12 Best Belfast Restaurants, Cafes and Pubs

The Belfast food scene is alive and well. Find out our favorite Belfast restaurants, coffee shops, pubs and market in Northern Ireland’s capital city.

Prior to our visit to Belfast, we didn’t know much about Northern Island beyond what we had seen in movies like In Name of the Father and The Boxer, but we got a crash course on the local politics upon our arrival in Belfast.

During our stay, we were so fascinated that we could have chatted with the locals for hours upon hours about the city’s history and the current political situation. In fact, we did. But this didn’t stop us from exploring Belfast enough to fall in love with the city’s charm, history, architecture and food.

Good food abounds in Belfast. This is a city that fully embraces the locavore movement and takes pride in its culinary bounty, especially some of the freshest seafood we’ve ever eaten. Seriously, the seafood is extraordinary, but then again so is the butter.

Local restaurants buzz with people eating out in Belfast on every night of the week. This is a part of the world where every year should be a year of food and drink!

Belfast Food Guide | Where to Eat in Belfast

We dove into the Belfast food scene and ate it all from hearty Irish& breakfasts to an elegant Michelin starred meal with plenty of coffee to keep us going. Here are our suggestions for the best places to eat in Belfast – the spots you cannot miss when you’re deciding where to eat in Belfast.

Belfast Restaurants

Despite Belfast’s relatively small size for a capital city, it has more than its fair share of good restaurants. While eating in Belfast, we spent a good bit of time focusing on seafood since we don’t usually have access to such wonderful fruits de mer.

But don’t think that Belfast’s restaurant selection is a one trick pony. The Belfast food options are varied with prices ranging from cheap to high-end.

Mourne Seafood Bar

Did we like Mourne Seafood Bar? Let’s just say that we liked this restaurant so much that we ate there twice in one week. And who can blame us for returning for a second installment of ultra-fresh seafood at affordable prices?

The freshness of the Oysters au Naturel figuratively transported us to a nearby Carlingford oyster farm, but it was the Mussels steamed with a Mediterranean korma sauce that we will long remember as the best mussels we’ve ever eaten. The simple yet monumental seafood stew as well the fish and chips are also menu standouts.

Ox

Our charming Swedish server rolled out a parade of dishes, each creatively prepared by acclaimed Chef Stephen Toman with locally sourced ingredients. We scraped each dish clean, not wanting to waste a pea pod or asparagus spear.

James Street South Restaurant

Niall McKenna is a busy chef and entrepreneur with four of the top restaurants in Belfast plus a cooking school all on his plate, yet he still can be found cooking at his flagship location which is where we found him on a busy Tuesday night. Though every table was filled, the restaurant’s staff kept the courses coming with steady pacing and good humor.

To get a good sampling of McKenna’s work, we indulged in the night’s tasting menu, a bargain for three courses and a thoughtful wine pairing. Top dishes included the scallop dish pictured above as well as grilled cod and County Antrim fillet of beef.

Love Fish

Sometimes we want a big meal, and sometimes we just want to end the night with a light snack. That’s where Love Fish comes into play.

Belfast Baking Company

Cheap Chinese Food

We often like to eat ethnic food when we travel, and Belfast is no exception to this rule. During our visit, we found plenty of little Chinese eateries near the University on Ormeau Road.

St. George’s Market

A great city needs a great market. We have our favorite markets in cities like Barcelona, London and even our hometown of Philadelphia. Now we can add Belfast to this list with the St. George’s Market.

Located in a late 19th-century building, St. George’s is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Though open for just three days each week. the market packs a punch in its variety of fresh, local Belfast food staples like seafood and produce as well as a cornucopia of ready-to-eat foods representing local cuisine and ethnicities around the world.

St. George’s market is a great spot to shop for Northern Ireland food or eat an affordable lunch in Belfast or both. If you’re wondering what to eat in Belfast, you will surely something tasty at this market.

Belfast Coffee Shops

General Merchants

We spent half of our time in Belfast at an apartment just off of Ormeau Road, less than a block from a General Merchants location. The convenience was enough to get us in the door for a laid back Belfast dinner.

Established Coffee

Spending half of our time in central Belfast at the Hotel Europa, we found Established on our first morning in town and immediately felt at home amongst the hipster crowd drinking pourovers and working on their Apple computers. We skew a bit old to be called hipsters, but these are two areas where we would easily qualify for the dubious label.

Kaffe O

We liked Kaffe O as a switch from the normal third wave coffee scene and a bit of a foreshadow to our trip to Sweden. Ormeau Street’s Kaffe O is unabashedly Scandinavian with its sleek design and Nordic menu.

Belfast Pubs

We checked out some of the best bars in Belfast, and we were not disappointed. Our only dilemma was choosing from the many beer, cider and whiskey options.

The Dirty Onion

Located in a building dating back to 1780, The Dirty Onion is a thoroughly modern pub in the heart of the city’s Cathedral Quarter. The inside of the building is impressive both for its decor featuring wooden beams and exposed brick decor as well as for its extensive bar menu of beers and ciders.

The outside beer garden, filled with picnic tables and avant-garde sculptures, is relatively mellow in the early evening until the crowds arrive and the place truly comes alive.

Crown Liquor Saloon

Located in a building built in the mid 19th century and renovated by the National Trust in 1978, the Crown Liquor Saloon building is a true gem of a pub right in the heart of the Belfast city center. The architecture would be enough to warrant a visit with its vintage booths, gargoyles and stained glass windows.

Things To Do in Belfast

Original Publication Date: August 9, 2016