Quinno in Belfast

A guest post by Quinten Taylor, with Reading & Mid Berks CAMRA roles, who is on Twitter as @SirQuinno [Photos c/o Quinno] 

Having an early January birthday used to be a source of immense frustration; the Christmas decorations are down, New Years has passed, it’s cold and miserable and everyone’s gone back to the drudge. I kind of stopped marking it in my late teens. Then thanks to my now-wife (aka Sir Doris), who wanted me to enjoy it, I discovered that actually, heading off for a holiday was ideal – because prices are cheap, the attractions are quiet and there’s no queue at the bar.

This year we decided to eschew our ritual overseas trip because we didn’t want to be the mugs who find themselves stranded at the airport because of last-minute change to a country’s COVID rules. So we needed to try somewhere in the UK. And where would match the experience of being in the UK but really being overseas? Northern Ireland (Norn)! A place I knew little of save The Troubles, which was a continuous background during my childhood.

Getting from Belfast City airport to our accommodation was easy. We stayed in the swanky Europa Hotel, right in the centre (opposite the Crown and next door to the ornate Opera House) and offering competitive rates to fill rooms. An interesting fact is that it’s the most bombed hotel in the world (36 times, if you’re keeping count). Another is that there’s an open bottle of Bushmill’s Whiskey available at breakfast for you to pour on your porridge…

Belfast is a city in the early stages of regeneration, with swanky new developments sitting cheek-by-jowl with abandoned or dilapidated buildings from the city’s Victorian heyday. Whilst the sectarian problems are mainly under-the-radar these days the ‘Peace Walls’ dividing communities are still up (none have been removed, though access through the gates has been relaxed in recent years). The walls and murals are now – maybe oddly – a tourist attraction. 

There are a plethora of companies running taxi trips. We went with https://belfastmuralstour.com/ - the only black taxi murals tour company in the city of Belfast that’s owned jointly by both a Protestant and a Catholic promising a fully unbiased trip and they were indeed excellent (our driver said that we had to guess whether he was Catholic or Protestant at the end of the tour; I guessed incorrectly, which proved their point).

'Sir Doris' on the Giant's Causeway

There are also companies running tours into the rolling countryside. If you do anything outside of Belfast, make sure it’s the Giant’s Causeway as it really is unique. Make sure to take waterproofs – Norn is notoriously prone to sudden bouts of rain sweeping in off the Atlantic.

We were treated warmly by everyone and I’d highly recommend a trip out to Belfast take a look. Being English was no problem in the city centre, just be mindful if you’re heading out of the usual tourist and student areas.

Time to put down my Judith Chalmers hat, and don my CAMRA one…

Belfast is awash with pretty pubs, though its relationship with beer is very one-dimensional, as Diageo has a similar stranglehold on bars here to the Republic. There is a small local craft scene though there aren’t many outlets for their produce. Cask is a rarity, quality is a bit hit-and-miss and sometimes you’ll go to a Good Beer Guide listed pub and find none at all! So hopefully the pub list below will help you find a good balance. Two pubs on my original longlist didn’t make the final cut; the Duke of York (7-11 Commercial Court, BT1 2NB) due to it only opening in the afternoons (‘because COVID’ – hopefully that will have changed now) and Whites Tavern (6 Winecellar Entry, BT1 1QN) because I simply ran out of time, having made a decision to prolong a stay in the Deer’s Head on our final evening.

The list below is in postcode order, though the distance between BT1 and BT2 is fairly minimal.

Deer's Head

1-3 Lower Garfield Street, BT1 1FP

Cask = No

Clean, bright and rammed full of the local ukulele group having a practice night. We took a booth seat opposite a large troupe of strumming musos who were belting out an array of pop tunes and the odd traditional standard. Then the icing on the cake, a menu of keg beers brewed in-house (Bell’s Brewery) across a range of styles. 

The homebrew beers were plentiful, flighted and amongst them were some genuinely quality brews – Horse Fair, Widow Partridges and Black Bull were particularly good, though not cheap. We stayed much longer than intended, at the expense of White’s. Sometimes, you have to know when to stick rather than twist.

Kelly’s Cellars

32 Bank Street, BT1 1HL

Cask = No

Tucked away but worth making the effort as there’s lots of traditional atmosphere here, despite (or because of?) the dimly-lit, ramshackle and louche interior (which is not actually underground). Pictures all across the walls, jugs, mirrors and breweriana everywhere. Younger crowd in situ so quite lively despite being a Sunday night. Diageo list on keg; my wife had a particularly excellent Guinness, slightly sweeter than normal and very creamy. It’s worth doing this one for the tourist tick box, it was fun.

