Black Cat

Get your Sat Nav, compass and old paper maps all at the ready because you’re going to need them. You may have gathered from that intro that Black Cat isn’t the easiest place to find. After a seamless drive from Belfast one roundabout bamboozled us and we were ended up mistakenly heading back to Belfast, it was actually only by chance that a turn back off the motorway led us to Black Cat.
One thing is for sure, Black Cat is well worth the journey. Set deep in the Tyrone countryside you’ll feel a million miles away from civilisation as you gaze out the windows on to the rolling meadows. Black Cat is a traditional country house style Bistro. The interior is light, airy and modern but it still maintains a rustic country charm. The dining area is basked in sunlight making it a wonderful place to enjoy a summer lunch. We came to Black Cat specifically for the Afternoon Tea. Having never previously been to afternoon tea before (I know, I know, uncultured swine) I had envisaged pink everywhere, dolls and other girly items but it wasn’t at all like this. When we entered the dining area we were shown immediately to our seat by the amazing and attentive staff (we booked in advance). Waiting at the table was 4 blends of loose leaf tea and 2 deceptively large hot stone pots. The waitress, noticing how much of a novice I was, came over and talked us both through the blends. I went for Camomile and the lovely lady friend went for some sort of berry blast (It was pink obviously). Once our tea was poured we were presented with the main event; three tiers of absolute delights. On the first deck (technical term) there were pulled pork mini sandwiches, pâté etc and on the upper two tiers there were pastries and sweet treats. One of the sweet treats on the upper decks was so sweet that I could have sworn my teeth were falling out. The whole thing was exceptional and despite appearing small we were so full that we couldn’t finish everything.
I can’t recommend Black Cat highly enough, if you’re heading towards Omagh or Dungannon definitely stop in. They have a beautiful outside seating area looking on to the green, rolling hills. But make no mistake this isn’t a old country barn, this is city style opulence with a rustic twist.