Set in the beautiful St Anne’s Square in the Cathedral Quarter, right beside the stunning Metropolitan Arts Centre, Salt is already onto a winner location- wise. What about the food you ask? Well, let’s just say there are absolutely no worries there either. How could there be when they source local salad vegetables, sustainable fresh fish, Strangford Crab and Dry-Aged Kettyle Rib-Eye steak?
The atmosphere is relaxed but the service is anything but. Front of House Donal makes sure of that. His wife Head Chef Teresa Cooper has VERY high standards too honed over decades in the industry.
Her menu has global influences. She’s happy to trot the five continents. Roast duck leg confit and goat’s cheese crostini sit alongsie Stragford mussels steamed in Thai green roast vegetable curry.
They’re particularly strong on vegetarian options like their superfood salad and lentil and bean burger with tabasco mayonnaise.
Prices are extremely purse-friendly. Dinner starters are around the £5 mark with most mains coming in around £12. They change their desserts as often as the rest of the menu, but you can bet on delectable offerings like dark chocolate and almond parfait with mango sorbet.
Freshly-ground spices, locally-sourced ingredients and authentic recipes; they’re what you’ll get at this con Located in a historic building above Kelly’s Cellars, SAFA is sleek and contemporary and the food is the real deal. By that we mean there are no artificial additives or nasty dyes. Everything is cooked from scratch and it’s all DELICIOUS.
Owner Ali Askir was brought up in Northern Ireland but has strong links with Bangladesh. A trained chef, he has 25 years’ experience in the industry and he always wanted his own place. He also wanted to keep it local when it came tp ingredients, so, the lamb in the Jalfrezi comes from Newry, the chicken in the Chettined is from Antrim. That’s our favourite, by the way. It’s a fiery South Indian dish infused with fresh coconut and curry leaves.
Unlike the typical Indian restaurant, the wine menu is full of decent choices and the desserts go way beyond the bought-in ice-creams and sorbets. They make their own Kulfi (Indian ice-cream) and traditional sweets as well as doing a divine Devil’s Food Cake and cheesecake.
Prices are unbelievably reasonable. Ok, that’s where SAFA DOES resemble a typical Indian restaurant. It’s cheap enough to eat there as often as you like. Lunch is just £6.95 for one course and £8.95 for 2 between 12 and 4pm.
Some restaurants at golf clubs make non-members feel like second class citizens. That’s certainly not the case here. Rockmount’s eaterie has a reputation for excellent service and very, very good food. Everything’s freshly prepared on site and that includes lunch, snacks and evening meals.
Everybody comes for the freshly battered Kilkeel scampi served with chips, garlic cubes or criss-cross potatoes. They also rave about the Hole in One dessert. Wait for this, it’s choux pastry, honeycomb ice cream and coated in warm butterscotch sauce. You’d need to have done 18 holes for that!
Planning a party? This place is plenty big enough for large functions. They do everything from table d’hote to cocktail nibbles to fork buffets.
Dine for as little as £13 for two courses at lunchtime and just £15 in the evening. Oh, and don’t forget to browse through the onsite shop.
This is the only 5 star guest house in Northern Ireland and is as renowned for its food and its feather pillows. Food writer and broadcaster Jay Rayner raved about it when he stayed.
The breakfasts have won AA and Egg Cup awards. Taste the prune soufflé and the “crock-baked” ham and eggs and you’ll see why. The menu is as long as your arm. You’d need to stay a fortnight to do it justice and it would be no hardship to move into this 18th century abode.
Why not do their private dining experience? History meets today in the Titanic Menu. Chef proprietor Conor McClelland has recreated the last meal served on board ship. (He’s even taken it to London and LA) You can see Belfast Lough where the ship sailed out from as you feast on Pan-Seared Filet Mignon topped with Foie Gras and Truffle drizzled with a Cognac, Madeira and Red Wine Reduction served with Potatoes Anna, Creamed Carrots and Zucchini Farci.
Titanic not your thing? Then have the Silverhill duck on marmalade potatoes and the soft shell crabs with gnocchi. Truly some of the most interesting food we’ve seen in a long time.
Located on Belfast’s fashionable Lisburn Road, this is the perfect pitstop for some of the best coffee, crepes and scones in the city. The café is renowned for its friendly service and good food at fair prices.
It wouldn’t be a Taste of Ulster member if it didn’t strive to source local ingredients, and they do. The Saintfield Griddle supply the bread and two local ladies make the most amazing gluten-free cup cakes.
The soups, salads and sandwiches are some of the best we’ve tasted and go far beyond the run of the mill offerings. The chicken pie is particularly good. That’s why they’re so popular for outside catering too.
Regulars say it’s so relaxing to come in and sit over a paper or a good book. You can tuck into a traybake and watch the world go by. No hurries, no worries. And did we mention the milkshakes? Mmmmm
One of the most exciting restaurants in Belfast has entered its second year just as strongly as it started. Head Chef Stephen Toman together with Front of House Alain Kerloc’h continue to wow even the most jaded food critic with their impeccable food and wine pairings.
Stephen is a true believer in seasonality and has the imagination and creativity to bring seemingly mundane ingredients to Technicolor life.What appears to be a simple combination of wild mushroom, broccoli and egg leaves your taste buds craving more, while a dish of hay baked celeriac, black garlic, burnt onion and sorrel blew us away and the desserts are quite simply the epitome of delicate yet decadent delights.
There are no tablecloths. The style is relaxed, the décor is paired back and the space buzzes with energy from the open kitchen, but make no mistake, this is fine dining at its absolute best and having just been awarded a 2016 Michelin star, the experts clearly agree.
