Chillin Time Cafe O'Connell Street, Ballymote, County Sligo F56 YW42

"I was initially drawn to the cafe by the beautiful mural on the side of the building, it was lunch time so a friend and I decided to have a bite to eat. I thoroughly impressed by the food, even thought it was just a sandwich. I asked for multiple substitutions in my order as I have dietary restrictions, the staff were extremely helpful, allowing me to build my own sandwich around those restrictions. The coffee was also of a high quality, so much so I ordered a second to take away with me. The upstairs was very comfortable and was a great place to have a private conversation. Overall a pleasant experience, good food, coffee and a lovely staff. Would recommend"

"I hope what I experienced was not the norm but I can only review on what I have experienced so here it is. I visited Chillin Time with my family for a nice brunch. Ballymote is great as it has loads of parking along the Main Street and Chillin Time is situated opposite the church so that is the first good point. The cafe itself is cosy and has a lovely atmosphere and has an upstairs but I didn’t go up there so can’t comment. The friendly waitress cleared us a table and that’s where it all started to go wrong. Downstairs only has 4 tables which very soon filled up and I counted 10 people which put the staff under huge stress. I ordered the Denver omelette and toast the wife ordered French toast and my daughter peanut butter banana honey toast. Me and my daughter ordered smoothies and the wife a coffee and we waited….. and waited…… and waited. Eventually my wife got her order and coffee, followed by my omelette and nothing for my daughter. My omelette was greasy and cold when it arrived and the toast was like stale bread. My wife’s French toast was dry and hard and when my daughters toast finally arrived, we had finished ours long before, and she couldn’t cut hers with a knife. We must have waited 20 minutes for hers to arrive after we got ours. The smoothies still never made an appearance so we cancelled them as we were finished. And as for value well that was brutal €27 for effectively three slices of toast a coffee and a couple of eggs. I normally do not break things down like that but honestly it was terrible. Needless to say I only gave it two stars because my wife said the coffee was nice. AVOID"

"There is a beautiful mural on the side of the building. The place is small, with 4 tables downstairs but more available upstairs. It had a lovely cosy atmosphere. Sadly, from here, it went downhill. I feel that our experience may not be the normal, but it was our first visit, and it didn't go well. I think this was mainly due to the cafe being majorly understaffed with only 2 people working, that was 1 in the kitchen and 1 doing everything else. The staff were so friendly but by the end of our visit they were so stressed. We ordered food and drink for 3 of us. My drink came, then my food, then my husbands food. We had to ask again for my daughters food, and we were well finished ours by the time hers came. My husband and daughter drinks still hadn't arrived, and my daughter was now almost finished with her food, so we cancelled those drinks. People who came in after us got some of their food before my daughter came. 2 people that came in for takeaway coffees left with nothing. I'm so disappointed to be saying this, but the food was not worth it either. You can see in the pictures. My French toast was dry, and it was hard to cut the crust, and the bacon was so overdone that the fork wouldn't go through it. My daughter also couldn't cut her crust and had to pick it up to eat it, and the hash browns were warm but undercooked and soggy. My husband omelette was so greasy you could see the grease on the plate, and the toast wasn't toasted. By the time we were leaving, another staff member turned up, but by this time, all of the customers in the place seemed unhappy. Considering all of this and no drinks for 2 of our party, it still came to €27.35. I'm so hoping this isn't normal, and it was just a bad day, but I will find it very hard to go back and give it another go."

"I have been a regular customer of Chillin Time Café since its opening. I ordered a "Build Your Own" sandwich as my very first lunch, and I was certainly not let down. A handmade coleslaw and a broccoli salad served as sides. Undoubtedly a very wonderful addition, and the broccoli salad was my favourite. All of the dressings are homemade, and the barbecue sauce and spicy ranch are to die for. Their coffees and milkshakes are fabulous as well. I often order their vanilla latte with almond milk and I can confidently say that they’re some of the best I’ve ever had. The milkshakes are lovely and thick, accompanied by whipped cream on top. I highly recommend going in for a visit. For your sit-down or takeaway needs, Chillin Time certainly has you covered!"

"A recently open cafe in Ballymote, I enjoyed my wrap and coffee although I felt there were a few teething problems. The wrap was nice but a little drab, maybe try using turkey pieces rather than slices adding a little green to the plate and avoid the broken crisps. The coffee that I ordered was a cappuccino, but seemed to be a froffy coffee, nice though. The way you clear the tables with the big metal bucket is probably not the best way to go considering the limited space and the terrible noise made. Wish the owners all the best and hope to visit again soon to see some improvements and hopefully upgrade the rating."