+44 28 9145 4470+ Add websiteImprove this listing
Hours
Tue
17:30 - 21:30
Wed
17:30 - 21:30
Thu
17:30 - 21:30
Fri
17:30 - 21:30
Sat
17:30 - 21:30
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
Learn More
CUISINES
Seafood, European, British
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Gluten Free Options
Meals
Dinner, After-hours
features
Does this restaurant offer highchairs for toddlers?
Details
About
Cafe Essence is a Chef Owned local seafood restaurant. This means our focus is on food. We are committed to preparing only the finest dishes and serving you only the highest quality food to capture the essence of fine dining.
CUISINES
Seafood, European, British
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Gluten Free Options
Meals
Dinner, After-hours
FEATURES
Reservations, Seating, Highchairs Available, Table Service, BYOB
Contribute
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
228 reviews
Excellent
155
Very good
35
Average
20
Poor
11
Terrible
7
Em4499
Northern Ireland194 contributions
Jun 2021 • family
This is definitely Bangor’s best kept secret!!
Visited here on a recent Saturday evening, they seem to be operating two sitting so we chose the earlier one at 1745. We were first to arrive and shown straight to our table by an extremely pleasant waitress. We were given breads and she opened our BYO wine.
The menu is fantastic, well laid out with an emphasis on fresh fish. Despite this I opted for chicken liver pate followed by a delightful sirloin steak. The food was absolutely faultless, the staff were fantastic and the prices were unbeatable for the quality of food. The set menu offers 2 courses for a mere £25. I have visited other fine dining restaurants in the Bangor area and this one is head and shoulders above them in terms of price and atmosphere.
I was on the fence at actually submitting this review as I would like this place to remain a bit of a locals secret but if you are in the area definitely give it a try. You will not be disappointed!
Written 4 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hamiltonjill79
Bangor13 contributions
Mar 2020 • couples
Another fantastic night in one of our favourite local restaurants! Great service from sarah and food was spectacular. My rack of lamb was cooked to perfection and the monk fish and prawn risotto never fails to impress. See you again very soon!
Written 14 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
swift0262
Bangor194 contributions
Sept 2020 • couples
Our first visit in a long time and it was fantastic.
Very Friendly and attentive Service with an excellent menu choice. There are a lot of tantalising fish dishes but well complimented with meat chooses ( Our adjoining table had a superb looking rack of lamb being served).
When combined with being a BYO let’s you have the opportunity to splash out on wines you might not ordinarily purchase of o a wine list. What is not to like...???
Written 26 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Liz186470
Belfast5 contributions
Mar 2023 • none
The restaurant is really the upstairs front of a converted terrace house. It is relatively small as a result, and has a limited number of tables set out for twos and larger groups up to six or so. The menu is set at £27.50 for two courses and is bring your own bottle as the restaurant is not licensed. There is a £1.50 per person glass charge.
We were a party of six and two ordered the 12 oz steaks and one the rack of lamb both of which had a £6 supplement charge. One ordered one of the specials which was silver hake served with tomato and chorizo and baby boiled potatoes. Before that two of us had a starter of seafood salad - smoked salmon, prawns and mackeral pate.
The starter was very basic, a few lettuce cuttings, a small piece of smoked salmon, half a dozen very small prawns glazed in marie rose sauce and a spoonful size quinell of pate on an equally small sized piece of bruschetta. There was no dressing to pull the salad together. It was very unprofessional, very basic and non chef like.
The steaks came on a plate with nothing else, no garnish, nothing. The chips came separately. This was literally steak and chips; once again very basic.
The silver hake with tomato and chorizo looked very good but that's were it ended. The hake was nicely cooked but completely tasteless. Even adding salt it did not improve, there was just no flavour whatsoever. The tomato and chorizo was separate on the plate, it was not a sauce and so didn't add anything to improve the fish. As for the baby boiled potatoes they were very watery and once again tasteless.
The rack of lamb came with one slab of dauphinoise pototo and no other vegetables whatsover. We had to order a side of cauliflower cheese which was another £3.50 on top of the £6 supplement for the lamb. The meal itself was very good and the rack of lamb a good size.
One of our party had the stuffed breast of chicken but again it came with no vegetables other than the side of chips that was ordered, and again we had to order a vegetable side at another £3.50. The chicken however was nicely cooked and moist.
