Eating Out - Northern Ireland Restaurant Reviews

Attentive pupils: a lesson at Belfast Cookery School

Belfast Cookery School: Joris Minne puts culinary skills to the test under tutelage of top chef

Review my own cooking? I don't need a full page to tell you I'm a hopeless cook. I have a couple of set pieces for family dinners, a firm grasp of the microwave functions and a sensitive if formal approach to setting the table; but my culinary talents are ultimately narrow, limited and unimpressive. The adviser on the other hand is an accomplished cook which makes domestic meal preparations all the more stressful for me.

The Barking Dog restaurant on Belfast’s Malone Road

Restaurant review: The Barking Dog

Restaurant lifespans are measured in months, not years. Along with haulage, fashion and scented candle making, restaurants have the shortest life expectation of any start-up businesses. But those who do survive can look back to see how and why they got through the difficult first year and point to quality of service, food and atmosphere (as well as clever management of tight margins, rates, supplier payments, staff retention and an endless list of other risks and governance issues).

Restaurant Review: Primrose Restaurant: Derry blossoms as pop-up food festival raises the bar

Belfast food and tourism chiefs should be looking over their shoulders because leading the charge in the race to become the north's best foodie destination and closing in fast, is, er, Derry/Londonderry.

Restaurant review: Belle Isle Bistro

Restaurants come in all shapes, sizes, price ranges, styles and quality. Some fixate on the furniture and lighting, others on the quality of service and food while those who focus on the views should arouse suspicion, largely because the view is often used to provide a distraction obscuring the mediocrity elsewhere in the operation.

The brightly lit interior of Kamakura Sushi

Restaurant review: Kamakura Sushi lives up to the hype

The internet is having a huge impact on our eating habits. Twenty years ago, if you had nerves of steel or knew a friendly driver, you could phone a Belfast taxi and ask for half a stone of potatoes, a pound of butter and 20 Regal to be delivered. It wasn't a popular service because a lot of drivers would chase you for even asking.

Joris Minne: So-so food and service is the elephant in the room at Ivory

The Ivory is a restaurant perched on the top floor of Belfast's Victoria Square shopping mall. It's been there ever since the mall opened 10 years ago. It occupies a prime site with a view. By any standards, the location gives the restaurant a head start.

Intimate surroundings: CoCo's welcoming interior

Restaurant Review: Coco reinvents itself to compete with the best

It's been six years since I was in CoCo, the Linenhall Street restaurant owned by talented fireball Jason More. He wasn't too happy with the last review and took me to task about it a few months later when we bumped into each other. More recently, I bumped into some of his very charming staff at an event in Dublin. They suggested a return visit would reveal much improvement and new thinking.

Going places: The Sagart on Belfast's Bank Square

Restaurant Review: Sagart - 'Be of good faith, this bistro is heading in right direction'

The reason for banging on relentlessly about the restaurants of the cordon in recent weeks is because some of the very good ones merit the extra effort by customers to support them. So far, we have visited Pizza Boutique in Castle Street and Mourne Seafood Bar. This week it's the Sagart on Bank Square, next to and part of the popular Havana restaurant.

Restaurant review: Mourne Seafood Bar still producing the goods despite Bank Buildings cordon

We become blind to the familiar. No-one had much to say about Primark and the Bank Buildings until they were engulfed in flames which now leave a legacy of economic scorched earth all around them.

Restaurant review: Zizzi has good service but is let down by the food

Do you complain about poor service or bad food? How bad does it have to be before you'll give an honest answer to: "Everything all right, folks?" I know people who lose the plot entirely when they are served substandard food.

Plush: Edo's interior is warm and welcoming

Restaurant review: Edo - Jamon down to a little bit of Spain in the heart of Belfast

The popularity of Spanish food can be measured by the vast numbers of food pictures posted by holidaymakers on social media. How many more paellas, tortillas, bowls of patatas bravas and gazpacho, tiny tapas of glistening anchovies, shards of burgundy-coloured Iberico ham, creme Catalan and churros beside pots of thick hot chocolate can we take? Loads more! It seems our appetite for these is never going to be sated.

Pizza Boutique in Belfast’s Castle Street

Restaurant review: Pizza Boutique

The cordon surrounding Bank Buildings threatens to strangle businesses inside and outside its perimeters. Quality restaurants and cafes have seen business either stop entirely or severely reduced. City Picnic, housed at the back of the former Anderson & McAuley building, behind Zara, has not been able to open its doors for the past month because it is just within the no-go zone behind cordon. Same goes for the McDonald's across the street.