John Hewitt

51 Donegal Street, BT1 2FH

Cask = Intermittent

Came with good reviews but I was pretty underwhelmed by this one. Dimly-lit interior sporting quarter length dark wood panelling and claret red paint with a feel that has surpassed ‘lived-in’ and is now firmly at the start of ‘battered and tired’. Live music-led, though in this case it was a couple of lads practising standards with an acoustic guitar and a tin whistle to the appreciation of half a dozen other punters. GBG listed though the one ale pump wasn’t dispensing. Plenty of interesting local keg though including a sour from Wicklow Wolf.

Sunflower

65 Union Street, BT1 2JG

Cask = Yes

A pub in a quiet, run-down backstreet. Seeing the cage in front of the entrance would have put the willies up me as well if I hadn’t done my research (it was deliberately left there after the cessation of The Troubles). Bijou interior and was bustling on my Sunday evening visit; we bagged the last available table. Décor is the usual collection of breweriana which is standard in most Norn pubs alongside some framed album covers. The main reason to come here is that it’s one of the few pubs in the city to offer a more varied selection of wares plus 40 or so craft and some foreign beers. There’s also a cask ale (which wasn’t shifting). Friendly staff and plenty of them too, unlike many other places.

McHugh's

29-31 Queens Square, BT1 3FG

Cask = Yes

Close to the Salmon of Knowledge sculpture (which I decided was my favourite Belfast tourist attraction) the exterior is an odd little amalgamation job - three distinct buildings knocked into one, over two levels. Therefore fairly rambling inside and the feel is of a cosy, atmospheric middle class ambience. One handpump dispensing Whitewater Maggies Leap which was a nice fruity number that had been well looked-after and went down a treat; this meant I didn’t explore the fridge options but I’m under the impression they stock a decent range. Friendly barman and a pleasant stop.

Ronnie Drew's

79-83 May Street, BT1 3JL

Cask = No

Named after a legendary local musician, this is on the CAMRA National Inventory (NI). Slightly out of the immediate centre and is therefore 100% local. The relatively ornate central bar, a lovely box moulded ceiling and the large arched stained glass windows are the main things to see but looking at the NI listing there has been a fair bit of tinkering and I wouldn't say it's particularly heritage now. Mature barmaid was very welcoming of strangers and it was a fair stop for a nose and probably a destination venue when the live music is on. Standard Diageo range.

Garrick

29 Chichester Street, BT1 4JB

Cask = No

Small and traditional upmarket bar. Basketweave tiled flooring an intricate ceiling painted a dark mono colour, semi-booths all the way round (bottle green leather banquettes, glass partitions) and all with under-seat heating. Dull Diageo keg at the servery but a good selection of local and Irish bottled beers listed on blackboards above the bar, which was our main reason for visiting.

Bittles

68 Upper Church Lane, BT1 4LG

Cask = No

An extreme version of the ‘anvil shape’ both outside and in. It’s a wee bar, not a huge amount of seating to be had so time your visit. Internally it’s a split-level place in red and white, with a lot of contemporary (and often caustic) artwork depicting the Troubles, Peace Process and their central characters involved – these in themselves make it well-worth the price of a beer. 

Matey who runs the place has been there years and is known as a bit of a character. Beer-wise, look beyond the fairly dull draft (no cask here) and into the fridge where beers from Ards, Whitewater, Macivors, McGrath and Hilden lurk. Quirky place that’s worthy of a place on your crawl list.

Crown Liquor Saloon

46 Great Victoria Street, BT2 7BA

Cask = Yes

Described elsewhere as the jewel of Northern Ireland’s pubs and it’s very hard to disagree; astounding both inside and out and is up there with the best interiors in Britain; it may well be the most ornate. 

‘High Victoriana’ style, amazingly intricate tiled exterior which matches the feel inside - doored booths, ceramic bar frontage, stained glass windows, illustrated mirrored panels, carved wood features and animals, patterned floor tiling and probably a load of other stuff I didn’t note – every time you look round you notice something new. 

Leased by Nicholsons via the National Trust, three cask ales on when I visited from Black Sheep, Titanic and Timothy Taylor. Beware that it’s a fairly small pub so time your visit for the quietest hours, especially if you want a booth. Should be number one on your Belfast visit list as you won’t want to miss it.