When we asked about there being no vegetables with the lamb and other mains, we were told they stopped doing this as people were leaving a lot and it was costly. Not the answer we expected nor wanted to hear! In other words pay extra if you want them.
Two of our party had creme brulee desserts instead of starters and these were very good.
The food quality therefore was very mixed and the presentation and what was sent out on the plate should have been much better. The final cost of £67 per couple for two courses and with no drinks at all was way over what it was worth, having considered all of the above.
On a positive note the staff were very friendly and helpful.
Written 18 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mary Jo M
Belfast69 contributions
Jun 2021 • friends
Always a delight to be there, not a rip off, worth saving for and every bite a treat to the tongue. Quality local produce with simple ingredients cooked and served to perfection. Thank you so much for having us and being still here. 💞
Written 18 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
_devlindm
Belfast10 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
Great choice of food. Terrific fish and husband had the best steak ever!
And he’s not easy to please! Very small restaurant but we had a lovely table by the window which made our evening more enjoyable. BYO helps with the cost but decent value for money. Only criticism was coffee watery but otherwise a super meal with very attentive and helpful staff.
Written 6 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Janet M
7 contributions
Nov 2021 • friends
Went with group and chose meal before the night. Had a starter of Pate which wasn't too bad but main meal arrived luke warm. Didn't want to make a fuss on the night as l was with a group who I'd not met before. Main consisted of 2 squares of dauphinoise potatoes some long stem broccoli and pork fillet that wasn't particularly tender. Needless to say, l won't be returning.
Written 7 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joyce S
57 contributions
Sept 2021 • couples
On a wet Thursday night, what a gem of a find!! Spoilt for choice with the menu. However I throughly recommend the amazing Crispy beef starter and the hake in Lobster Bisque was out of this world. Succulent, juicy and full of flavour. Excellent value for money as it is a bring your own wine. Summary- YUM!
Written 1 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jai
Bangor6 contributions
Jun 2021 • friends
Without doubt, Bangor’s best kept secret.
Service is always excellent. Super friendly and efficient. Seafood is amazing. Our group had some dietary requirements and staff were knowledgeable and nothing was too much trouble (or at least that was impression they gave us!!). Always consistent. Always top quality. Definitely my favourite place to eat out in Bangor. Oh….and it’s BYO….what’s not to love!!
Written 29 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
katyline3
Sheffield2 contributions
Feb 2022 • couples
We were lucky enough to get a cancellation on the date we required.. always booked well in advance.
Whilst the surroundings aren't fancy the food was delicious.. good wholesome home cooking, as we like it - and it arrived with a smile.
Rack of lamb and fish of the day ( hake) didn't disappoint.
Bring your own alcohol .. always a bonus :)
We'll be back very soon - plan to make this a regular.
Written 2 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Adam C
2 contributions
Sept 2020 • friends
A lovely small restaurant with great staff. BYO so cheaper if you are a wine sink. I had a very tasty seafood medley with mornay sauce. Mornay? More like moryay! For dessert a peanut butter and ice cream tort to die for. I may actually be dead.
Written 6 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sam T
Bangor97 contributions
Oct 2023 • couples
We ate at Cafe Essence for my husband’s 60th Birthday with some friends. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals, especially the fish specials. I like the fact that you can bring your own drinks. We will definitely come again.
Written 4 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FJ
Bangor14 contributions
Aug 2021 • family
Excellent food, excellent service : couldn’t fault this restaurant. Can’t stop going back!
The service is so personal and always with a smile.
We were so pleased when the lobster came back to the surf and turf.
Seafood - amazing.
So good with my young son too.
Go to this restaurant and you won’t be disappointed!
Written 23 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Margaret M
Bangor28 contributions
May 2024 • friends
Cafe Essence is a relaxed, friendly restaurant, with superb menu, superb Food and is BYO. Six in our party, all had superb food, starter, main course and dessert, all were five star ⭐️ Superb!
Written 12 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Annette M
1 contribution
Mar 2024 • couples
I can't believe, we did not know about this place before, the food was delicious, so flavourful and the staff were extremely friendly and knowledgeable about their dishes. Will definitely be back.
Written 24 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
…
Showing results 1-15 of 228
Best nearby
We rank these hotels, restaurants, and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Best nearby hotels
See all 
Best nearby restaurants
See all 
Is This Your Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Free Listing