on Monday at 8 pm. We would not return to this 5-star hotel that does not have a dining room open for most of the week. Avoid this place.

We visited this restaurant for dinner and were disappointed to find that the 5-star hotel restaurant did not offer an à la carte menu, Table d'hôte menu, or any other options aside from a pricey £80 per person 6-course tasting menu. If you don't enjoy tasting menus, you may be out of luck. It's worth checking the website beforehand to see if the menu is posted.

The menu is limited with little for vegetarians. My husband could choose mushroom soup or tempura brocolli followed by a mushroom main . The manager was delightful and said that the chef would make a dahl. The food was ok, nothing mouthwatering. Hotel itself is gorgeous but if you want food modern cooking go to the Fitzwilliam or Cathedral Quarter

We first had the afternoon tea and it was lovely. There was plenty of food, excellent tea, and attentive staff. Moving on to dinner, we found two wait staff servicing 23 people. Our waitress was lovely and personable. Our food was good but we found a group of very loud people at the opposite side of the room. It looked like a fine dining restaurant but diners were dressed in shorts, t-shirts, and jeans. Because the room itself was beautifully decorated, I thought there might have been a dress code or a least a more appropriate kind of clothing worn by the diners.