Cleaver’s Chris Williams says ‘he was really down to Earth’

Gerard Butler after his meal at Cleaver in Holywood with Matty the manager (Image: Cleaver Holywood)

A Holywood restaurateur is on cloud nine after Hollywood A-lister Gerard Butler popped in for a bite to eat.

Chef Chris McWilliams who owns Cleaver said the top actor was “really down to earth” when he visited on Wednesday night – and even stopped for pictures with fans.

He told us: “He just walked in. I was in the kitchen because I’m the chef and [manager] Mattie walked in and said, ‘you’ll never believe who’s in your restaurant – Gerard Butler’.

“He was really nice and seemed to love everything.

“He had our wee pork and pigeon sausage roll to start and he said to Mattie ‘that was lovely, he should’ve ordered four or five of them’.

“I came out and said hello. He was in a bit of a rush as he had a class to do or something.

“He was dead on and stopped for photos on the way out. We stopped him on the way out – starstruck for a photo.

“He’s a proper A-lister… but he was really down to Earth. I’m hoping he comes in again.“

Cleaver manager, Mattie McMullan, said: “He literally just walked into the restaurant and had his meal. He didn’t expect any special treatment, he just sat down and enjoyed his meal.

“He was very complimentary of the food and he was nothing but polite… genuinely on his way out he said ‘that was amazing, thank you very much’.”

Cleaver, which opened in June 2022, specialises in steaks and fresh seafood, but also caters to vegans. The team say they source the majority of their ingredients locally but sometimes have to go further afield for special events like their African night which was held in November.

Mattie added: “Everything we get is locally sourced from Northern Ireland unless it’s a speciality that Chris is doing. It’s from farm to plate or ocean to plate. All of our steaks are sourced from Northern Ireland.

“It’s quality food at affordable prices.”

Mattie says they also allow “customers that freedom of a relaxed atmosphere where there is no rush to leave if you want to sit on and have a glass of wine or some cocktails at your table with friends. We won’t tell you you have to leave.”