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$ | Central District |
Great-value portions of burgers, steaks, lamb shank, fish, and Caesar salads are dinner favorites at this popular city-center brasserie that has chalked up over a quarter century satisfying the Derry palate—it's rumored that the first cappuccino in the city was served here. The lunch dishes may include seafood chowder or the delectable chicken melter, made up of cheese, tobacco onions, and bacon with Mexican spices. Fitzroy's frequently has specials, including half-price meals on Monday and Tuesday (excluding bank holidays) and 30% off the rest of the week on all food and drink—check the website for the latest offers.
2–4 Bridge St., Derry, Co. Londonderry, BT48 6JZ, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Firecracker burgers
- King prawn linguine
- Thyme and mushroom risotto
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$$ | Central District |
The mainstay of this classy city-center big hitter with an epic reputation is County Tyrone sirloin, rib eye, or beef fillet steaks as well as prime cuts including enormous Tomahawk steaks (for two) cooked to your liking on a charcoal grill. Based in a former linen mill, exposed brick walls and leather banquettes set the scene for a terrific meal. For an appetizer, try the Kilkeel crab and chili linguine or smoked eel and duck egg. Popular lunch choices may include blue cheese salad with candied walnuts or roast monkfish, while the two-course pre-theater menu (4:30--6:30) is a good value at £19.50. Evening staples of steak, fish, pork, and chicken are served with the Comber potato, characterized by its sweet, buttery flavor and harvested earlier than other potatoes; May and June are peak months to enjoy them. Such is their importance that they have been given a European designation of protection. Wash it all down with a choice of classic dry reds from the vineyards of Burgundy or Loire Valley favorites such as Sancerre or the smoky gunflint-flavored Pouilly-Fumé.
21 James St. S, Belfast, Co. Down, BT2 7GA, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Charcoal grill chateaubriand and tomahawk steaks
- Seared scallops and Irish pork belly with cauliflower and apple
- Irish cod with shaved fennel and pea puree
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$ | West Bank |
If you feel like a treat, several dozen colorful flavors of ice cream including chocolate, honeycomb, mint, and Ferrero Rocher are available at Joe Jackon's bustling city center café. Belgian waffles, crepes, muffins, apple tart, and other snacks are served during the day along with shakes, smoothies, or sundaes such as the Shoeless Joe or MoJoe. Lavazza Italian coffee comes with a free mini cone.
15 Ferryquay St., Derry, Co. Londonderry, BT48 6JA, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Delicious ice-cream range
- Waffles and crepes
- Novel vegan and vegetarian offerings
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$ | Golden Mile |
Hearty eaters adore this long-standing institution, which has served fish-and-chips for more than 100 years, and now serves wine and local beers with food. The completely basic Athol Street premises, close to the city center, welcomes garbage collectors, business execs, schoolboys from the nearby Royal Belfast Academical Institution, and patrons from every sector, who flock here for the secret-batter-recipe fish. They also offer gluten-free fish suppers such as lemon haddock, or fish goujons; you'll also find hamburgers and cheese or chicken burgers. It's the best value in town.
39 Athol St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT12 4GX, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Classic fish-and-chips
- Local favorite
- Best value in town
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon.
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$$ | Central District |
Connoisseurs of fresh fish and shellfish love Mourne Seafood, hidden down a side street and established as a firm favorite. Mussels are from Strangford Lough while oysters are sourced from shellfish beds in Carlingford Lough. Fresh seafood comes direct each day from the local ports of Annalong and Kilkeel and depend on the day's catch. The hake, accompanied with bouillabaisse potatoes and broccoli, and sea bream are done to perfection, but the standout dish for many is the seafood casserole with tomato sauce, fennel, thyme, and garlic served with focaccia. To complement your meal, try a bottle of Belfast Black or Maggie's Leap made by Whitewater Brewery in Kilkeel, or the locally made Shortcross gin. You can also eat and drink alfresco at the Shack, the Mourne's new open-air dining annex.
