The best restaurants to eat in Belfast

Best restaurants in Belfast at a glance

• Eipic - Special occasions
• Ox - Special occasions
• Graze - Casual dining
• Howard St. - Casual dining, child-friendly, cheap eats
• James St. South - Special occasions
• John Long’s Fish & Chips - Cheap eats, casual dining, child-friendly
• Balloo House - Cheap eats, casual dining, child-friendly
• Yardbird - Cheap eats, casual dining
• The Muddlers Club - Special occasions
• Mourne Seafood Bar - Casual dining
• Established Coffee - Casual dining, cheap eats
• Tony & Jen's - Casual dining, cheap eats
• Noble - Special occasions, casual dining

Eipic
Best for: Special occasions

Michael Deane's Eipic was awarded a Michelin star only eighteen months after opening. The attention to detail does not get in the way of the deep, rustic flavours of the food. Among the marvels might be dishes such as lamb breast with garlic, soy and honey, and langoustine with asparagus, endive and lardo. Lunch menus at £29 and £35.

Ox
Best for: Special occasions

Michelin-starred brilliance from chef Stephen Toman, aided by the warmth and hospitality of manager and partner Alain Kerloc'h. Everything is seasonal with a focus on fresh vegetables, fish and the finer cuts of venison and beef. The big attraction is Stephen's lightness of touch. Leave the wine to the sommelier. Two course lunch tasting menu for £30.

Graze
Best for: Casual dining

This modest-looking bolthole is in the eastern township of Ballyhackamore, which is known for its growing portfolio of small and brilliant independent restaurants. Graze is a powerhouse of local produce. Irish Hereford beef, Fivemiletown goats cheese and Glenarm smoked salmon – all are expertly dealt with. If it’s on the menu, don’t pass up the pan roast hake with tempura green beans and citrus butter. Mains from £12.

Howard St.
Best for: Casual dining, child-friendly, cheap eats

Youthful and occasionally loud, this ramshackle, bare-brick temple is very Belfast. Marty Murphy is in the kitchen at Howard Street, and if you visit the city and miss out on dishes like chargrilled pork belly with Clonakilty black pudding, or slow cooked ox cheeks with a tomato madras sauce, you’ll regret it. There’s a separate vegetarian menu, which includes dishes such as a white bean & slow roast tomato cassoulet or a cauliflower massaman curry. Mains from £16.50.

James St. South
Best for: Special occasions

Here the absolute best of Irish produce is transformed into heavenly dishes in a refined, relaxed atmosphere. Small producers vie to see their stuff in the hands of head chef David Gillmore. In particular, the cod, halibut and other fish are always glisteningly fresh. Mains from £23.50.

John Long’s Fish & Chips
Best for: Cheap eats, casual dining, child- friendly

Going strong since 1914, John Long’s is as much a Belfast institution as the Ulster Hall and the Linen Hall Library. Its most recent refurbishment was in the 1970s – now a protected species, the restaurant’s Formica booths are in big demand every lunchtime, but get there before 12.30pm and you’ll have no problem. The traditional battered fish is among the best in the city. Fish from £4.50.

Balloo House
Best for: Cheap eats, casual dining, child-friendly

This fabulous old roadhouse offers posh dining upstairs, with more relaxed pub grub and rural Ulster charm downstairs. Both are brilliant thanks to chef Danny Millar, whose pedigree stretches back to his teen years at Michelin-starred Shanks, Bangor. Danny is obsessive about local produce, game, fish, meat and foraged goods. Look out for the Saturday night specials upstairs. Mains from £18.50, kids’ mains £5.

Yardbird
Best for: Cheap eats, casual dining

Yardbird is above the Dirty Onion, a former whiskey warehouse in the heart of the old city. The restaurant serves up dry rubbed chicken whole (£20), or in halves (£12) or quarters (£7), but the highlight for those in the know is the avocado salad: all crunchy, messy, lush and spiced up with a chilli vinaigrette. Equally good is the deep apple pie for dessert. Every town should have a Yardbird.

The Muddlers Club
Best for: Special occasions

This little restaurant, on a city centre street nobody knew existed, has caused a sensation since it opened in 2015. Pork belly, fish of the day, salt aged beef and dripping chips all sound classic enough – it’s what head chef Gareth McCaughey does with them that stands out. Seasonal tasting menu is £80 and vegetarian and vegan tasting menu is £70.

Mourne Seafood Bar
Best for: Casual dining

This is the restaurant Belfast always deserved but no one dared establish. We may be on an island, but our relationship with the sea is full of suspicion and misgiving. Andy Rea, a former wingman for Paul Rankin, thought otherwise and opened the Mourne Seafood Bar in 2008 to huge acclaim. There was one non-seafood option (ribeye steak) but very unexpectedly, everyone went for the oysters, lobster, crab and fish on the bone. Foreign holidays and tourists had taught the locals a thing or two about the quality langoustines and other delights on our shores. Oysters from £12.50 for 6, main courses from £19.

Established Coffee
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats

This place takes minimalism to a new plane. It's so stripped out that when there's nobody there (which is never) it looks like the bailiffs have come and gone. But don't be dissuaded by this hyper-functionality – the coffee is arguably the best in Belfast and the dishes, traybakes and health-conscious lunches are wholesome and inexpensive. The location is perfect for those strolling around Belfast's Cathedral Quarter looking for the new generation's call signs and cool rituals. Mains around £6.50.

Tony & Jen's
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats

It looks like it's made from leftover scraps of timber scavenged from nearby building sites and joiners' merchants, but Tony & Jen's is a quality nouveau bistro. It serves stews, soups and vegetarian hotpots which are deeply rich in flavour and wholesomeness, and is home to the Panacea range of locally made lemonades, one of which is the UK-storming Projito. Tony and Jen are probably Belfast's most beautiful couple and we all want to look like them. The place to start this transformation is in their bistro, right next to Kwik Fit. Dishes from £3.

Noble
Best for: Special occasions, casual dining

Only five miles outside Belfast in sleepy Holywood is Noble, the tiny restaurant owned by chef Pearson Morris and manager Saul McConnell. Don’t be fooled by the country charm and rustic seating – Noble is breaking new ground with its take on local produce. Gone is the homey, reassuring tenderness of sauces and volumes of potatoes. Instead, Morris is putting out the best possible produce with the minimum of fuss in a brilliant exercise in editing. You will recognise the beef, fish and pork on the menu but you won’t have eaten it the way Noble does it. And there is a chocolate dessert which anywhere else would be an arrestable offence. It’s that good. Starters from £9 and mains from £18.

The best places to shop & eat

1. Sawers

Sawers is a chapel of food love, packed with exotic tinned foods, teas and spices – plus a well-stocked fish counter.

2. Arcadia Deli

A local store famous for its bread. Don’t miss the Abernethy churned butter or Hannan’s guanciale (cured pork).

3. City Picnic

It looks like a collision between a pre-school playground and a post office, but the whole family will like it. Everything on the menu can be made gluten-free.

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