The Whistledown Bistro

Excellent service with friendly atmosphere Would recommend the hotel and food . Lovely bar service and attentive staff .

The Whistledown is my go to spot for catch-ups with friends family or a special treat. I’ve never had a bad meal or experience in it in all the years I’ve been going there! From the friendly staff, fabulous decor and extensive menus (not to mention fabulous views over Carlingford Lough, this place is a real gem! Credit where it’s due to all the staff in what are exceptionally tough times in hospitality.

Best restaurant in Co. Down always superb food and long serving staff members which speaks volumes (I’ve seen the same staff working here for years . My go to for any celebration I have honestly never had a bad meal here and love the stunning decor. Cannot understand the 1 star reviews ignore and make sure you call here for beautiful food and surroundings x

We have just returned from the most incredible family meal in our favourite hotel! I’ve been frequenting this stunning restaurant for over 20 years and every single time I am blown away by the service, menu, views, ambience and incredible staff. Sarah, Colum and their team always go above beyond to make each and every visit a memorable one. The fajitas, Eton mess, burgers, salmon, cocktails and Irish coffees are among our favourites on the menu though everything is delicious! We highly recommend this fabulous spot to all can’t wait for our next visit!

The people who are running this place need to uplift their service standards or higher better more experienced staff than just kids. I visited the Hotel during the Mourne Festival . It’s our first time . Me and My partner had a Bar Meal as they had no spaces in the restaurant because of being fully booked. That made me think oh wow , good must be great. The elderly blonde lady who told the poor young girl and shouted at her that she doesn’t have any tables upstairs was quiet cut throat to be honest . While we were almost right behind -following the young girl upstairs, who took us to the restaurant. It was not the case of let me see what I can do or what not . It was straight and simple if you haven’t got a table booked I’m afraid we can’t accommodate you upstairs . However at this point the staff below shouted we have a table free now , so in end we settled for table downstairs in the Bar. The ambience downstairs wasn’t a pleasant one , kids running everywhere , lots of shouting and drinks were called from the floor to the bar . It was like sitting in a fish market. More control of the bookings would have resulted in better service. I ordered a simple burger, what I got looked like a frozen pre-fab patty that was just thrown on the grill for a few minutes and had two raw pieces of bacon on it with nothing else added. My wife ordered a chicken curry which was bland and cold when served. I paid something like 2.80 pounds for a diet coke which came in a small glass and tasted flat like it had been poored from an already open bottle. We did pointed our food issues to one of the young lads to which his response was I’m only bringing food from upstairs . I cannot do anything I’m afraid but I will let someone know. That took long enough , and no one arrived to check if we were okay . At last we decided to just finish whatever was edible and just leave . Sadly before going in , I was starting to search for it on my phone to look at review when we impulsively just decided it would be fine and went in. If you are seeing this before you go (actually don't go) please do your own research. It was a chaos restaurant dinner in my opinion. Not what I wanted for a weekend date night . I’m sorry but this was poor .