34–36 Bank St., Belfast, Co. Down, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Tuscan prawns
- Lobster burger
- Beef-dripping chips
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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$ | East Belfast |
Named after a long-forgotten railway station in East Belfast, this casual brasserie has established itself as a calming spot in buzzy Ballyhackamore, where lunchtimes can get crowded. Dishes change monthly, but typical main courses for dinner are burgers, steaks, pork fillet, prawns, lemon sole, and sea bass from Walter Ewing, Belfast's top fish supplier. Weekend brunches include a malted waffle with fruit or bacon and maple syrup, scrambled eggs with Irish smoked salmon, granola with fresh fruit and natural yogurt, or a hot vegan breakfast. Small plates such as duck croquettes or potted crab are an excellent value. The drinks menu includes smoothies and cocktails or a fruity craft beer called Jack the Lad, an Irish pale ale made by the Reel Deel brewery in County Mayo.
229 Upper Newtownards Rd., Belfast, Co. Down, BT4 3JF, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Local Portavogie prawns
- Awesome weekend brunches
- Sunday roast carvery dinner
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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$$ | Golden Mile |
Decorated with candlelit tables, redbrick walls, and vibrant artwork featuring Bollywood actresses, the loft-like 100-seat Indian restaurant is an energetic space filled with glamour and buzz and a menu that fuses traditional with the unexpected. Chicken and lamb dishes—ranging from mild to vindaloo hot—dominate, but the fusion grill also serves up kebabs, tender chops, and monkfish or sea bass and more conventional bhajis and pakoras. Vegetarian dishes include cheese and potatoes cooked with cauliflower florets or black lentils with kidney beans. The chef's recommendations may be chicken chasni, a sweet curry, or squid masala fried in a light batter. The house cocktail, Captain Morgan Rum, sugar syrup, lime juice, and cinnamon, provides delightful balance to your feast.
68-72 Great Victoria St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT2 7BF, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Squid masala
- Daal makani
- House cocktail
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Sun.
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$ | Central District |
Living up to its Maori name---Ora means "life"---this airy tapas restaurant specializes in hot and cold small plates such as crab claws, Manchego Caesar tacos, or chicken, chorizo, and buffalo mozzarella fritters. More substantial dishes are spiced glazed pork, braised shiitake, and barbecue mushroom, or a cumin roasted cauliflower curry. Dessert highlights include homemade trifle, baked meringue, and a whiskey crème brûlée. Cocktail lovers plump for Irish Goodbye, made up of Roe & Co. premium-blended Irish whiskey, passion fruit, and soda, and Cocchi Americano, a quinine-laced aperitif wine.
12 Great Victoria St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT2 7BA, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Sharing plates of meat and seafood
- Whiskey crème brûlée
- Great cocktails
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.--Tues.
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$ | |
Creative, moderately priced fare, alongside panoramic views in an elegant setting, attract locals and tourists to this popular restaurant and wine bar complex with multiple venues. The light-filled Mermaid Kitchen and Bar, serving seafood, conjures up a beachside feel evocative of coastal Maine, except you're looking out on Portrush's West Strand (although admittedly Belfast is only 100 km [60 miles] south); the more informal Harbour Bistro serves wood-fired steaks and burgers; Neptune and Prawn, on the other side of the harbor, serves Asian-inspired fare; and the Tourist Restaurant has a Mexican theme with burritos, nachos, and tacos and specializes in pizzas and burgers. At Mermaid Kitchen and Bar, the bountiful produce of the sea stars on the menu, with seven different types of grilled fish including sea bass, halibut, and turbot—all delicious, especially when washed down with a steely Sancerre and accompanied by a North Coast sunset. The best place for views though is their newly opened Basalt, a Spanish tapas restaurant with an outdoor roof terrazza. Its menu name-drops patata bravas, artichoke salad, gold crispy tacos, and even a steak foie gras burger.
