Looking for the best restaurants, bars and cafés in Northern Ireland’s foodie capital? Patrick Hanlon and Russell Alford, aka GastroGays, the restaurant critics of the Sunday Times Ireland, share their their top recommendations alongside suggestions from Caroline Wilson, founder of Taste and Tour, Belfast’s premier food tour company.

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For more Ireland inspiration, discover the best Irish holidays. For more city dining guides, check out the best restaurants in Dublin, best restaurants in Cardiff, best restaurants in York and best restaurants in Liverpool.

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Best places to eat and drink in Belfast

Neighbourhood – for an indulgent breakfast

On Donegall Street, this handsome cafe styled like a plush sixties-bureau-meets-modern-Scandi-restaurant serves some of the best brunch dishes and coffee in the city. Don’t miss the croissant eggs benny or the seasonal French toast. neighbourhood.cafe

Neighbourhood

Established – for coffee

When Established opened the doors of its industrial-chic cafe in the Cathedral Quarter in late 2013 it sparked a revolution in Belfast’s coffee scene. Over a decade on it remains a beacon of quality and consistency, sourcing and roasting. Their food menu is also a massive draw, changing regularly with the seasons. Their bakes are similarly legendary, particularly the ‘pie and drip’ special, a slice of pie and a drip coffee for £7.50, available only on Sundays until sold out. established.coffee


St George's Market – for a food market

Saturday is the day the city’s historic Victorian covered market properly springs to life, packed with stallholders, street food traders and food and drink producers aplenty. Snack on dried dillisk/dulse and gulp oysters, try Young Buck blue cheese, pick up some Belfast Brew from Suki Tea and try Armagh apple juice, among other local delicacies. One floor up is the restaurant, Stock Kitchen and Bar, led by chef Danny Millar, where the menu sources a lot locally, including from the market below itself. This is also one of Belfast’s greatest breakfasts with a view — ask for a terrace table! @stgeorgesbelfast


General Merchants – for brunch

When General Merchants’ chef and co-owner Tim Fetherston first visited Australia, its brunch scene blew him away: “I fell in love with the coffee and café culture. Lots of fine-dining chefs were opening breakfast places. It was an epiphany.” That inspired the original east Belfast General Merchants on the Upper Newtownards Road and now the group boasts three further branches — Ormeau Road, Antrim Road and Stranmillis — plus a city centre hatch on Donegall Place.

Its sunny all-day fusion breakfasts range from Mexican-inspired huevos rotos to Melbourne-style smashed avocado with Vegemite on Zac’s Bakehouse sourdough and hawker eggs, a Chinese chilli crisp scramble. Coffee is excellent with a rotating line-up of roasters, differing for espresso and drip. generalmerchants.co.uk


Arcadia – for local produce

A local institution, Arcadia deli first opened in 1933 and has been going strong ever since. It’s supportive of local producers so new produce hits its shelves first. Look out for Broighter Gold rapeseed oils, Abernethy butter (try the dulse and sea salt), Passion Preserved pickles (including spiced apple jelly and kasundi chutney), Corndale chorizo and Ispini charcuterie. arcadiadeli.co.uk

Produce at St George's market

mrDeanes – for a sleek bistro

Legendary Belfast restaurateur Michael Deane has done it all, from casual dining to fine dining, burger and steak concepts to Michelin star success, not to mention most of Northern Ireland’s finest chefs having cut their teeth in his kitchens at one time or another, including Danni Barry and Alex Greene. In 2024, he totally restructured his mini empire around Howard Street, closed Michelin-starred EIPIC and reimagined the same space as a sleek bistro, bar and social called mrDeanes with a more accessible concept of classic dishes at a value price point, to which a Michelin Bib Gourmand followed almost immediately. michaeldeane.co.uk

Deanes Belfast Pasta copy

The Muddlers Club – for modern dining

Deep within the Cathedral Quarter, The Muddlers Club bar and restaurant takes its name from a secret society that used to meet on the site 200 years ago. There’s nothing hush-hush about its operation now, though; sharp, modern food (think venison with parsley root, salt-baked beets and bitter cherry) served from an open kitchen. themuddlersclubbelfast.com


Rattlebag – for cocktails

Looking for the city’s best cocktails? Rattlebag at the Bullitt Hotel is an award-winning darkly lit, plush and intimate den serving keenly crafted sips from the classic to the experimental with lots of house-made tinctures, washes and oils. rattlebag.co.uk

