Belfast has two Michelin-starred restaurants and a five-course tasting menu at one of them costs £55 — which, for a Michelin experience, is genuinely reasonable. It's also significantly cheaper than Dublin or London for eating out generally.
A main at a good restaurant here runs £14–22. An Ulster Fry is £7–10. A Belfast bap from a market stall is £3–5.
Here's where to eat at every one of those price points.
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Where To Eat By Area
Botanic Avenue and the Holy Lands is the student quarter, and it's where the cheap eats and late-night food are. Genuine gems hide among the takeaways.
Cathedral Quarter is the cobbled nightlife area, and it has the highest concentration of good restaurants — including one of the two Michelin stars.
Queen's Quarter in south Belfast, around the university, mixes student-priced places with a couple of serious ones.
East Belfast, centred on the Newtownards Road, has an increasingly interesting food scene. Less polished than the centre, and more interesting for it.
The Michelin Restaurants
OX
The restaurant that put Belfast on the fine-dining map. On 1 Oxford Street, overlooking the River Lagan, open since 2013 and holding a Michelin star for a decade.
Head chef Stephen Toman trained in France before coming home; the front of house and wine list are run by Alain Kerloc'h, who he met there. The room is deliberately plain — bare brick, simple furniture — and the menu is seasonal, local and often foraged.
The five-course tasting menu is £55, or £85 with wine pairing. For a Michelin-starred meal that's remarkable value, and considerably less than the equivalent in Dublin or London. The adjoining OX Cave is a wine bar, and a cheaper way to experience the place.
Book well ahead, especially for weekends.
The Muddlers Club
Belfast's other star, tucked down 1 Warehouse Lane in the back streets of the Cathedral Quarter. Named after a secret society that met here in the 1790s, and done out in dark industrial style.
Chef-owner Gareth McCaughey runs a regularly changing tasting menu built on Northern Irish produce — beef, Wicklow venison, Strangford Lough shellfish. First appeared in the Michelin Guide in 2017 and was awarded its star for the 2020 edition.
Also needs booking.
Bib Gourmand — The Value End
Bib Gourmand is Michelin's marker for good cooking at reasonable prices, and it's the more realistic student option.
EDŌ — bold Mediterranean small plates in central Belfast, relaxed and lively
Deanes at Queens — right by Queen's University, stylish but laid-back, and the most convenient of these if you're studying here
Beau — the value pick among Belfast's Michelin-recognised places
Mr Deanes — contemporary dining in the city centre
Deanes EIPIC on Howard Street is Michael Deane's flagship and the fine-dining end of a block that also holds Deanes Meat Locker and Deanes Love Fish. Booking essential.
Belfast Institutions
John Long's
Fish and chips on Athol Street, near the Grand Opera House, and it has been going since 1914 — John Long converted part of his grocery shop to sell fish and chips and it never stopped. Cheap, unfussy, and a proper Belfast institution.
Mourne Seafood Bar
The city's seafood benchmark, working with Northern Irish shellfish.
Sawers
A deli on College Street that's been supplying Belfast for generations. Allow twenty minutes just to browse. Good for putting together a cheap lunch rather than buying one.
St George's Market
The Victorian covered market, and the best-value eating in the city. The Saturday market is the one for local produce and a proper breakfast. A Belfast bap will cost you £3–5, which is the cheapest good meal in this guide by a distance.
Cheap Eats
St George's Market — £3–5 for a bap, and free to walk around
Botanic Avenue and the Holy Lands — the student strip, cheap and open late
An Ulster Fry — £7–10 almost anywhere, and it will hold you until evening
Sawers — build a lunch from the deli counter instead of buying a sandwich
The Newtownards Road, east Belfast — cheaper and more interesting than the centre
OX Cave — the wine bar attached to OX, if you want a taste of the place without the tasting menu
Using Your Student Discount In Belfast
Northern Ireland is covered by Student Beans' UK offers, so you get the same list as students anywhere else in the UK. The only thing that varies is whether a brand has a Belfast branch. These ones do, or apply UK-wide:
Zizzi — 30% off food
Two Belfast branches: Victoria Square and the Odyssey in the Titanic Quarter.
30% off food from Sunday 5pm through Friday, for up to 6 people per code. There's a separate 20% off food offer valid on Fridays and Sundays. Not valid on Bank Holidays, and bills can't be split to use multiple codes.
Neither Belfast branch appears on the excluded-locations list.
PizzaExpress — 25% off the bill
At Victoria Square, directly upstairs from Zizzi.
25% off food and drinks, Sunday to Friday. Not valid on Saturdays or Bank Holidays. Show your QR code to the waiter before the bill is totalled. One code per table.
German Doner Kebab — 15% off
Valid at all UK restaurants, which includes Northern Ireland. Just show valid student ID. Can't be combined with other offers.
Krispy Kreme — 12% off
12% off in Krispy Kreme UK retail shops when you show your Student Beans ID. Over-18s only.
Nando's — but read this properly
Nando's has Victoria Square and Odyssey branches in Belfast, but the Student Beans offer isn't a percentage off your meal. It's the Chilli Points loyalty scheme — earn a point each day you spend over £7, and three points gets you your first reward. There's also 5% off Nando's gift cards.
Useful, but don't turn up expecting money off at the till.
Don't forget the online offers
The vast majority of Student Beans discounts are online rather than in-store, which means they work identically in Belfast to anywhere else in the UK — fashion, tech, food delivery and subscriptions included. Browse the full food and drink student discounts list, or the latest student discounts for everything else.
Top Tips
OX's tasting menu is £55. For a Michelin star, that's the best-value fine dining in this guide.
Book OX, EIPIC and The Muddlers Club well ahead. All three fill up.
St George's Market on a Saturday for the cheapest good breakfast in Belfast.
Deanes at Queens is the Bib Gourmand closest to the university.
Eat out midweek if you're using a student discount. Zizzi is 30% off Sunday to Friday, PizzaExpress 25% Sunday to Friday.
Belfast is cheaper than Dublin or London. Mains at £14–22 mean a proper dinner out is achievable more often than you'd think.
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