Portrush, Co. Antrim, BT56 8DF, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Multiple venues
- Wood-fired burgers and grilled fish
- Sea and sunset views
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$$ | Golden Mile |
The £9.90 two-course lunch on Thursday and Friday is an exceptional value at this long-established central eatery. It includes a starter of fresh fruit or salad, along with a main-course dish of your choice with rice. In the evening the set dinner might include crispy aromatic duck pancakes as an appetizer followed by kung pao chicken, or roasted duck Cantonese-style. Seafood dishes, such as stir-fried king prawns with cashew nuts, are especially popular. This is a large popular venue.
60 Great Victoria St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT2 7BB, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Honey chili chicken
- Super seafood selection
- Stuffed chitterlings with salt
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Sat.
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$$ | Cathedral Quarter |
The Merchant Hotel's lively gastropub combines all the decorative charms of a traditional Belfast watering hole with a great choice of ales, wines, and whiskeys, and a menu that blends old-school favorites with imaginative modern fusion twists.
16 Skipper St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 2DY, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Smoked cod chowder
- Slow-braised lamb shoulder
- Signature chicken curry
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$$ | Central District |
A duo of dining experiences is reflected in different rooms at this refashioned old waterfront building which was once Derry's Custom House where taxes were collected from ships arriving at the port. Beef, chicken, and fish dominate the main restaurant, Entrada, where you can also enjoy snacks such as meatballs, salted cod fritters, or cured meats and cheeses. The elegant lounge, with its Spanish Para Picar menu, is a wine and tapas bar and may feature ham hock, spiced beef, or charcuterie.
Custom House St., Derry, Co. Londonderry, BT48 7AS, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Variety of options
- Sirloin steaks
- Classic cocktails
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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$$ | Cathedral Quarter |
Though its name is derived from a revolutionary secret society that met here 200 years ago, there is nothing exactly covert about the Muddlers Club restaurant, beyond the fact that it is hidden away in a historic back alley and kind of hard to find. Fashionably unfussy, the succinct menu showcases blackened Mourne lamb, sea trout with Caesar salad, turbot, crab bisque, and pasta all artfully arranged. They also have a six-course seasonal tasting menu (£60) with wine pairing an additional £40, as well as a vegetarian tasting menu. For dessert, the divine plum chocolate and coconut ice cream is rich and faultless as is the chocolate, passion fruit, and dulce de leche.
1 Warehouse La., Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 2DX, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Wicklow venison
- Salt-aged beef short rib and bone marrow
- Chocolate, passion fruit, and dulce de leche dessert
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon.
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$ | Central District |
Housed in an elegant former newspaper building in Belfast's historic Cathedral Quarter, the Northern Whig is spacious and stylish. From Thursday to Sunday evenings, one wall slides away so you can watch a jazz band, or a DJ playing funk and pop. The food is brasserie-style—not astonishing, but good. The environment, wine and gin selection, and cocktails such as Perfect Storm (rum, ginger beer, and Angostura bitters) or French Martini (pineapple juice, vodka, and raspberry liqueur) are the main draws, though.
2–10 Bridge St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 1LU, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Brasserie-style food
- Traditional wooden bar
- Cocktails
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$ | West Bank |
Part of a small chain, this flagship café with comfy settes and sofas serves fry-ups and vegan options for breakfast and lunch. Panini, sandwiches, and baps with a choice of soups, salads, and meat fillings, sit alongside caramel squares, snicker cake, and scones freshly prepared by the in-house bakery. It's worth stopping off here to look at the walls featuring huge street maps of Derry as well as posters reflecting its more recent history such as dance halls like the Corinthian ballroom, old signposts, flags, and cultural events. An ideal place to while away half an hour and gaze at the walls inside, never mind the historic walls outside the front door.
