Fabulous Food and Drink in Northern Ireland
Local Food and Drink Heroes
No matter where you go across Northern Ireland, you’ll find fabulous food and drink, but you’ll also hear stories of the passionate people who rear, make, cook, distill and serve these feasts to your table.
Michelin Starred Dishes
Walk around Belfast and you’ll find yourself in the centre of a food and drink renaissance. The city has become a hive of high-grade chefs, producing some seriously exciting dishes. Step through the black frontage of OX or enter the iconic doors of EIPIC, and you’ll experience modern, Michelin-starred dishes that celebrate Northern Ireland’s quality local produce.
Belfast is full of great places to eat. There are cool coffee hangouts like Established, and buzzing urban hubs like Town Square. There are elegant restaurants like James Street South, and innovative spots like Shu. And the mantra right now? As Bib Gourmand-winner Home likes to proclaim: “Fresh. Local. Seasonal.” You only have to wander around St. George’s Market to see what local chefs have on their doorstep: grass-fed beef, artisan cheese and fresh seafood.
Beyond Belfast
Head outside Belfast and you’ll find distinctiveness reflected in local menus across Northern Ireland, whether at the elegant Browns in Derry~Londonderry, or The Poacher’s Pocket a gastropub in Comber, County Down. With a passion for local, natural produce, chefs at high-grade eateries, such as Blakes of the Hollow, Newforge House and The Parson’s Nose are proving that to get the very best, you don’t have to go far.
The Craft Beer and Cider Revival
Travel around Northern Ireland, and you’ll quickly notice the surge in homegrown craft beers and artisan ciders, made in small, high-grade breweries. Take a seat in centuries-old pubs such as Grace Neills (1611) in County Down, or The Brewer’s House in Donaghmore, County Tyrone, and enjoy crisp local brews and fruity ciders.
Keep your eye out as you travel around for names such as Sheelin from County Fermanagh, Whitewater from the Mourne Mountains, Kilmegan Cider from County Down, and Hilden from County Antrim.
Many of these beers, ales, stouts and ciders pair brilliantly with seafood and local flavours, if you’re visiting one of Northern Ireland’s gastropubs, make sure to ask about matching the right drink with your food.
