Very good food. We had an amazing table overlooking the bay. All the staff were nice and the food was well prepared and homemade. Portions were pretty generous.
Victoria Montgomery
I can honestly say I have never been so uncomfortable eating a meal in my life. Having booked a table for myself and my husband to celebrate his new job, we arrived to Basalt on Saturday 2nd March to be seated, at what can only be described as a shelf with bar stools mounted to the floor, overlooking the chiefs as the cooked. The shelf was approx 40cm wide and you were unable to put your legs below the shelf due to there not being enough room to do so. I raised my concerns to the server, that this was not a table which I had booked and I would be unable to tolerate sitting sideways through out our entire meal, I informed him that I had a chronic illness, which results in me being in chronic pain and needing adequate seating and room for my knees to go u under the shelf. He returned to say, that there were no other tables available. Had we not been out to celebrate I would have got up and left immediately, however I did not want to spoil my husbands night out, which are few and far between.This results in us having to eat sideways through-out the meal and my clothes smelling like I had worked in the chip shop all night, as the frying steam and heat hit us directly as we were so close to the cooking area. I was in agony throughout, which is a shame as the food was amazing, if only we had been able to enjoy it. We had intended to stay for the rest of the night and have drinks to celebrate, however due to how much pain I was in having sat, trying to eat like this, I had no choice but to leave to get home and take pain killers to try and relive it. I again mentioned my issues when paying for my meal, to offered a meaningless apology. No offer of compensation was made. Am am shocked that they would expect anyone to be seated for a meal this way and that quite frankly it was apparent that they only cared about squeezing as many people in as possible for dinner to boost profit! Why do they even take bookings for a table, to which you have to pay a deposit for it, if there are no tables left?? I will not be back!
sallylambe124
Disappointing. For the price of the menu, my expectations were higher. Pasta dish arrived with unusual potato crisps on top. Menu was laminated. Music was at a level where conversation was diffult. Single women's toilet for a large restaurant. My partner is a veggie and the "open lasagna" was just a bowl of mushroom pasta. Service was inconsistent. Wine not poured etc. Give it a miss!
Nicola T
I will start with the positives: the food although pricey was lovely when we finally got it. The negatives: 11 adults were expected to sit at a table that would hold 8. When asked for another table I was met with “we might not have any other tables”. My response- there was literally no room for the other 3 unless they wanted us to sit on each others knee. They brought over a small table which did the job but not great when we had already pre booked in advance. To top off the table situation, the other two added tables to the booth were in complete darkness. We had to use our torches on our phones to look at our food. No one came near us for 40 mins after we sat down. Finally got our drinks ordered. 10 mins later got our wine but no wine glasses. Waited a further 10 minutes with no luck- a member of our party had to go to the bar and bring the wine glasses down. An hour and a half after sitting down to the table, we finally got our food order taken. No longer could order the starters we wanted as we didn’t have the time. Food came down at 8:05. One member ordered a steak medium to rare- steak came down medium to well done. Sent back. (This has happened on a previous visit however when the issue was resolved the steak was lovely) At 8:35 a gentleman requested the table back…30 minutes after we had got our main meal. Some members of the party still finishing their meal. No option for dessert and the requested birthday surprise which was agreed at the start of the visit. 2 members of our party spoke with who I believe was the manageress who apologised (the only apology we got the entire night) and gave them a £30 voucher. Our meal cost £550. A £30 voucher for the most horrendous service and table…… It has such potential but sadly was one of the worse nights at a restaurant I have experienced in a very very long time.
L257MCstevenw
High quality food and large portions. As a long term veggie, I'm used to dull food, but here the veggie options were imaginative and just delicious. I left the restaurant stuffed to the gills. Went with the family. Solid options for the kids. My only criticism was that we were sat beneath a speaker and it was quite loud. Other than that, faultless. Looking forward to going back.
quirkygurl
A brilliant night at Basalt, fabulous food, the best music by DJ JO and the bongos and trumpet...so much fun. Fantastic food and well looked after by Kennedy and Brian. Best spot in Portrush.
holiday20190795
Had a beautiful meal with friends in Basalt. This was my first time to eat in the Restaurant. Was worried after booking when I read the reviews. The restaurant was busy, great atmosphere, good service and lovely food. I had paid a deposit on booking. When the bill arrived deposit hadn’t been deducted but when highlighted was quickly sorted. Overall lovely evening. Would have no hesitation in returning again.
