In case you didn’t know by now, my favorite part of traveling to a new place is finding new food to try (duh). I was especially excited to be in Belfast for a month because I’m a huge sucker for pub food, and when in Northern Ireland, you’re basically in pub heaven. Even though we did have a full kitchen that month (and put it to use fairly often, thankfully!), we still made plenty of time to get out and explore Belfast’s countless pubs, restaurants, and food markets as much as possible. I’ve gathered all my favorites here to share with you, whether you’re planning your own trip to Belfast or are just curious about all the yummy spots we found in the city!
------------------------
RESTAURANTS
------------------------
1. Bootleggers
Our first dinner outing in Belfast was at Bootleggers, and it was truly the best start to our month. We definitely had a bit to drink, but man, was the food good there! There’s not much better than small plates of fried comfort food when you’re a couple drinks deep, and Bootleggers gave us exactly the vibes we needed. We tried a bunch of the taco flavors, plus a few appetizers, and the sticky toffee pudding was the best I’ve ever had. The photo looks a little questionable, but I promise you, I think about that dessert daily. It was absolutely drenched in toffee sauce and was just spongey and soft and gooey and perfect. Also, we got an obligatory round of picklebacks because who the heck has picklebacks on the actual menu?! It was fate.
STANDOUTS:
- Sweet corn ribs
- All taco options
- STICKY! TOFFEE! PUDDING!
2. Jumon
Liv and Nijal made me a much bigger fan of Asian food than I was expecting, especially in a place as violently Irish as Belfast. I like Asian food, but never really jumped at it as a first choice when deciding what to eat–but it’s one of their favorite types of food, and the more we ate it, the more it really grew on me! We went to Jumon for Liv’s birthday dinner, and it’s a really cool little vegetarian spot on Fountain Street serving unique Asian-inspired dishes and cocktails. It was my first time having pad thai (incredible), and they had a small dish with fries, crispy onions, and a sauce that was out of this world. I can’t remember for the life of me what was in it, and it’s not on their menu anymore, but it’s pictured below and I miss it dearly. Cocktails were great, too!
STANDOUTS:
- Pad thai
- Mystery French fry dish
3. Zen
I hesitate to include this spot on this list–not because the food and drinks were bad, but because we had an incredibly rude employee cash us out. It could have been an off day for them, and it was the only incident we had in pretty much the entirety of our travels where we were rudely spoken down to, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t put a bit of a damper on our evening. Everything else was lovely–the sushi was great and the cocktails were strong and in big portions, and the restaurant’s ambiance was really interesting, with portières lining the walkways and large round booths that gave the restaurant a cozy feeling even when it was crowded. However, customer service is just as important as the food at any restaurant, so getting yelled at when trying to tap my card to pay for our food was definitely a bummer.
STANDOUTS:
- Gyoza
- Literally all the cocktails
4. Lavery's
We actually didn’t mean to go to Lavery’s at all–we had stepped into The Woodworkers next door, but were seated essentially on top of another extremely loud table and didn’t see a waiter for a good ten minutes after sitting, so we walked through the hall and found a pub in the next room over. We couldn’t tell if it was a separate place or not, but I think Lavery’s is the main restaurant and The Woodworkers is a branch off of it. I still have no idea. Anywho, Lavery’s was great! A bang-average pub, nothing too crazy. We sat at the bar and ordered our food there, and it came out arguably faster than it would have at a proper table. Steak pie is always a safe bet, and this one was great. It still throws me a bit when I order the pie and don’t get an actual pie, but rather a puff pastry sheet on top of meat. No matter how it looks, though, it still hits, especially paired with a pornstar martini.
STANDOUTS:
- Steak and ale pie
------------------------
PUBS
------------------------
5. Duke of York
The Duke of York is one of the classic pubs in Belfast–it really transports you to another little world once you step inside. The pub was around for 200 years until it got blown up in the 70’s and was rebuilt. Now it’s covered, literally head to toe, in old flags, plates, posters, stickers, and signs, and the copper tables really shine under the bright lights. This was our first stop in Belfast for a Guinness, and Nijal split the G on his first try (I got distracted and did not). Definitely recommend coming here for the atmosphere and the live music!
