Belfast Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: “Excellent tapas-style dishes (not all Spanish themed), a decent wine list and great cocktails with efficient and friendly service” combine to make Jonny Elliott’s four-year-old an attractive option in the centre of town. There’s an open kitchen so “you can watch the chefs working away, including their wood-fired oven” – one of the first Bertha ovens in Ireland.

The flagship destination in the city-centre restaurant complex opened by pioneering Belfast chef Michael Deane 25 years ago, Eipic now has rising head chef Alex Greene at the helm, turning out “exceptional” and stylish cuisine – “I’ve eaten half a dozen Michelin star meals this year and Eipic edges it for me – better value for money, and you can dip in and out of the matching wines rather than having £90 added to the bill for taking all the pairings”. Sceptics can find it “a bit uptight and textbook, even if the food is well-cooked” – “you get into Eipic (and indeed go to the toilet) by walking through another Deanes restaurant, and each time I did so I wanted to stay there instead!”

2021 Review: Solidly good marks last year for Niall and Joanne McKenna’s “understated and classy” venue, which last year incorporated its neighbouring ‘bar and grill’ and fine dining operations into a single more brasserie-style set-up, complete with cocktail bar: many of the dishes, including steaks, come from the charcoal grill.

“Having helped create Belfast’s vibrant foodie vibe”, this well-known venue is still “a must-visit in the city”. “Small and cosy, with wooden tables and a great atmosphere”, it serves a “varied menu in generous portions, with interesting specials alongside staples”. A newly extended beer garden with gazebos and heaters also offers street-food-style menu from ‘The Shack’. Top Menu Tip – “the mussels are always superb”.

2021 Review: Marty Murphy’s well-liked, industrially styled brasserie (est 2013, and recently revamped, adding to its appeal) may not gain any particular raves, but is a decidedly “decent” spot by all accounts – and, even on a “very busy Saturday night, it still produces good solid cooking”.

2021 Review: “When all you want is an old-school burger”, these US-based arrivals of recent years really “hit the spot” – you can “build your own”, with “tons of accessories”; plus “seriously addictive fries”, “thick milkshakes”, and “more soda flavours than is reasonable”. “The eat-in experience is as depressing as McDonald’s”, though, in fact perhaps more so – “some branches have a strangely gloomy ambience” – but fans feel that “if you don’t mind 1980s-rock, a trip can still be surprisingly fun”.

2022 Review: “Fabulous fishy food” is “freshly cooked and served by very friendly staff” at this straightforward but jolly three-storey spot – Belfast’s first sustainable seafood restaurant, whose menu ranges beyond chippie staples to local Carlingford oysters and other Irish seafood. “All in all a wonderful experience and well worth a visit”.

“Such amazing value for a six-course, themed, tasting menu” that changes every six weeks – that’s the USP of Nico Simeone’s national chain, which, over five years, has grown from its Glasgow base to number nine in total (with London having two: in Fitzrovia and Canary Wharf). Of course it’s “slightly gimmicky”, but on the whole it’s “a good effort at a budget experience”: “you get what you pay for, and while not all dishes hit the mark, and service can be a bit hit ’n’ miss (particularly at busy times), it is innovative, has a great buzz and is a lot of fun”.

“Ticking all the boxes, with modern but unpretentious food of fine quality in decent portion sizes” – including “some top seafood”. It’s a “small, intimate” place with a “buzzy atmosphere and friendly service” from ‘butler’ Saul McConnell and “fantastic quality food” from cook Pearson Morris. “I stumbled on it by chance, but will return for sure!”