County Down, International - Restaurant Guide

“Terrific” tapas-style dining with influences from around the Mediterranean draws a “buzzy crowd” to this popular venue near Belfast City Hall (the name means ‘I eat’ in Latin) – you’ll find “all sorts of delicious flavours, but fresh and tasty fishy things dominate”, and the “so-called ‘small plates’ are not that small!”. Founder Jonny Elliott and his partner, head chef Lottie Noren, opened a second venue last summer – Beau, in the city’s Cathedral Quarter.

“Affordable fine dining” – say fans – makes these Fitzrovia and Canary Wharf venues (from Nico Simeone’s Glasgow-based national chain) “good for date nights” and “real value-for-money”. “The tasting menu changes regularly, so it’s a different experience every time” – the formula being “no mystery: you get to taste small samples of delicious food all related to a specific, changing theme”. (“We’ve been twice this year – more themes have caught our eye without the window of opportunity to try them. It’s not filling, but a really enjoyable eat”). There is, though, an alternative jaundiced view, which is that they offer “style over substance – you’ll leave still feeling hungry and the venue is noisy, like being in a canteen”.