Lily Johnstons Bar& Kitchen

Paul Masterson runs Lily Johnstons from a building on Glenavy's Main Street with origins in the 17th century, trading for years as McGeown's before a change of name and a contemporary refit. The bar keeps an open fire going through colder months and serves a bistro menu built around leek and potato soup and home-baked wheaten bread rather than a standard carvery. Doors open at 11.30am Monday to Saturday, running until 1am, with Sunday hours from 12.30pm to midnight, and live music plays most Saturday nights. It remains a single-site, independently owned pub rather than part of a managed group, which shows in a menu that changes with the seasons and a fireside that gets used rather than staged for photographs. Glenavy is a small village between Lisburn and Antrim, and Lily Johnstons serves as its main social room.