8--12 Bishop St., Derry, Co. Londonderry, BT48 6PR, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Excellent range of panini fillings
- Snicker cake
- Easy-going café filled with history
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$ | |
Housed in a lovely building dating to the 18th century, this simple café is worth a visit—not just for the excellent soups, sandwiches, baked potatoes, and similarly light fare—but also because it's the only thatch-roof establishment in the entire county. Full of locals and the sounds of easy banter, it's the perfect place to glean insider knowledge and gossip about the surrounding area.
22 Main St., Belleek, Co. Fermanagh, BT93 3FX, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Rustic cottage feel
- Homemade scones
- Excellent hot and iced coffees
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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$ | |
Right next door to the Guildhall, the Warehouse constitutes a harmonious commingling of café, bistro, art gallery, and shop—but most come to sample the food. The café's breakfasts include dry-cured bacon and toasted sourdough or Kilbeggan organic porridge with apple syrup; lunch specials may be Rigatoni pasta or grilled Halloumi followed by soothing desserts of Porter cake or macaroons. In the evening bistro expect delicious baked Scotch eggs, Hannan Himalayan salt-aged steaks, Greencastle hake, or pork tenderloin. The gallery features a program of regularly changing exhibitions showcasing the best of local and contemporary art.
1 Guildhall St., Derry, Co. Londonderry, BT48 6BB, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Legendary Scotch eggs
- Hannan steaks
- Terry's orange cheesecake
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$$ | Central District |
On the banks of the River Foyle, this airy and cool main restaurant of the City Hotel, taking its name from the old Thompson's Mill that once occupied this site, is a fine place to chill while taking in some great river views. The menu might include pork belly, oven-baked salmon, or supreme of chicken with an herb stuffing.
Reservations are recommended (and practically essential on weekends).
The Wine and Dine menu (available every night except Saturday), based on two people sharing two courses, is £39 for two. There's also an impressive but not expensive wine list. Breakfast is served daily, but lunch only on Sunday. The adjoining Coppins Bar serves wine and cheese (£9.95) and runs a special Tapas Friday from 4 pm at £4.50 each or 3 for £12.
Derry, Co. Londonderry, BT48 7AS, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Delicious chicken supreme
- Impressive, inexpensive wine list
- River views
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Mon.--Sat.
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$ | West Belfast |
Beside Casement Park—home ground of the Antrim Gaelic Athletic Club—this popular restaurant is just the place to catch your breath after taking a Black Taxi tour of the nearby political murals. The menu focuses on steaks and burgers, but you can also enjoy a wide selection of salads. The cocktail list includes the Wolf (gin, cucumber, and ginger lime) and the Whistle (vodka, limoncello, lime juice, and thyme).
67–71 Andersonstown Rd., Belfast, Co. Down, BT11 9AH, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Rib-eye steaks
- Beer-battered cod and chips
- Foot-long hot dogs
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$$ | Cathedral Quarter |
The humble chicken is the raison d'être of Yard Bird, on the site of a linen warehouse built in the 1750s. Start your visit with an aperitif in the Dirty Onion bar downstairs (ask the bartender about the pub's name), which retains the original, evocative tree-trunk-size beams, bare floors, and walls of the 18th century. Free-range chickens, marinated overnight in lemon, buttermilk, and paprika are cooked on the rotisserie, then cut in half and shared between two. From Sunday to Thursday there's a special deal, with whole chicken and a half carafe of wine for two (£26). Return to the Dirty Onion for a nightcap; with its smoky turf fire, timber decor, and craft beers from Europe and North America, it has a "speakeasy" feel, with live traditional music most nights, except Thursday (bluegrass night) and weekends, when acoustic groups take over both inside and out.
Every Saturday at 4 pm, two local musicians lead the Belfast Traditional Music Trail, a 90-minute walking tour through cobbled alleyways and into private bars in some of the city's oldest buildings. The tour assembles outside the Dirty Onion and tickets cost £15.
3 Hill St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 2LA, Northern Ireland
Known For
- Tender rotisserie chicken
- Fast service
- Authentic pub with live music
