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Belfast has experienced an influx of au courant and internationally influenced restaurants, bistros, wine bars, and—as in Dublin—European-style café-bars where you can get good food most of the day and linger over a drink. Local produce and seasonal creativity are the order of the day with top-quality fresh local meat and experimental chefs constantly trying out new ideas. Traditional dishes, of course, still dominate some menus and include Guinness-and-beef pie; steak, chicken and pork; champ (creamy, buttery mashed potatoes with scallions); oysters from Strangford Lough; Ardglass herring; mussels from Dundrum; and smoked salmon from Glenarm. By the standards of the United States, or even the rest of the United Kingdom, restaurant prices can be surprisingly moderate. A service charge of 10% may be added to the bill; it's customary to pay this, unless the service was bad.
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.
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.
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).
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.
Offering a blend of Asian fusion, the standout dishes at Belfast's finest Japanese restaurant are the sea bass and sole, or the Zen monkfish. Among the discerning diners who frequent this lively spot, the delicious assorted mushroom teppanyaki is also a big hit, as well as the sushi and sashimi. Choose between wooden booths or—if prepared to hunker down on the floor Japanese-style—the traditional dining area; or opt for a discreet table for two divided by beaded curtains. Finish with a Japanese malt whiskey: Nikka Black is smoky and mellow and rounds out the perfect dinner.
