Keenly anticipated at the towns it visits around County Down, the arrival of The Hatch food truck promises seriously good eating at seriously keen prices, so what's not to love.
It was established by chef Colin Johnstone and his wife Bronagh in 2016 and these proud FoodNI members lost no time in building up a following for their simple great tasting fare, soon starting to build a following. Winning the title of Ireland’s Best Burger 2019 at BurgerFest attracted interest from a whole new crowd and they never looked back.
It was a well deserved achievement and their range of burgers is exceptional. 'The Famous Beef' (hand formed local Mourne shorthorn beef, Hatch burger sauce, natural oak smoked cheese, Hatch tomato relish, salad...) tops the bill of course, but their others - Smoke House Pork, Original Southern Fried, The Fishy One and The Veggie - are not far behind.
But it's not all about burgers at The Hatch - other favourites that fans are happy to queue for include The Hatch Famous Crispy Squid (with house pickle, baby leaf salad & chili jam), and their Fish & Chips, which is made with fresh haddock from nearby Kilkeel and comes with optional mushy peas and tartare sauce. A couple of 'healthy options' feature too (not that there's anything remotely unhealthy about anything on the main menu) and there are Honey Bee sausages & chips or a Carnbrook kids burger to please junior tastes.
What makes the Hatch special is that they love their local ingredients and Colin's long experience as a chef shows in the expertise - they smoke all their own meats in-house, their fries are triple-cooked and they do a super range of homemade sauces too (Peppercorn, Chili Mayo, BBQ, Tartare, Garlic Mayo...)
Although most often to be found along the Mourne Coastal Route (Dundrum, Kilkeel and Newcastle - check Facebook for details), they do corporate and private events as well, and attend festivals - where their smart new Just Desserts pod should also be easy to spot.
