Food, fun... and cracking craic
Just a short ferry trip away, Belfast has put the Troubles behind it and is now ideal for a chic and cheerful break, as Kirsten Johnson discovers
FRIDAY night is the prime time to experience the authentic Belfast ‘craic’. Infectious laughter streams from the doorway of each busy bar and restaurant as we wander along the cobbled streets of the Cathedral Quarter. Groups of students mingle with businessmen – still in their suits and ties – and, thankfully, there is not a stag or hen party to be seen.
Whether you are looking for a few pints of Guinness and a jig, or a five-course Michelin-star tasting menu, Northern Ireland’s capital does not disappoint.
It’s hard to believe that only two decades ago this bustling university city was still in the midst of political unrest.
‘Tourists just didn’t come here back then – Belfast was a ghost town during the Troubles,’ admits the tour guide on our sightseeing bus the following day.
Yet while its turbulent history remains fresh in the minds of most locals, the city has undergone a remarkable transformation and is now one of the UK’s top weekend break destinations.
We welcomed the chance to avoid airline luggage restrictions and took the P&O car ferry from Cairnryan, Wigtownshire, to Larne, some 30 minutes outside Belfast.
The two-hour crossing was just long enough to enjoy a coffee and a bacon roll in the Club Lounge and take a stroll around the outside deck. And the warm winter coats we were able to stow away in the boot of the car came in very handy when the temperature dropped unexpectedly to a chilly 3C (37.4F).
Having the car made the whole trip feel so much more relaxed. As well as being able to bring regularsized bottles of shampoo (and more than just one pair of shoes) it meant we had the freedom to take the scenic route into the city. MANY people choose to drive up to the picturesque Antrim Coast for the day to visit the celebrated Giant’s Causeway – declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 and one of the most popular tourism attractions in Northern Ireland.
However, we decided to use our time exploring Belfast and headed straight to our base for the weekend – the recently renovated Fitzwilliam Hotel on Great Victoria Street in the heart of the city.
The opulent five-star hotel, which adjoins the city’s Grand Opera House, was almost too lovely to leave. It felt like we were stepping on to the set of Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel – part doll’s house, part 1920s Art Deco boudoir.
Our ‘executive’ room was more like a mini suite, with a teal velvet Chesterfield sofa and the most comfortable super king-size mattress I have ever had the pleasure of sleeping on.
The lounge and bar area is a readymade interior mood board of gold statement lamps, white marble coffee tables and dusty pink leather chairs.
Belfast experienced the strongest economic growth of any UK city in 2015 and this is clear to see when strolling through the city centre, with fashionable shops and restaurants and new office buildings around every corner.
To get our bearings we jumped on the 90-minute ‘hop on, hop off’ Belfast City Sightseeing bus tour, which was well worth the £11 ticket.
It passes through the Titanic dockyard and up the mile-long tree-lined avenue to the Stormont parliament buildings.
However, the most interesting stop for us was the Peace Wall, which still separates the Republican Falls Road and the Loyalist Shankill Road. While it is covered in striking murals and messages of hope from around the world, it is proof of the continuing sectarian divisions in the city.
Anyone looking to explore the nooks and crannies and less wellknown sights should take a walk with Conor Owens on the Belfast Hidden Tour. This lasted a couple of hours and saw us rack up more than three miles. Belfast born and bred, Conor – who is a fountain of knowledge and passionate about his city – tailored the tour to our interests.
He stopped at points of historic significance, such as the famous alleyways known as the Belfast Entries, but was also keen to show us some of the Cathedral Quarter’s new street art, commissioned to promote peace and togetherness.
We took Conor’s advice and finished our tour with a visit to Belfast’s grand City Hall, home to the City Council. The building has one of the UK’s largest chandeliers – weighing 1.3 tons – and an intricate wooden sideboard that was built for the RMS Titanic but arrived too late for its ill-fated maiden voyage.
But for foodies like us, the selection of restaurants within walking distance of the hotel was a major selling point of our trip.
On the first night we went to Coppi, which promises ‘contemporary Italian cooking’. Situated in St Anne’s Square in the Cathedral Quarter, the
restaurant has an industrial warehouse vibe, but it was anything but cold and echoing on a Friday night, with every table filled and staff buzzing about.
OUR main courses – chargrilled salmon with potato, fennel and tomato and olive ragu, and pork cutlet Milanese with braised cabbage, porcini brown butter and slow-roast tomato – arrived impressively fast and were filling without leaving us too sluggish to head to the nearby Duke of York bar for a drink and some live music.
On the second night we decided to sample some of Belfast’s local cuisine at Mourne Seafood Bar.
While the specials looked good, we took our waiter’s advice and picked the popular smoked fishcake with soft poached egg and creamed leeks, and Dijon crusted cod with champ and seasonal greens.
We made the most of the early morning sunshine on Sunday for a visit to St George’s Market on May Street by the River Lagan.
The covered Victorian market is one of Belfast’s oldest attractions (built between 1890 and 1896) and has been voted the best indoor market in the UK and Ireland. Thanks to having the car, we were able to have a shopping spree and bought some artisan soda bread, home-made jams, a vintage book and an antique cake stand.
The highlight of the trip for me was a class at James Street South Cookery School, led by award-winning Irish chef Niall McKenna, who appeared on the BBC’s Great British Menu.
McKenna, who trained under the Michelin-starred chefs Gary Rhodes and Marco Pierre White before opening James Street South restaurant in 2003, talked our group of ten through three ‘one-pot wonder’ dishes – fish stew, pork shoulder with black olives and Moroccan chicken wings with herb couscous.
The class was fast-paced and – while making the fish stock from scratch using mackerel heads left a few of the participants slightly green around the gills – the results were incredible.
We were able to sample each course with the restaurant’s home-made bread and a glass of wine, so I was grateful when my travel companion volunteered to drive the home leg back to Glasgow.