Harvey’s Point boasts of its hotel rooms and breakfasts

Restaurant review: Joris Minne visits Donegal's Harvey's Point

Everybody loves Donegal. Donegal for the holidays, Dublin for the cup. It's the Northern California of Ireland, a place of music, pints, craic agus ceoil, holiday bungalows, cottages and caravans and breath-taking scenery.

Restaurant review: The Pocket Café - can you believe it, they've reinvented the Ulster fry

Evidence that dirty, street-style hand food, chilli dogs, pulled pork sliders, sloppy Joe pizzas and all the rest of the chin-greasing, finger-sticking, sriracha-saturated, manners-destroying "meals" are gradually being replaced by the return of real, quality food is hard to deny.

The restaurant in Grant’s is a welcome addition to the town of Omagh

Bistro review: Grant’s Restaurant

Years ago I went to Omagh in search of a decent restaurant but could not find one. There were one or two places to eat but the reviews would not have been great and I didn’t want the first write-up from Omagh to be a bad one. Leaves a sour taste in everybody’s mouth. Better to say nothing at all. Same goes for any town I go to the first time. Don’t want to fall out with the locals on first contact.

Restaurant review: SoZo in Jordanstown

I've never met him, but Joe Bailey bought my bike. He told me over the phone that he owned SoZo on the Antrim Road when he answered a Gumtree ad I had posted to sell my bike. The bike - a very sexy little handmade, lime-green Cinello racer - was to be my last.

Restaurant review: The Balmoral Hotel

Ask any wedding planner how easy it is to do their job and they'll look at you sideways. Seriously though, what does it take to order a couple of limos, lunch for 120 and a DJ? Three phone calls, a clip board and an available date, that's what. Or so I thought.

Afternoon tea in the Observatory at the Grand Central Hotel is a luxurious experience

Restaurant review: The Observatory

Afternoon tea, once the formal torture you had to endure when visiting elderly aunts, nuns and distant cousins, has made a huge comeback in recent years.

Restaurant review: The Jailhouse - joy to find real pub hidden in plain sight

It was bound to happen sooner or later. The two people behind Belfast's greatest competing entertainment empires, both on top of their game, each with a brilliant eye for branding, were bound to come together at some point to create the city's latest phenomenon: a bar and restaurant like no other, hidden away in one of Belfast's most ancient arteries, Joy's Entry.

New idea: Leanne and William from FlavourFirst.com

Restaurant Review: Want to eat in on a budget? Easy, just think inside the box

The food sector is riven with rivalry. Restaurants want you to eat out more, supermarkets want you to buy ingredients and eat in more, take-away distribution services want you to do neither and instead convert your kitchen into a gaming den (Eat! Don't Cook!) and farmers' markets want you to adopt a more conscious way of buying food (keep it local).

Restaurant review: The Mitre Restaurant

Over the last 10 years, my aversion to hotel restaurants has been made clear a number of times. But people have been asking from where this repulsion stems. I can only explain this as the result of a childhood spent fearing the Sunday family outing.

The Saigon-style interior of the Vietnamese Coffee Co on Belfast’s Great Victoria Street

Restaurant review: Chick'n Lick'n, Bankmore Cafe and Vietnamese Coffee Co

A golden triangle of coffee houses, bars, restaurants and takeaways has emerged in that space between Belfast city centre's Dublin Road and Great Victoria Street.

Bistro review: 44 Hill Street Restaurant

Restaurants are like mushrooms. They thrive in the dark and are fed all sorts of crap, mostly from critics, diners, suppliers, investors and banks. Unexpectedly, they can also be mobile.

Restaurant review: The Chelsea

Some restaurants are destinations in their own right. People will fly from Belfast to Heathrow after booking a table in the Fat Duck, not too far from the airport, just to experience the full Heston Blumenthal magic. Others will go the 600 miles to Cornwall for the sensational dishes of Nathan Outlaw and Rick Stein.

Howard Street Restaurant in Belfast city centre

Restaurant review: Belfast's Howard Street Restaurant

The mark of a good restaurant is something much more banal than brilliance, trend-setting design, or innovation. It's consistency. In a business where nothing is predictable and where so many variables can affect a day's work - staff being off at short notice, suppliers not coming through with the right orders, unexpected visits by the health and safety people and a multitude of factors to do with heating, water, furniture, electricity, gas and occasionally unannounced royal visits, walk-ins by former paramilitaries and then photographers from the Belfast Telegraph to cap it all - it's a wonder we have restaurants with any reputation for consistency at all. And yet we do.

