The White Horse - Saintfield

I have tried the nussarsch, tofu curry and the spaghetti bolognaise, all delicious! updated by previous review on 2022-04-18

Have now sampled all vegan items on menu. Delicious. Well stocked selection on pumps as well. Real hidden gem. Nice little pub that has been on HC for ages and I'd wanted to try for a long time. Building actually seems to have more than one Restaurant in it, the basement housing a pizza place and the main floor housing a pub restaurant. Saintfield looks much the same as you'd expect it to look in the 1900s which is no diss. A relatively mixed and rural community with Rowallen gardens nearby and used to have a great indie off licence sadly now replaced with a soulless winemark. Anyhow back to the white horse and their vegan section has an impressive amount of vegan options, from a nut roast through to Asian style tofu heavy curry type dishes. Got the nachos on the side too. (Menu on website, has 3 courses) haven't tried the interesting sounding bang bang vegan halloumi yet but will do. Got 2 pints of Guiness to go alongside. Food was served fast in an impressively packed house. Tasted absolutely great as well. Very impressed at this high standard of vegan food that thought has gone into gastro pubs often crank out the exact same, bland stuff for veg options and this was really nice and very pro. Keenly priced too 1 starter, 2 pints and 2 mains came to £40 which is not bad especially with the high quality. Recommend! Updated from previous review on 2021 11 14

There is a vegan section on the main menu with a good variety of options from deep fried starters (vegan halloumi or cauliflower) to curries, nut roast and risotto. Two vegan puddings also. I had a pea and artichoke risotto. It was very tasty. It was described as coming topped with crispy sage which I was intrigued to try but in reality with was topped with peashoot micro greens which were very flavoursome. He had a tofu sizzler which came with a good variety of vegetables and the tofu was not coated so lighter and less oily than when tofu is deep fried first. It was served with rice. We shared an apple and caramel pie which was delicious and served with vegan vanilla ice cream and a fresh strawberry. We washed it down with americanos which were also delicious and served with a biscoff biscuit. There was a chocolate and orange pudding which we didn’t try on this occasion. The White horse staff were run off their feet. I overheard people checking on their orders and mistakes in their bills etc and people being turned away as they were at capacity. I know the hospitality industry is struggling with staff at the moment and I wouldn’t be critical of the staff who are clearly working hard but I would book in advance and leave plenty of time for your visit. You are sure to have a great vegan meal. We enjoyed the sounds of the 1980s too.

Love their vegan halloumi and roast. hope they still do it!

A good selection of vegan options from a chef that actually understands Veganism (not just a stuffed pepper and a sorbet! . I had the nut roast which was tasty and filling and my partner had the bang bang vegan halloumi. Tasty food. Good sized portions and reasonably priced. Definitely worth a return visit.