The 21 best restaurants in Northern Ireland

Telegraph

5 days ago

If you're into your food, you'll be spoilt rotten in Northern Ireland. There are several standout food producers in this small land, from artisanal butchers and butter makers to those fishing for local crab, lobster and mussels. All of which means the restaurants here have some of the best produce to choose from.
In Belfast, you'll find Michelin-starred restaurants with an edge, as well as cosy, neighbourhood bistros slinging out excellent plates. And outside of the city, there are top-notch restaurants specialising in seafood or hearty pub grub. Here are some of the best places to eat when you're visiting Northern Ireland.
All our recommendations below have been hand selected and tested by our resident destination expert to help you discover the best things to do in Northern Ireland. Find out more below, or for further inspiration, explore our guides to Northern Ireland's best hotels, things to do, nightlife and beaches.
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Best all-rounders
Mourne Seafood Bar
The seafood all around the island of Ireland is cracking, and this is the perfect place to sample it. Start with the oysters, from down the coast in Carlingford, either with a kicky Japanese dressing or served with a spicy Bloody Mary shot, then order whatever's freshest, from crab on toast to Dundrum mussels. Their traditional seafood chowder is particularly good, too.
Harry's Shack
A must-visit for any seafood fans, Harry's Shack has cult status in Northern Ireland – and with good reason. Set on the sands of Portstewart beach, this casual restaurant serves up the best local fare, from local mussels cooked in Irish cider, to whole black sole on the bone. On summer days, you can have drinks outside on the terrace, and if you time a visit to align with sunset then you're onto a winner.
Noble
With lights hanging from the ceiling and specials scrawled on a blackboard wall, Noble looks every part the hip, neighbourhood bistro. And the food has people coming from far and wide – think beef tartare with a punchy bloody dressing and beef dripping toast, or suckling pig with kohlrabi and pear. You can get more casual fare in the bar downstairs, like dressed crab or arancini, and the wine list is top notch.
Roam
It started life as a pop-up, but now Roam has a permanent setup right in the city centre of Belfast. There's a casual feel to the space, with tobacco leather banquettes and an open pass, but the food leans more towards fine dining. The menu is concise and to the point, focusing on classic components like Mourne lamb, jazzed up with quirkier notes like smoked yoghurt. They do a great set lunch menu, too.
J.J. Farrall's
There's an old world sense of opulence to this dining room, with burgundy leather seats, brushed gold railings and fern plants dripping from the ceiling. The menu has a classic feel, with dishes like fluffy cheese souffles with wilted leeks, or a whole lemon sole with caper butter, but on the plate things are kept contemporary and elegant.
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Best for families
The Bushmills Inn
A restaurant that shares its name with a whiskey may not scream family-friendly, but The Bushmills Inn is great for kids, particularly in the summer when you can eat outside. Otherwise, the dark and cosy interior complements the hearty comfort food, like Sunday roasts with stuffing, crackling and Yorkshire puddings, or a sugar pit pork chop with bone marrow jus. They have a decent kids' menu, as well as ice cream sundaes for those of all ages.
Fodder in the Woods
What kid wouldn't want to eat lunch in a giant teepee? On this farm near Strangford Lough, their all-weather tent has a roaring fire in the middle to keep things toasty, and an excellent offering of dishes, the best of which feature their own Finnebrogue Woods Dexter Beef, like their thick burgers or toasties with kimchi. The kids have a well-priced menu, as do the neighbourhood dogs.
Maegden
Formerly a tiny caravan slinging out cheese toasties by the Giant's Causeway, Maegden is now a cheese shop and deli in Bushmills. Those toasties are still on the menu though, and they're well worth the hype, made with local sourdough, oozey farmhouse cheeses like Irish Scamorza, Young Buck or Gubbeen, and lashings of salty melted butter. Kids love their signature hot chocolate, topped with a scorched heap of homemade marshmallows.
The Parson's Nose
Exactly the kind of place you'd want to find yourself on a miserable day, this cosy gastropub always has a fire lit, whether it's in the dining room or the pizza oven. The menu is huge, with classic pub grub like pork belly and roast lamb alongside quirkier options like venison ragu with gin-soaked raisins or duck with pineapple salsa. There's a kids' menu, and they'll also make smaller pizzas for little ones.
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Best for cheap eats
Flout!
A favourite among Irish chefs, Flout! isn't in the handiest location but always has a line outside, with locals looking for their fix of thick, Detroit-style pizza with vodka sausage or thin, charred New York slices. You can order whole pies or eat your slice outside, balanced on a whiskey barrel. They do excellent slabs of focaccia, which they make up into a daily sandwich offering.
Area: East Belfast
Website: flout.pizza
Price: £
Reservations: Not needed
Coppi