Stevehop55
20% off wasn’t applied to bill, despite offer being advertised if we ordered before 7. Food was a bowl of slop, linguine in soup, with mashed (?) prawns (aka prawn linguine). Partner had steak which was burnt and cubed potatoes raw in the centre. Just avoid. Running on an old reputation which is fast dwindling….
Fletchers2005
We dine here once or twice a month. The staff are always super friendly and we cannot fault the food. The steak for 2 is out of this world, a real treat and never disappointed. Thanks again, will see you soon.
Ursula Collins
Arrived 10 minutes early to be told the restaurant didn't open until 5.30 and asked to leave and return - at 8 months pregnant I didn't think it would be much to expect a seat at the bar/waiting area. That set the tone for the evening. Food average, husband ask for rare steak and was served a well done steak. We were not told of the steak deal until AFTER ordering. No drinks order taken on being seated - we had to chase this. Following our meal I asked for decaffeinated coffee but shockingly it wasnt on offer.Toilets hadn't been cleaned either. Very disappointing.
First time going here for very special occasion which was stated on booking ..no mention of the occasion by any staff. Food was good but starters state they are sharing plates so for at least 2 sharing...ok if people like same things. Were seated right across from kitchen service area which was extremely busy and loud...hearing chef shout out orders to staff/table numbers etc...couldn't hear eachother talk!! not the most enjoyable/relaxing. At one point one of our party actually received a decibel warning on their phone!!
jonathan braden
Terrible food but good serviceBurgers are below average and any sides are bland. “Garlic” Mushrooms completely inedible.Service was good though hence why it gets 2 stars instead of 1.
French Frye
Filet was amazing, sunset view from behind the bar was to die for. Best seat in the house is corner of the kitchen bar. Slow initial drink order and check after meal but we hardly noticed with the great entertainment in the kitchen.
Marian Connell
We had a lovely meal here. We were a party of 6. Warmly welcomed by Arnie and Hayley. Staff were very attentive, starters were fab. Sharing steaks were really good.Parking: Easy to park
Amy Lockhart
Currently sitting at a noisy table beside the bar, arrived 1 hour and 25 mins ago and still have not seen a meal. Myself and my partner have managed to get through an entire bottle of wine before our food has arrived. Ridiculous wait time for food that is not worth it. Service was mediocre at best, took more than 30 minutes and for my partner to go to the bar twice to get a glass of water.
Very good food. We had an amazing table overlooking the bay. All the staff were nice and the food was well prepared and homemade. Portions were pretty generous.
I can honestly say I have never been so uncomfortable eating a meal in my life. Having booked a table for myself and my husband to celebrate his new job, we arrived to Basalt on Saturday 2nd March to be seated, at what can only be described as a shelf with bar stools mounted to the floor, overlooking the chiefs as the cooked. The shelf was approx 40cm wide and you were unable to put your legs below the shelf due to there not being enough room to do so. I raised my concerns to the server, that this was not a table which I had booked and I would be unable to tolerate sitting sideways through out our entire meal, I informed him that I had a chronic illness, which results in me being in chronic pain and needing adequate seating and room for my knees to go u under the shelf. He returned to say, that there were no other tables available. Had we not been out to celebrate I would have got up and left immediately, however I did not want to spoil my husbands night out, which are few and far between.This results in us having to eat sideways through-out the meal and my clothes smelling like I had worked in the chip shop all night, as the frying steam and heat hit us directly as we were so close to the cooking area. I was in agony throughout, which is a shame as the food was amazing, if only we had been able to enjoy it. We had intended to stay for the rest of the night and have drinks to celebrate, however due to how much pain I was in having sat, trying to eat like this, I had no choice but to leave to get home and take pain killers to try and relive it. I again mentioned my issues when paying for my meal, to offered a meaningless apology. No offer of compensation was made. Am am shocked that they would expect anyone to be seated for a meal this way and that quite frankly it was apparent that they only cared about squeezing as many people in as possible for dinner to boost profit! Why do they even take bookings for a table, to which you have to pay a deposit for it, if there are no tables left?? I will not be back!
Disappointing. For the price of the menu, my expectations were higher. Pasta dish arrived with unusual potato crisps on top. Menu was laminated. Music was at a level where conversation was diffult. Single women's toilet for a large restaurant. My partner is a veggie and the "open lasagna" was just a bowl of mushroom pasta. Service was inconsistent. Wine not poured etc. Give it a miss!
