Having been away every month of the year so far, we decided to continue the quest of a trip in every month of 2016 by going to Belfast for the weekend.
The capital of Northern Ireland is now very much open for business after years of political tension and we were looking forward to sampling what the city had to offer as well as the famous Belfast “craic” (that’s banter to you and me).
After being deposited at the basic but clean (as well as reasonably priced and reasonably central) Etap hotel we decided to have a quick turn around and head straight out into the city to find food and some good local watering holes.
Given that time was getting on, we decided to jump into the first eating establishment we saw which was the Nando’s opposite the hotel. Ok, so it’s not exactly fine dining but is always a good contingency plan as we know that there’s vegan friendly options on the menu and it was still serving at the late hour.
Suitably fed, we took our taxi driver’s recommendation and headed straight for the bar conveniently located next door to our hotel – Filthy Mcnasty’s – on the promise of good beer and live music. It didn’t disappoint. It was a small bar with a good atmosphere and rustic feel with fairly average prices for the more popular city centre bars. Worth a visit for a live band and a pint of local Roundhouse ale (or Guinness if that’s what floats your boat).
Waking up early(ish) on the Saturday morning, we headed for breakfast in the famous St George’s Market. We did find that the breakfast selection for vegans was less than extensive with even the veggie stalls not really catering for Rhian’s needs. It seemed that there was a lot more variation for lunch though with various stalls selling falafel wraps and veggie curries etc. In the end, Rhian plumped for sweet potato fries and vegan cakes (which were plentiful around the market). Not a classic breakfast combo but went down nicely with a soya milk coffee and the live bluegrass music. For all you meat eating companions like myself I would recommend a traditional Irish soda filled with your choice of bacon, sausage or egg. It was also a great place to pick up a souvenir postcard or t-shirt while you’re at it.
From the market we headed north where we took in the panoramic views of the city from the dome in the Victoria shopping centre (free to enter). Wandering via the likes of City Hall and St Anne’s Cathedral, we took a walk down Pottingers Entry where we found The Morning Star pub. It was a lively bar filled with locals and tourists alike. Rhian had a Ragu with grilled ciabatta and raved about the taste throughout the meal. There were plenty of local lagers and ales to wash down your classic pub grub with (I recommend the Maggie’s Leap ale if it is on) and all at the reasonable price of under £10 a dish. Alternatively, sample the ever changing buffet of the day at £5.95 for one visit.
After lunch we decided to take one of the sightseeing bus tours around the city. We don’t often do that sort of thing as we usually prefer to take in the sights on foot or use the (generally) cheaper public transport networks. However, we had been told this was a good way to see the peace wall and various murals for which Belfast is famed (the alternative option being a taxi tour). We used the City Sightseeing tour and found it to be light hearted and engaging whist remaining informative about some of the more serious aspects of Northern Ireland’s history. A great way to explore parts of the city and its past which you would otherwise miss out on.
We had been told that no visit to Belfast was complete without a trip to The Crown pub so that evening we decided to go there for a pre-dinner drink. One pint turned to two or three as we took in the friendly atmosphere and magnificent architecture of this listed building from the comfort of one of the original private booths, which we were happy to share with a friendly group of Belfastians (okay, so that’s not a real word, but it is interesting to note that there is no official term for someone from Belfast).
From there we walked back down the street to the Fratelli restaurant with its wild boar mascot prominent in the doorway (and on the walls and the menus). It was an Italian restaurant with the usual fair prepared from scratch so there were a number of potential vegan options by chatting with the friendly and accommodating staff. We both had pizzas (Rhian’s with no cheese) which were very good and fairly averagely priced.
After dinner we headed up to the Cathedral Quarter to try some of the famous bars such as The Harp, however we found them to be jam packed and not really worth the walk given the good pubs located nearer to our hotel. So we headed further south to Robinson’s. The main point of interest with this place was the fact that it had a second bar if you walked through the back, called Fibber Magee’s, which was adorned with various paraphernalia from Belfast’s linen producing heritage. Prices were on the higher than average side but not unreasonable and it is worth a visit for the ambiance alone.
The next morning we headed straight back to the market for a breakfast of cakes and brownies (we were on holiday so it seemed acceptable) before walking over to the Titanic museum. It was a good attraction (at around £15 each) and worth a visit but we felt a little rushed as we had to head back to the airport for our return flight. One of the more interesting aspects was the cable car ride which took you on a tour of the shipbuilding process.
As we were a little short on time we decided to grab food back at the airport and went with the first cafe after the security area. When Rhian asked if there was anything vegan the staff member asked if this was “one of these new fads” to which we didn’t take too kindly as you could imagine (don’t worry, the man in question was put well and truly in his place by Rhian!). Not top of the list of recommendations as I’m sure you’ll agree.
Travelling home we reflected on how much we had learned about the rich and diverse history of this city and thought it was definitely worth a visit on that basis alone. Add to that a plethora of traditional pubs with local live music and you have a pretty good destination for a weekend break. With regards to vegan food the verdict would be that it was a little hit and miss. What we did find was very good but tended to require adaption from vegetarian dishes. Possibly a little more preparedness would have helped, although our research for vegan and veggie specific restaurants didn’t throw out too many results (and those it did were either a little out of the centre or fully booked). If you do know of any please add to the comments for our future visits as we will definitely be going back!
The verdict? In the words of a Belfastian – “it was a good craic, so it was!”