6. The Jailhouse
We stopped at the Jailhouse for a couple of pornstar martinis, and found it to be a decent spot! It wasn’t super packed, which was nice, but it seemed to be a little bit of an older crowd when we were there. We aren’t huge partiers by any means, but you can definitely tell when you’re among the youngest in the place, so it was nice for a couple quiet drinks and a move on.
7. The Thirsty Goat
Now, this spot got PACKED. And the crowd was young. Definitely a party-goer’s spot, if you’re into standing shoulder to shoulder trying to drink a pint. We somehow got a hold of two chairs at the edge of a table, so we hung out for a bit while some live music played, but it got a little too rowdy for us after a pint. Plus, they only served beer and G&T’s, and when that’s not what you’re in the mood for, the vibes can go downhill quickly. The guitarist did play “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, though, and that was a biiiiig hit. Picture below of how crowded it was before we’d even gotten a drink.
8. Kelly's Cellars
Kelly’s was absolutely my cup of tea. We went on a weeknight so it wasn’t packed, and we were able to get a little table in the back to sit at. They played strictly classic rock for the old Irish guys at the bar and served us baby Guinness and espresso martinis and it was a lovely, lovely night. We went back on a weekend and it was much more crowded with people our age, which was cool but a little annoying since we were expecting a similar vibe as before. They have a nice outdoor area though, and in the dead of January it was still full up outside!
9. White's Tavern
White’s was the first pub that clued us in regarding all the hidden doors and rooms in restaurants in Belfast, and just Ireland and the UK in general. When you think you’re walking into a small pub, they show you through a door and you’re suddenly in a huge open air terrace, or a long barroom with ample seating. It was a shock at first, and then we just grew to expect at least three separate rooms everywhere we went. At White’s, we walked into a small, dark pub, realized there was no food and barely any drinks other than beer, and were promptly told to walk to the next room where they could make us anything we wanted. It looked like an entirely different restaurant, and they did, in fact, make us every drink we wanted without question! Cool vibes here, definitely recommend.
10. The Perch
This was definitely a pricier, more bougie spot than anywhere else on this list (and probably Belfast as a whole). We were under the impression it was a rooftop bar, but when we got upstairs it was very much not. Either way, the drinks were great–espresso martini tree, anyone?–and the atmosphere was decent. It was definitely a date spot, because every other person there was clearly on a date while the three of us sat in the corner throwing back martinis and marshmallows in our own little bubble. I forget what that blue drink was, but it was yummy!
11. National Grand Cafe
I don’t recall a lot from this spot, other than the fact that there was pizza outside and very, very loud music inside. I had to look up the name days after we got home, and it took me a bit to figure out where we actually were. It was our last stop of the night and we initially only wanted pizza (which was great), but then two Irish guys sat at our table and we struck up a conversation, became fast friends, and followed their lead upstairs where “the party was”. The party was really just a DJ blasting music in a dim room, but we got more drinks, made more friends, and stayed out til 3am. If you’re in the mood to stay out late and get very drunk, this is probably the place to do it. The only picture I got from inside is that blurry mess–enjoy?
12. Common Market
By now you likely know that I’m a sucker for any sort of market: food markets, farmers markets, you know the drill. We stopped by Common Market on a whim toward the end of our month in Belfast, and we were all a little bummed we hadn’t gone sooner–it was a really cool food hall with tons of unique options! I got poutine (a little foreshadowing to my time in Montreal, maybe?) and it was super yummy. The portions here were pretty big, at least at the vendor I went to, and there was live music and (I believe) a full bar, too. Definitely a fun atmosphere for a night out or an afternoon trying out food from different booths!
STANDOUTS:
- Poutine
13. St. George's Market
This market was one of my absolute favorite spots in Belfast! It’s the city’s oldest market–their Friday markets date back to 1604 (insane). Dogs are welcome, it’s indoors, they have live music (with a quiet hour every morning), and each day (Friday-Sunday) has a different booth layout. I could spend hours just walking around, sampling foods, treats, coffees, dips, spreads, jams, you name it. And that’s not even counting the vintage jewelry, antique trinkets, handmade clothing, art prints and posters, and countless other vendors! Pictured below are truffle parmesan fries and savory crepes from booths I forget the names of–but it’s pretty clear once you walk around what food you can get where. Everything we ate there throughout the month was phenomenal, so you can’t go wrong here!
STANDOUTS:
- Truffle parmesan fries
------------------------
More Ireland blog posts:
------------------------
FOLLOW ALONG
------------------------