Robinson's

38-40 Great Victoria Street, BT2 7BA

Cask = No

Next door to the nationally-known Crown. Unlike its neighbour this is a TARDIS place with two large rooms separated via an arch with a lounge to the left. Really nicely appointed and plenty inside to catch the eye; tiled floor, gold moulded ceiling and columns, bottle green banquettes, Victoriana stylings and cabinets filled with Titanic / White Star Lines ephemera. A mix of the usual Diageo tosh and some of the Tennent’s range at the bar; my Heverlee Lager was tinny and very expensive, served-up by be-penguined staff. Quiet compared to other places. Worth a look for the interior as you’re going to be next door at the Crown at some point, aren’t you?

Bridge House

35-43 Bedford Street, BT2 7EJ

Cask = Yes

A straightforward two floor Wetherspoons (with a bar on each). Decorated in some colourful modern art, light colours and a bit of wood. Which in most cities in the UK would elicit a ‘meh’ but in the cask ale desert of Northern Ireland its appearance was a blessed relief. Three genuine guest ales; my Rudgate Chocolate Stout was well looked-after and it was interesting to note that plenty was being sold – it may be there isn’t enough call for cask to be on in most places in Norn but those who do like it will certainly congregate where it’s known to be decent. A solid Spoons and in the context in which it operates, you’ll probably want to pop by. Note that It opens from 8am but alcohol is only available from 11.30am.

Hatfield House

130 Ormeau Road, BT7 2EB

Cask = No

Jumbo pub a bit out of the centre over two large rooms and listed in the CAMRA Inventory. The quieter side room is the main place to see, highlights included a very intricate circular wood bar (with a tiled front) and gantry as well as a number of semi-booth seating areas with various bits of carved wood fittings and backs. Plenty of ephemera as well, tin signs and the like plus a bicycle suspended from the ceiling. Usual Diageo list so another Guinness which was a bit thin and very cold; after a while in Norn, I started to appreciate the differences in Guinness quality I had hitherto dismissed as Oirish tourist waffle. Worth a visit to sample the interior. 

Errigle

312-320 Ormeau Road, BT7 2GE

Cask = Yes

A large traditional pub which nicely complements the crafty Northern Lights over the road. Two big separated rooms; to the left is a quieter side room with a traditional feel (and a number of original features); bottle green banquettes, wooden dark varnish fittings, a little snug to the right. A bit of a puzzle – it is GBG-listed but the cask is bizarrely hidden round the back in the Oak Lounge and seemingly unadvertised elsewhere, I had to ask how to get hold of it. There were two on, Marston’s Pedigree and the local Knockout Uppercut (Barry McGuigan themed, of course!). The strange ale situation aside, this is a nice place and is worth the visit – just remember to state loud and proud, when you come in, that you want the cask.

Northern Lights

451 Ormeau Road, BT7 3GQ

Cask = Intermittent

Out in the student area, this is a modern and large bar run by Galway Bay Brewery. Sited over two levels with a mezzanine-style upper with the usual stylings for this sort of thing. An unclipped and forlorn cask pump (confirmed only used occasionally) though 20 keykeg taps to dig into which contain about a third of GBB’s portfolio alongside a pretty-well curated selection of guests over a range of styles. Usually I ‘m unenamoured by these sorts of places but there was enough quality and good service to leave me feeling happy. With Errigle’s just over the junction, it’s worth spending a couple of quid to get the bus out here.

Fort Bar (McCartan's)

25-27 Springfield Road, BT12 7AB

Cask = No

A CAMRA Inventory Heritage pub and we jumped on the Glider bus not appreciating just quite how far down the Falls Road we would end-up. Apart from a discreet waving-away of our UK passports, proffered as part of the COVID check-in, we were left to our own devices. 

The reason to come here are the doored booths which line the front of the bar. These are made of wood and have inlaid smoked glass though sadly the wood has been glooped with grey and gold paint so they seem a bit cheap – a Poundland version of the Crown Liqour Stores, if you will. The bar area has thankfully retained the ornate lakeside painted tiles on the bar front and the intricate bar back and gantry remain varnished. Usual Diageo guff on keg. If you like your interiors then this is well-worth a trip to sample but be mindful of your location if you’re English and come on a quiet weekday evening when there’s no football on the telly.