The French Rooms Bushmills Northern Ireland – Foodie Review

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Dawn

The Editor at Aletheia Travel

A business owner from Northern Ireland, I’m endlessly curious about differences in culture, tradition, architecture, art, language, religion, philosophy, food, and music… and in awe of perpetual travellers. Next on my hit-list is a multi-site trip to Portugal and a road-trip through England. Join me as I remember old trips, new people, absorbing food, and compelling places.

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Aged pottery and elaborately carved mirrors are set against a dark grey, painted tongue-in-groove backdrop. Voluptuous dining vignettes in the Gallery window and the tall Library hallway with its oversized stone fireplace form the expansive entrance to The French Rooms in Bushmills.

While I love dining in new places of all styles as part of a full day-out, I also revel in deconstructing everything from the ingredients to customer service to the decor. The style begins at The French Rooms Bushmills with a substantial but elegant, pandemic-compliant washing station with all the required accoutrements and a polite invitation to wash your hands before proceeding.

Alternatives to The (Now Closed) French Rooms

Editor’s Note, June 2024: The French Rooms has been replaced by new, luxury accommodation and dining, Bushmills Townhouse – one of the Browns Bond Hill Collection series of restaurants, the same group that owns Ardtara Country House.

Watch this space for a new Bushmills Townhouse Foodie Review.

If you’re visting elsewhere in Northern Ireland, here are a few other places to visit and eat. Alternatively, browse our entire Northern Ireland archive.

The Vibe at The French Rooms

The French Rooms does not so much vibe as exist, much like all things French. Enjoy it if you want; but, it needs neither your presence nor patronage. The reception area and bar masks the scenes that continue on behind a 3D fireplace wall, beyond which again is the main seating area – a clever, intimate arrangement of booths, smaller tables, a nook by an open fire (it was 4 degrees on the day we visited) with a few scattered larger, round tables.

A bright waitress whisked us past antiqued serving platters arranged on the walls with a splash of humour. We were seated alongside tables that were already set and expectant with silverware and napkins.

Even on a chilly Friday in April, a steady stream of understated, stylish patrons – a mixture of ladies who lunch, another few couples and a grown-up family group arrived and were seated with familiarity. This is not a place to visit une seule fois.

Brunch Eats All-Day-Breakfasts for Brunch!

Another friendly waitress took our order with a knowing reassurance that we’d leave impressed, something that is more often than not lacking in unmotivated serving dullards that endure their shifts across many other eating establishments in NI. She didn’t bat an eyelid at my dining companion’s two-brunch order. We knew the food would be good.

Glancing around the space, I noted the typically French fleur-de-lis symbol of French royal heraldry on everything from the Pay Here sign to other decorative items. Hanging wine glasses and an impressive walk-in wine fridge area lazily accommodated the elaborate wine planning discussions at a nearby table. Attention to detail was paid to the nth degree. Even the traditional Norn Iron decor staple, here found in the loos, a Roman blind, had a French touch, with fresh linen fabric but nonchalant bows.

Brunch has moved up my consciousness from the shoulder-padded harpies of 80s movies who ate nothing of their Caesar (“hold the dressing”) to an essential treat during less frantic working weeks. The French Rooms has gone a step further than the tired breakfast fry or filled panini “served-until-12” routine for a more leisurely 11:00-14:30 rendez-vous. We arrived at 11:30.

What About the Food?

The menu was pleasingly full of curious flavour combinations, a delight for those of us who do conduct a conscientious mid-bite ingredient and texture analysis. But, it was recognisable, having ditched the prétention of the Fawlty-towers dining room.

We had three brunches:

• French Toast Croissant – a well made croissant cannot be underestimated, since it must be rendered flaky with butter, not incompetence. This novel version was a dipped in ‘frothy egg’ and filled with bacon and a fried egg – great packing for a long beach walk.
• French onion soup – this arrived in a rustic mini-tureen, and was unusually tomatoey but typically sweet and laden with sodden, sourdough croutons backed up with a stash of crisp, crusted, chewy extras.
• Tarte Flambée – this is an Alsatian speciality that starts with thin and crispy dough base spread with crème fraîche and lardons. Something of a recent convert to mushrooms, I ordered a forestière version that came topped with the sweetest champignons. It was served with extra Gruyère, the shape of whose very letters takes me back to the late evening canal-side fondue and white house wine carafes of Annecy. I added a Mediterranean salad that came with juicy olives, goats’ cheese cubes, dressed rocket, red onions, and an unexpected scattering of fragrant nettle leaves.

Drinks:

• Earl grey
• Americano
• A lightly fizzy Co. Armagh apple and blackcurrant

My dining companion commented idly on the pleasing look of the rough cut sugar cubes. This restaurant offers a pleasing combination of elegance and the rustic presentation that is essential to French cuisine.

Desserts:

• Petits Fours
• Chocolate Fondant accompanied by Morelli’s hazelnut ice-cream
• ‘Ma Cools Shake’ – vanilla ice-cream whipped together with Baileys Irish Cream

What Else is There to Do in Bushmills?

Ask anyone about recommendations for the North Antrim or Causeway Coast and you’ll get all the usual suggestions of the Bushmills Distillery; Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills Railway; World Heritage Site, Giant’s Causeway; and the medieval Dunluce Castle.

For further information on an alternative day out, see Causeway Coastal Route Northern Ireland – 1 Day Itinerary for the North Coast.

Information on The French Rooms Bushmills

While the Maison townhouse accommodation is still open, malheureusement The French Rooms restaurant in Bushmills has now closed along with the pop-up shop that offloaded the remaining furniture, prints and other decor.

Cover image credit: blogger’s own