24 Hours In Belfast

Hello my lovelies!

I’ve been kinda quiet over here on the blog for the last week or two. The days just seem to be whizzing by; I’m working in a PR company for a couple of weeks (more about that at a later stage) and this past weekend, I was at a family wedding so I haven’t had a chance to write a post! If I am being completely honest, I was also suffering from a serious case of writers block but I’m back in action now!

There’s been a lot going on recently so myself and Mr Savvy Sartorialist decided to book a last minute break to Belfast. I love Belfast for a short city break; there are LOADS of great restaurants and bars and plenty of tourist attractions. Added to that it is less than a 2 hour drive for us from Dublin making it super easy to get to. We’d been to Belfast before so had already done most of the touristy type things like the Titanic experience and the Black Taxi Tour (both of which I totally recommend FYI). So this time around, it was really all about eating and drinking…not unlike most other days for me tbf lol. Because there is lots of variety in the city, I have put together my top picks for an action packed 24 hours in Belfast.

Sleep

We stayed in Malmaison a sleek 4 star boutique hotel housed in a converted Victorian Warehouse slap bang in the city centre. The rooms are spacious and luxuriously decorated and the staff are super friendly. We got a really good deal by booking direct with the hotel.

Eat

When it comes to eating, Belfast has a buzzing restaurant scene with lots of options to suit all tastes and budgets right up to Michelin star standard.

Lunch Day 1 – Made in Belfast 

Located in the Cathedral Quarter and with quirky interiors, Made in Belfast was our first stop for lunch. A great spot for relatively inexpensive, no-fuss, locally sourced food. We both had the burger, fries and a beer (we frequently order exactly the same thing – spending too much time together!) which totally hit the spot after the drive up.

Dinner – Mourne Seafood Bar

There were so many places I wanted to try for dinner (Ox is top of the list) but because it was a last minute trip it was almost impossible to get a dinner reservation. We ended up going to Mourne Seafood Bar and it definitely didn’t disappoint. I am a massive seafood fan so I was in my element. The food, service and atmosphere were all excellent. And of course I couldn’t leave a seafood restaurant without eating my body weight in mussels. I have it on good authority that the seafood casserole is also very good!

Lunch Day 2 – Hadskis

Hadskis was recommended to us by a friend so we couldn’t head back to Dublin without trying it. The menu is eclectic and the dinning room is chic – all in all a great combination. Because there were so many things we liked the sound of on the menu, we ordered a selection of dishes to share. The spiced meatballs with orecchiette, harissa and parmesan was a real high point. Anything with lashings of cheese has my vote.

Drink

Much like the restaurant scene, there is no shortage of places to grab a drink in Belfast. We had a long list of bars that were recommended to us so we tried to fit in as many as we could (tough life).

The Cocktail Bar at The Merchant Hotel – A cocktail at the Merchant Hotel is a must anytime I am in Belfast. The interiors are amazing (lots of velvet, chandeliers and open fires) and the cocktail list is one of the biggest I’ve seen. A fantastic place to sit sipping cocktails and feel fancy for a while.

Muriel’s Cafe Bar – Muriel’s has an extensive gin selection. Enough said as far as I’m concerned. I even had one gin and tonic that had a bar of honeycomb in…dangerously good!

The Spaniard – The original dive bar this is a great buzzy spot for a few drinks with funky interiors and great music. Apparently they do tasty tapas too.

The Dirty Onion – Housed in one of the city’s oldest buildings, the Dirty Onion has a big beer garden outside and a cosy fire inside. It even has a chicken restaurant upstairs for when the post drinks noms hit.

The Duke of York – Located on a cobbled alley (surrounded by a couple of other bars for those of you planning a pub crawl) in the Cathedral Quarter, this is a traditional Belfast pub with walls covered in vintage alcohol adverts.

Coffee

Anyone who knows me knows of my inability to cope without caffeine. Being a coffee snob, I researched where to get good coffee in Belfast and discovered Established. It sells 3FE coffee, has sleek minimalist decor and is hipster heaven.

So as I said, there lots to see and do in Belfast (including great shopping!) and loads of places we didn’t have time to try out. But if you only have 24 hours and are there to just kick back in the city then you can’t go wrong with any of the above!

Do you have any Belfast favourites not on my list? Let me know in the comments.

Stylishly yours,

Trish xx