I will start with the positives: the food although pricey was lovely when we finally got it. The negatives: 11 adults were expected to sit at a table that would hold 8. When asked for another table I was met with “we might not have any other tables”. My response- there was literally no room for the other 3 unless they wanted us to sit on each others knee. They brought over a small table which did the job but not great when we had already pre booked in advance. To top off the table situation, the other two added tables to the booth were in complete darkness. We had to use our torches on our phones to look at our food. No one came near us for 40 mins after we sat down. Finally got our drinks ordered. 10 mins later got our wine but no wine glasses. Waited a further 10 minutes with no luck- a member of our party had to go to the bar and bring the wine glasses down. An hour and a half after sitting down to the table, we finally got our food order taken. No longer could order the starters we wanted as we didn’t have the time. Food came down at 8:05. One member ordered a steak medium to rare- steak came down medium to well done. Sent back. (This has happened on a previous visit however when the issue was resolved the steak was lovely) At 8:35 a gentleman requested the table back…30 minutes after we had got our main meal. Some members of the party still finishing their meal. No option for dessert and the requested birthday surprise which was agreed at the start of the visit. 2 members of our party spoke with who I believe was the manageress who apologised (the only apology we got the entire night) and gave them a £30 voucher. Our meal cost £550. A £30 voucher for the most horrendous service and table…… It has such potential but sadly was one of the worse nights at a restaurant I have experienced in a very very long time.
High quality food and large portions. As a long term veggie, I'm used to dull food, but here the veggie options were imaginative and just delicious. I left the restaurant stuffed to the gills. Went with the family. Solid options for the kids. My only criticism was that we were sat beneath a speaker and it was quite loud. Other than that, faultless. Looking forward to going back.
A brilliant night at Basalt, fabulous food, the best music by DJ JO and the bongos and trumpet...so much fun. Fantastic food and well looked after by Kennedy and Brian. Best spot in Portrush.
Had a beautiful meal with friends in Basalt. This was my first time to eat in the Restaurant. Was worried after booking when I read the reviews. The restaurant was busy, great atmosphere, good service and lovely food. I had paid a deposit on booking. When the bill arrived deposit hadn’t been deducted but when highlighted was quickly sorted. Overall lovely evening. Would have no hesitation in returning again.
20% off wasn’t applied to bill, despite offer being advertised if we ordered before 7. Food was a bowl of slop, linguine in soup, with mashed (?) prawns (aka prawn linguine). Partner had steak which was burnt and cubed potatoes raw in the centre. Just avoid. Running on an old reputation which is fast dwindling….
We dine here once or twice a month. The staff are always super friendly and we cannot fault the food. The steak for 2 is out of this world, a real treat and never disappointed. Thanks again, will see you soon.
Arrived 10 minutes early to be told the restaurant didn't open until 5.30 and asked to leave and return - at 8 months pregnant I didn't think it would be much to expect a seat at the bar/waiting area. That set the tone for the evening. Food average, husband ask for rare steak and was served a well done steak. We were not told of the steak deal until AFTER ordering. No drinks order taken on being seated - we had to chase this. Following our meal I asked for decaffeinated coffee but shockingly it wasnt on offer.Toilets hadn't been cleaned either. Very disappointing.
Restaurantji Recommends
First time going here for very special occasion which was stated on booking ..no mention of the occasion by any staff. Food was good but starters state they are sharing plates so for at least 2 sharing...ok if people like same things. Were seated right across from kitchen service area which was extremely busy and loud...hearing chef shout out orders to staff/table numbers etc...couldn't hear eachother talk!! not the most enjoyable/relaxing. At one point one of our party actually received a decibel warning on their phone!!
Terrible food but good serviceBurgers are below average and any sides are bland. “Garlic” Mushrooms completely inedible.Service was good though hence why it gets 2 stars instead of 1.
Filet was amazing, sunset view from behind the bar was to die for. Best seat in the house is corner of the kitchen bar. Slow initial drink order and check after meal but we hardly noticed with the great entertainment in the kitchen.
We had a lovely meal here. We were a party of 6. Warmly welcomed by Arnie and Hayley. Staff were very attentive, starters were fab. Sharing steaks were really good.Parking: Easy to park
Currently sitting at a noisy table beside the bar, arrived 1 hour and 25 mins ago and still have not seen a meal. Myself and my partner have managed to get through an entire bottle of wine before our food has arrived. Ridiculous wait time for food that is not worth it. Service was mediocre at best, took more than 30 minutes and for my partner to go to the bar twice to get a glass of water.