Aghalee Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “The ingredients are fresh, local and put together with verve” at Chris McGowan’s five-year-old venue. The Great British Menu star, who worked for Richard Corrigan and Pierre Koffmann, brought newfound contemporary techniques such as brining and fermenting to small-town Co Down – executed with “exceptional dedication” and “warm and professional service”.

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: 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.

A reputation for “innovative” and high-quality Spanish-influenced tapas has helped establish this buzzing venue near Belfast City Hall as one of the city’s better-known foodie destinations. Classical scholars will know that ‘edo’ is Latin for ‘I eat’, but the style of the place – with its long counter and kitchen on view – is very contemporary (and sometimes preferred at dinner rather than lunch).

In the city centre, next to Deanes Meat Locker, this May 2024 newcomer from pioneering Belfast chef Michael Deane – who has had various restaurants on this site since 1997 – occupies the space of his former flagship Deanes Eipic and Love Fish, which he shuttered in late 2023 citing the rising cost of living, as customers opted for lower-priced options for eating out. Long regarded as one of the best restaurants in Northern Ireland, it was regularly rated highly in the annual Harden’s guides. The latest venture, he says, combines the best from the former Brasserie, Deli and Love Fish at the same address.

“Very atmospheric, rustic and friendly, and with exceptional seafood” – this cosy venue is one of the best-known in the city (and also has a sister establishment in Dundrum) – “have eaten here several times and would certainly recommend it”. Last year we commented on its excellent newly extended beer garden with gazebos, which in July 2023 was the victim of an arson attack – here’s hoping it’s soon restored to its former glory.

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”.

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”.

“A six-course themed taster menu, that changes every six weeks!” is the “playful idea” at Nico Simeone’s national chain, whose two London branches (in Fitzrovia and Canary Wharf) are “great for special occasions, but also affordable for a regular monthly meal out to experience the different cuisines”. At such keen prices, it’s unreasonable to expect perfection and most diners acknowledge this: it’s “a clever, and obviously very popular, concept, albeit one where the experience can seem a bit manufactured”; “although it doesn’t always live up to expectations, when you get the right menu everything clicks into place”; so while inevitably it’s “hit and miss, it’s also great value”, and “for a fun evening it does the job well”.

Now over 10 years old, Michael Deane’s traditional steakhouse is his longest-serving operation at this address. It doesn’t inspire the feedback his flagship operation has traditionally done, but in a December 2023 visit, The Observer’s Jay Rayner thought that “the womb of a red-walled dining room feels like a happy place” and shows that Deane is “clearly also extremely good at the laidback” style of dining as well as more haute cuisine.