Restaurant review: Bang Kok: Taste of Far East simply to Thai for

First time I ever saw the three words Thai, green and curry was in a Chinese takeaway in Glengormley in 1998. It sounded exotic and a bit weird. Green curry had as much marketing pull as a used tissue and yet I seemed irresistibly drawn to it.

Impressive fayre: Smuggler's Table at Bridge Street in Killyleagh

Restaurant Review: Smuggler's Table, Co Down gem that's worth the detour

Killyleagh, on the shores of Strangford Lough, has become a favourite stopping point for cyclists on weekend group runs. Swarms of men and occasionally a woman or two in bright, multi-coloured Lycra tops descend on the small town following a pleasurable pedal through the drumlin countryside around.

The interior of Baker Street on the Belmont Road in east Belfast

Restaurant review: Baker Street

Baker Street is the reincarnation of French Village in east Belfast. The excellent Lisburn Road-based restaurant and deli has become an attractive fixture in the city's posh south. There's another one on Botanic Avenue, which is strictly for students and backpackers, and then there's the French Village catering arm, which is also recommended.

Restaurant review: Brunel's

The greatest English language food columnist who ever lived and who wrote for the Sunday Times, the late AA Gill, was based in London. Gill loathed travelling outside the capital to review restaurants in the country, because he believed they were invariably inferior.

Pot Kettle Black is another great addition to the growing number of culinary delights in east Belfast

Restaurant review: Pot Kettle Black

It's all happening in east Belfast. Ballyhackamore restaurant fever shows no sign of abating and, as the demographics of the area change, so new eating experiences move in, too. Not only that, but the ripple effect created by that cluster of restaurants in the centre of Ballyhackamore has now seen the arrival of General Merchant's, Oliver's further out the road and others in Strandtown.

Atmospheric: the bright and roomy interior of Quartisan as Belfast's Waring Street

Restaurant review: Quartisan, Belfast - Jewel of the Nile brings taste of souk to Cathedral Quarter

As summer approaches and thoughts turn to sun, sea and sand, our attention is drawn to the marvels of the Mediterranean diet. All those tomatoes, olives and fish dishes are proven to help millions of people who live along the shores of the Med to keep running marathons until they're a couple of hundred years old.

Restaurant review: Bangla in Bangor

Last week, I was lamenting the silence that surrounds Bangor, Co Down and its once great reputation as a food destination. I had just been to Gary Bell's new restaurant, Underground Dining, and had a quick check to see where the old greats had got to.

Novelli at City Quays’ attractive dining room

Restaurant review: Novelli at City Quays

Restaurants in hotels are not what they used to be. Until recently, you could rely on being served a variety of dressed-up effluent and animal fodder in some of them. Inedible food, draughty dining rooms and gaoler-standard service still blight a few of these places, but they are becoming a rarity.

Underground Dining is another culinary gem in Bangor which is well worth seeking out

Restaurant review: Underground Dining in Bangor

Is it me or has Bangor gone off the boil of late? There used to be all sorts of exciting cafes and restaurants in the town: the Wheathill, Cafe Essence, the Boat House, Guillemot and a few others had raised Bangor's profile as a destination worth visiting for the food alone. So what happened? Why has it gone quiet?

Restaurant review: The Stillhouse of Moira: Co Down gastropub that is sure to get you in the spirit

Only a week or two ago, I was giving off about the lack of pubs in this country which serve good food. Harry and Meghan's visit to Belfast and their lunch in the Crown Bar highlighted the demand for this kind of food experience. Then, lo and behold, I discover the Stillhouse of Moira (I have little to say about Moira and its fine citizenry other than it is as lovely a place as Hillsborough, ahem).

Restaurant review: Bia Rebel, Al Gelato, and Root & Branch

We are determined to bring our readers value for money, so this week I'm reviewing three places for the price of one. All three are within a few yards of each other, which means I am able for the first time to enact the Belfast Fantasy Menu I publish each week on Twitter: pick a dish from each of three restaurants and cafes and build your own perfect three course lunch or dinner.

Quirky look: the unusual interior of House

Restaurant Review: Queen's Quarter gastro pub a welcome addition to the club

There is a lack of pubs which serve good food in Belfast. When Meghan and Harry "nipped" into the Crown Bar for lunch last month, many of us swallowed hard in disbelief.

The interior of Oliver’s at Ballyhackmore in east Belfast

Restaurant review: Oliver's restaurant

The smug faces around east Belfast's Ballyhackamore district would put you off your dinner. Now that they have been told that their barrio is the best place to live in the Western hemisphere, Ballyhackamorians are strutting around being impossibly self-satisfied.

