A foodie’s guide to Belfast: seafood, Michelin meals and local flavours

Belfast is a city with a taste for the good life. You’ll notice it immediately in snack-stacked St George’s Market and the restaurant-crammed Cathedral Quarter. On a city break to Belfast, the Titanic is the warm-up act for menus of Belfast Lough oysters, local whiskey and traditional Irish music.

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Spilling into Belfast Lough, the city has seafood in its soul. A century ago, the city’s markets overflowed with flounder, mackerel, eel and native oysters. The fishing trade has dwindled, but locals never lost their love for sublime pairings – oysters and Guinness have been a classic combo since 1837.

Oyster season runs from September to April, and one of the best places to taste them is Mourne Seafood Bar, main image – a laid-back bistro where briny oysters, mussels and creel-caught langoustines are sourced from nearby ports like Kilkeel and Annalong.

Just around the corner on Ann Street, Fish City serves fresh oysters too, pictured above – the opening act for hearty chowder, fish pie and crisp battered fish.

To discover Belfast’s homegrown flavours, head to the markets. St George’s Market – founded in the 1890s – is a Saturday staple where you’ll find fresh fish, farm-sourced meats and just-picked fruit and veg. The Offbeat Bottling Company sells award-winning chutneys and jams, while Belfast BapCo dishes up sausage-filled farls (soda bread) and other traditional bakes.

In the mornings, seek out the hearty Ulster fry – a protein-rich breakfast of soda bread, black pudding, sausage, bacon and more – or the Belfast Bap, a crusty white roll stuffed with sausage, egg or bacon.

Over at Common Market, all eyes are on the pies at Pie Eyed (from Guinness and steak to Moroccan spiced lamb), and burgers from Smash Bros, served with craft ales from Thursday to Sunday till late.

Thanks to local chefs like Michael Deane and Stephen Toman, Belfast has been gathering Michelin plaudits at a prodigious rate. The best Belfast restaurants blend home-grown cooking know-how with global influences and seasonal ingredients from local farms, fisheries and hedgerows.

Two restaurants jostle for Belfast’s gourmet top spot. Stephen Toman’s Michelin-starred OX blends superior modern European gastronomy with calm, uncluttered cool; tasting menus draw on Coolattin cheddar, Mourne lamb and Armagh strawberries. At Gareth McCaughey’s much-celebrated The Muddlers Club, Irish flavours of stout, sourdough and farm-fresh produce are augmented with mainland European and Asian accents.

Fêted chef Michael Deane’s evolving eating empire currently spans three addresses – Meatlocker, mrDeanes and Deanes at Queens – all showcasing the chef’s signature medleys of European, Asian and Irish flavours.

Another noteworthy contender is Niall McKenna’s Waterman Bistro in the Cathedral Quarter, where menus swim with curated Mediterranean influences.

Hungry for more? Gastronomes, take note: the food experience is exceptional outside of the city too.

Drink in the atmosphere; the unforgettable live music; the warmest of welcomes from the locals. Belfast’s soul spills forth in its pubs, where worn wooden bars once frequented by generations of dockers now serve pints of Guinness and tumblers of docks-distilled Titanic whiskey and Belfast-made Jawbox Gin. Taprooms also feature craft beers from small Belfast breweries such as Boundary Brewing and Bullhouse Brew Co.

Start your pub tour at the Duke of York, whose walls are plastered with nostalgic memorabilia. Next, sip whiskey in style at The Crown Liquor Saloon, with its preserved 1820s décor. For true Belfast craic, head to Kelly’s Cellars – built in 1720 and still serving traditional music sessions and hearty pints in a heritage setting.

Real ale fans rate pours from Hilden Brewery, Northern Ireland’s oldest independent brewery. Their beers are served with hearty meals at Molly’s Yard, the music-filled The Sunflower Pub, pictured above, and characterful Bittles Bar.

Meanwhile, more modern brewpubs like The Deer’s Head, Eastside’s Boundary Taproom, and Out of Office Brewing near Queen’s Square draw hip, younger crowds.