The Ginger Bistro

The Ginger Bistro Review

Chef-owner Simon McCance's modern Irish classics with an international twist attract foodies to this gem just off Great Victoria Street. A short but perfectly balanced menu emphasizes locally sourced seafood and lean meats. Fishy dinner highlights include fillet of hake, brill, or sea bass; pan-roast breast of duck or roasted loin of rare-breed pork are also highly recommended, but the flavorsome fried spiced squid far outsells anything else on the menu. For lunchgoers in a hurry there is an excellent-value menu offering such delights as haddock and chips, fish pie, or rib-eye steak. The wine list is outstanding, or try malt-flavored handcrafted Belfast ales or lagers from the Mourne Mountains. Chalked-up blackboards warn: "Can't have any pudding if you don't eat your greens." For those who do, the dessert menu represents a tyranny of choice: delectable crème brûlée with raspberry compote, the soft-centered chocolate cake with berries, or the sticky toffee pudding for an unforgettable coup de grâce?