Restaurant review: The Jolly Sandwich Shop - unleash your food fantasies in cafe with common touch

If Beatrix Potter had ever gone into the catering business, she would have opened a cafe just like the Jolly Sandwich Shop. Nestled in the heart of Enniskillen town centre, the shop isn't really a shop at all. It is a classic, ting-a-ling, old school cafe restaurant, the kind you used to see in posh department stores in market towns across Ireland in your granny's day.

Jumon has a clubby, illicit look and offers comfort and fast service

Restaurant review: Jumon - unusual and probably unique

Jumon is one of the most exciting new restaurants to open so far this year. Its interior is explosively youthful, the menu is like nothing you've ever seen here and the service is as polished as you'd expect in a more conventional, more established place.

Restaurant Review: Barking Dog team takes the lead in trend for world tapas

The signs of a collapsing civilisation are upon us: self-service check-outs in supermarkets, automated pumps at petrol stations and online banking services amount to a collective rejection of human contact. Automation is the avoidance of compassion, the reverse of empathy and the destroyer of that which bonds us all together: small talk.

Stylish: Buba has a clean, fresh, Levant-inspired look

Restaurant Review: Cathedral Quarter gets taste of Middle Eastern promise

People can be divided into two groups. Those who love their food and those who don't. The most depressing conversation I can have is with the moron who regards food as fuel. "Don't know what you're on about, mate. Food's something to keep you going." Or: "Seriously, I don't know what all the fuss is about. All I need is a packet of cheese and onion, and I'm happy."

Eipic offers visitors just the right amount of formality and comfort

Restaurant review Eipic: Enjoying luxurious lunch on Eipic scale

Even though Belfast's international foodie destination reputation basks in the glory of its two Michelin-starred assets, Ox and Eipic, there has always been a debate over which one is better. Their prices are similar, the food in both is of international standard and the service is as polished in Eipic as it is Ox.

The impressive interior of Revolucion de Cuba

Restaurant review: Revolucion de Cuba

Nothing prompts sneering cynicism among certain classes than super-pubs, restaurant chains and small-town night clubs. Those of us who enjoy nothing more than our living room pre-ing, followed by taxis to PizzaExpress, or Zen, and ending the night in Lavery's, or the Errigle, avoiding the police and the drunks on the way home, know what to expect.

Restaurant review: A Taste of Prehistory

Belfast has evolved in two decades to claim its rightful place at the top of a glittering array of foodie cities and destinations from across the world. Which other city, I ask you, of barely 350,000 people, can claim two Michelin-starred restaurants, a rich seam of excellent mid-range bistros and brasseries, country house pubs and some of the best fast-food outlets available.

Townhouse No 3 is deserving of Michelin star status, according to a judge on a well-known TV food show

Restaurant review: San Niklaw Estate and Townhouse No 3

In a recent household survey, food came out in front of sun, sea and sand as the single-most important consideration when booking a holiday. The survey, conducted in my house, reveals that if you go to any destination in the Mediterranean basin, the weather will be reliable, hot and sunny. Not the same can be said of the food, however. Food quality differs so much from Nice to Nicosia and from Malaga to Mugla, that it is the deal-breaker before you book.

Restaurant review The Lobster Pot: Transformed village venue worth the visit

Years ago when the Irish hospitality sector was an inconceivable concept, I went to the Lobster Pot in Strangford. In those days there were plenty of pubs and a handful of places which served crisps. But the 20th century Irish lounge bar was not always a place of warmth and hospitality, never mind culinary interest.

Restaurant review: Indus Valley

One of Belfast's top curry restaurant owners, Ali Askir also happens to be the founder of the Irish Curry Awards, the only food awards on the island of Ireland to have received international Asian broadcast attention thanks to the TV station ATM Bangla and its global audience. (As head judge of these awards, my co-judges and I are unexpectedly big in Bangladesh.)

The stylish dining room at Fallon & Byrne in Dublin city centre

Restaurant review: Fallon & Byrne

Belfast and Dublin's restaurant portfolios differ radically. They reveal a character in both cities distinctive from each other, yet mutually very attractive. Belfast may be much smaller and grittier than grand old Dublin, but its restaurants have, perhaps, a broader appeal. Also, it costs less to eat well in Belfast than it does in Dublin.

Restaurant review: Banh

You wait three years for a decent Thai restaurant to open and then two come along at the same time. Towards the very end of 2017, both new restaurants, Bo Tree Kitchen and Banh, opened coincidentally within weeks of each other after a stasis of three years since the closure of the popular Bo Tree Thai in Belfast's University Road.