Right by the MAC, this sleek restaurant is great if you just want a quick nibble, rather than a full meal. Grab a seat at their cicchetti bar and you can pick from bites like feta fritters with truffle honey or anchovy bruschetta, along with Italian wines available by the glass or carafe. The pastas available in the main restaurant are well priced, too.
Ursa Minor Bakehouse
You'll find their sourdough on the menus of top restaurants all over Northern Ireland, but this is the main hub of their bakery operations. In addition to the counter, selling loaves, pastries and buns, you can get a coffee and a treat to eat on site – try the blood orange Danish or custard bakewells. It's a great place to stock up before a trip up the Causeway Coast.
mrDeanes
Following the closure of his Michelin-starred Deanes Eipic, Michael Deane opened this more casual restaurant in its place. It has a bistro feel, and the menu is less formal and at a decent price point, with bites like fried whitebait, arancini and crab mayonnaise on toast. There's a good plat du jour, and seats at the bar for solo diners.
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Best for fine dining
The Muddlers Club
This Michelin-starred restaurant still has a bit of a punky edge, thanks to the graffiti walls, open kitchen and the dishes (and cocktails) that arrive at the table in a cloud of smoke. The eight-course tasting menu is heavy on seasonal ingredients, like morels, wild garlic and rhubarb, and there's a full vegetarian menu available as well. The wine pairings are solid, but those aforementioned cocktails are excellent, like their smoked Old Fashioned.
OX
A light-filled restaurant down by the River Lagan, OX is a slick, elegant space with a Michelin star and a menu of delicate dishes packed with rich flavours, like halibut with lardo and bonito butter, or smoked veal with black garlic. Their three-course lunch menu offers great value. If you can't snag a reservation then OX Cave next door is a great consolation prize, with wines by the glass, charcuterie and cheese plates.
Wine and Brine
You might not expect to find a restaurant of this calibre in such a small village, but this spot lures people out from Belfast and all over Northern Ireland. The set lunch/early evening menu is incredibly good value, but there's far more variety on the expansive à la carte, with items like beef cheek beignets, brown crab on warm crumpets and fish crudo.
James St
With exposed brick walls, splashy artwork and simple tables, this bistro has a vaguely New York steakhouse feel. The focus is all on the food, which centres around well-sourced Northern Irish beef; the best being the sharing tomahawks or the pichana cut you'll find on the set menu. There are other dishes available, but really, this is the place to go when only a steak will do.
Frae
Though the space is fairly unassuming, the food they're knocking out of the kitchen here is exemplary. There's no tasting menu, but you can order a heap of nibbles and sharing plates, like gildas with punchy Young Buck blue cheese and bread with marmite butter, before tucking into larger plates like their star dish, the crispy chicken marbella with capers and olives. There's also an excellent cocktail menu.
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Best for walk-ins
Walled City Brewery
This microbrewery is set in a former barracks and blends historic features like exposed beams and industrial breezeblocks with quirky art and chandeliers made from bottles. Unsurprisingly, there's an extensive menu of their own craft beer (get a flight to taste a few options), but the food is top-quality pub grub, with chargrilled burgers, pork belly and Sunday roasts served in giant Yorkshire puddings.
Established
With filament light bulbs, communal tables and brushed concrete floors, you could easily dismiss this as a hipster hangout. But while they take their coffee very seriously, it's not just a place for a flat white – their brunch-centric menu features plates like garlicky mushrooms on thick wedges of sourdough or milk buns filled with Irish halloumi. Their 'pie and drip' menu changes every week, with slabs like lemon meringue or coconut cream pie on offer with classic drip coffee.
Neighbourhood Café
There's a calming, Nordic vibe to Neighbourhood, but the brunch menu is anything but virtuous – think French toast made with banana bread and miso caramel, or a breakfast bap stuffed with bacon, sausage, egg and smoked cheese. Their coffee is excellent, but their range of Masala chai teas (iced on a hot day) are top notch. Save space for a cereal milk-flavoured soft serve afterwards.
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How we choose
Every restaurant in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who has visited to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets, from neighbourhood favourites to Michelin-starred restaurants – to best suit every type of traveller's taste – and consider the food, service, best tables, atmosphere and price in our recommendations. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest opening and provide up to date recommendations.
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About our expert
Nicola Brady
I'm originally from Sussex, and I went on holiday to Ireland 16 years ago and never came back. While I'm now based in Dublin, I spent a decade living on the Northern Irish border and still visit regularly.