Profile: Montgomerys Restaurant

By Libby Clarke

They always say that a busy restaurant is a sure sign of great tasting food, and there is no doubt that the beautifully presented premises at Ballymoney Street, Ballymena – home to the award winning “Montgomerys” is just that. Since opening the doors five years ago over 1.5 million customers have enjoyed the casual dining experience at Montgomerys.

This is a family run business led by husband and wife team Steven and June Montgomery, with their four sons Tim, Mark, Paul and Richard actively involved in all aspects of the success story.

Montgomerys have won "Best Eating Establishment in the Ballymena Borough" four times in the last five years.

“We have a real sense of pride in what we can offer our customers both in terms of cuisine and service – and are confident that our menus are of the very highest standard.” explains Steven Montgomery.

“All of the beef pork and lamb served up in a variety of popular dishes, are hand reared on our family farm allowing us to ensure that they are finished to our exacting standard. When it comes to beef we only use Aberdeen-Angus as we find it unrivalled in terms of flavour and texture. Our customers now ask for it by name as they associate Aberdeen-Angus with superior quality.”

Tim Montgomery added “The added bonus from our point of view is that there is very little hands on management required with Angus as the calves jump to their feet quickly when born and suckle without assistance. This means that we can concentrate our time within the restaurant and our agricultural stores at Cullybackey.

Montgomerys opens it doors Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm. During the day breakfasts, snacks and lunches are served up to customers who travel from throughout the country to dine here time and time again.

The family commitment to the business has been recognised as Montgomerys has been awarded “Best Eating Establishment in Ballymena Borough” four out of the last five years. Considering that there is stiff competition for this accolade this is no mean feat for the Montgomery family.

Aberdeen-Angus beef is recognised the world over as being the housewives preference when selecting cuts for the table. It is no accident that this popularity has reached new heights as leading restaurants and supermarket chains actively promote Aberdeen Angus – sold on the succulent flavours and texture that the meat has to offer.

There is a shortage of Aberdeen-Angus beef in the marketplace as demand continues to grow year on year. This should be seen as a real opportunity for producers to consider using an Angus bull. The merits of reduced overheads and minimum management requirements will speak for themselves. However the dividends that can be achieved when selling Aberdeen Angus sired cattle could see your profit margins increase. So what are you waiting for?

There never has been a better time to consider Aberdeen-Angus. There will be 45 service age bulls and 10 females offered for sale at the NI Aberdeen Angus Club Show and Sale scheduled to take place at Dungannon Farmers Mart on Tuesday 9th February. judging is in the capable hands of David Weir and commences at 10am, followed by the auction at 1pm.

Sponsorship will kindly be provided by Jack Maguire, JM Farm Livestock Care.

For full details contact Dungannon Farmers Mart 028 8772 2727.