Rattlebag

Coppi – for Italian food

Located in St Anne’s Square in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, Coppi takes its inspiration from all regions of Italy, but when it comes to ingredients the kitchen looks to producers in Northern Ireland. “We work closely with local suppliers including award-winning farmer Peter Hannan – two of our signature dishes are Peter’s Tuscan spiced pork and fennel sausage cichetti and a steak florentine of salt-aged beef,” says Coppi’s Tony O’Neill. “The pasta we serve is freshly made daily in our production kitchen and the duck ragu, porcini mushroom ravioli and truffle has been on the menu from day one, along with our cichetti of feta fritters with truffled honey. I think there could be a riot if we tried to take them off the menu.” coppi.co.uk

Coppi, Belfast

Flout – for pizza

Fancy pizza? Ireland’s best Stateside-inspired slices are found at Flout! in east Belfast where Peter Thompson’s team sling a daily-changing line-up of slices, squares and rounds reflect the subtleties of US styles of pizza from deep dish and Detroit to New Haven and New York. flout.pizza

Flout

Bodega Bagels – for bagels

Find Brooklyn-inspired Bodega Bagels on Royal Avenue or Banana Block in east Belfast for freshly baked and filled bagels and popular boulder cookies. bodegabagels.co.uk


Oui Poutine – for poutine

Arguably Ireland’s best take on Canadian poutine comes from Oui Poutine which handily pitches beside The Big Fish statue on Donegall Quay Thursday to Saturday weekly from 12pm. ouipoutine.com


5 best Belfast pubs

The Garrick

A traditional Victorian boozer with wood-panelled walls and open fires, The Garrick has been one of Belfast’s best bars since 1870. You’ll find great session music and the city’s best champ, plus a range of local ales (try a Hilden’s Belfast Blonde or a MacIvors cider). thegarrickbar.com

The Garrick pub

The Duke of York

The Duke of York is found down the colourfully eclectic, umbrella-lined Commercial Court. Inside, get lost among the endless vintage beer and whiskey memorabilia pinned to every available surface (even the ceiling). thedukeofyorkbelfast.com

Duke of York

The Crown

The Crown is an institution, a grade A-listed gin palace dating back to the early 1800s on Great Victoria Street. The details really need to be experienced in person to be appreciated, this ‘liquor saloon’ is all mosaic tiles, brocade walls, carved woods, gold ceiling and stained glass windows. Try secure one of the coveted snugs for the best experience. nicholsonspubs.co.uk


White’s Tavern

To find Belfast’s oldest tavern, dating back to 1630, head up the skinny lane called Winecellar Entry to the original White’s Tavern which is like stepping a couple of hundred years. Expect hushed chatter, a roaring fire, a top Irish coffee and piping hot chowder with wheaten bread and butter. White’s also has a more contemporary beer hall, garden and store to the front but the tavern is where the real magic is. whitestavernbelfast.com


The Sunflower

The Sunflower is known generally as Belfast’s friendliest pub in contrast to its caged facade, a relic of the past which serves as a reminder of the social history of the city and The Troubles. Here you won’t find Guinness but a more eclectic and interesting array of craft brews and stout alternatives like Beamish on tap. sunflowerbelfast.com

Sunflower Pub

Where to stay in Belfast

The Grand Central

A large, luxury hotel in the heart of Belfast’s Linen Quarter. Expect panoramic views and Northern Ireland’s highest rooftop bar. There’s a definite dose of NYC swank about The Grand Central, from the uniformed top-hatted doormen to the huge, high-ceilinged glass and marble lobby. Despite the grandeur, however, there’s plenty of cosy Irish charm.

Rooms are spacious, calm and luxuriously furnished with king-size King Koil Cloud beds, smart white linen, and thick, noise-cancelling carpets. The bathrooms are particularly swish with double sinks, freestanding baths, walk-in rainfall showers and toiletries by ESPA.

The Seahorse restaurant on the first floor is an airy space, with floor-to-ceiling glass flooding it with light by day and the twinkle of city lights by night. The dinner menu is a celebration of Irish and European classics, with modern touches and delicate portions.

The 23rd floor rooftop Observatory Bar is a must-visit, before or after dinner. With its own private lift, it’s become something of a destination for trendy Belfasters. But don’t mistake that for exclusivity; the welcome as you reach the top floor is still very warm. Each cocktail refers to a local landmark – try Napoleon’s Nose (a heady mix of mezcal, Benedictine, fig and orange bitters), or the more floral Botanical Garden, made from gin, rhubarb, aperol, pomegranate, pink peppercorn and citrus.

Rooms start at £185 per night, check availability at booking.com

A cream bathroom with a bathtub that looks out over the city through a long glass window

More info: visitbelfast.com


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Words by Caroline Wilson, founder of the Belfast Food Tour and Director of Taste and Tour NI (tasteandtour.co.uk), Patrick Hanlon and Russell Alford

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Photographs by Leonid Andronov/Getty, David Cornder/Alamy stock photo and Elaine Hill Photography

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