The Cloth Ear - Cathedral Quarters - Belfast

After a dreadful cold and rainy “summer” day, everybody needs some comfort food e.g. some nice pub grub to cheer up. The Cloth Ear seemed to be a great option, not too far away which was definitely a bonus considering the weather and being owned by The Merchant Hotel, it had to be good…

The atmosphere was exactly what I was looking for, loud and lively with a band playing in the middle of the pub.

Now I must say that after a first look at the menu, I was a bit disappointed. Nothing too exciting there, just a few boring options that you could find pretty much anywhere: chicken wings, chicken curry, steak sandwich…I finally picked one of the two burgers they had on the menu which came along with French fries and a side of salad. I have to be honest (what would be the point of this blog if I wasn’t?), this was the worst burger I had ever eaten. The bun was dry, burnt underneath and really hard to chew. The patty was overcooked and for me to say that is an understatement because I usually like it well/very well done. I could hardly taste any cheese and the bacon stripes must have been reused from leftover breakfasts. I consoled myself with the fries that were actually nice and crispy and ate resignedly my side of salad.

As for my partner, he chose the chicken skewers and I admit it was a rather good surprise. The chicken was tender and served with a side of peanut sauce bursting with flavours (sesame seed oil, fresh coriander, just a guess…) that enlightened the whole dish.

Not discouraged yet by my disastrous main course experience and still feeling hungry, I couldn’t resist treating myself with something sweet. I went straight for the most appealing option, the chocolate fudge brownie, dying for the richness and fondant they usually promise. Big mistake!! The cake I was served was nothing close to either a chocolate fudge cake or a brownie, it was a sad dry little thing smothered in a tasteless chocolate sauce poured straight out of a bottle. So much for my cravings of comfort food, The Cloth Ear might be great for a few drinks but it is really not the place to eat as far as I am concerned.

The Potted Hen - St Anne's Square - Belfast

Last Thursday, my partner and I decided to eat out on an impulse, which let me rather unprepared regarding a choice of restaurants to go to. After the great experience of Coppi, I decided to take another chance on St Anne’s Square and its large panel of restaurants. Once there, we both agreed on trying The Potted Hen whose modern and rather refined menu was offering satisfactory options for both of us.

First, I have to say the service was amazing, smart, fast and efficient. We were given great recommendations and the starters came out real fast which was such a relief since we were both starving!

My salt and chilli prawns were deliciously crispy and spicy but the dips were truly disappointing. The garlic aioli had nothing to do with an actual aioli and tasted like a very bland and heavy mayonnaise. As for the sweet chilli sauce, it had the consistency of a tomato soup and smelled too much of Tabasco. The fried egg that my partner picked was on the contrary, executed with genius. Perfectly cooked, and the contrast between the liquid warm yolk and the light crunchy batter was delightful.

Our main courses were both the highlight of our dinner. I couldn’t resist trying their wild mushroom risotto, an absolute favourite of mine. The texture was superb, fondant as it should be without bordering on sticky. The flavours of the tarragon brought a brand new style to that creative version of a classic dish. On top of that, the light and creamy sauce was refreshed and got a real kick from the addition of roquette: brilliant!

My partner devoured his ribeye steak. I must admit that I am not usually too keen on red meat but this one looked so good that I had to try. The pepper sauce gave it an engaging glossy glaze and perfectly coated the tender and juicy meat. The steak came with golden and crispy chunky chips and a roquette salad devilishly tasty thanks to beautiful aged Parmesan, which took the whole dish to a superior level.

A great experience to be repeated. Next time, I would though skip the starters and go for main and dessert. They have on the menu a very appealing version of a French classic, “la crème brulee’ and I do love to end a meal on a sweet note.

The Alley Cat - Church Lane - Belfast

Since I had started writing about the restaurants I tried before actually deciding to create that blog, I am going to publish all at once the reviews of the past few weeks but after that I will stick to my challenge as best as I can and post once a week.

When you step in the Alley Cat American inspired pub, you are instantly swallowed into some sort or very cool parallel world. In between the cosy fun furniture and the striking paintings on the walls you feel as if you were just propelled into an episode of the Black Sad comic book!

Famous for their wide selection of beers, I was delighted to find on the list my favourite Sierra Nevada; they also have a mouth-watering food menu with some very interesting burgers and hot dogs.

I couldn’t resist trying the Posh burger, honestly the best burger I ever had. The unique combination of the melted Brie dripping over a tender, rich and perfectly seasoned patty topped with a layer of velvety caramelised onions and fondant buttery garlic mushrooms. Crispy streaks of bacon and fresh roquette smartly giving a crunchy punch to the whole thing wrapped into an amazing brioche style bun.

As I was eating out with my partner, we picked two sides of onion rings and French fries. The well-performed French fries, thin and crispy as I love them, happily surprised me but the real delight were the onion rings, which without a doubt were homemade. All different sizes coated in a light and fluffy crispy batter, they couldn’t have been better.

Finally, we decided to share a triple chocolate and peanut butter brownie as we both have a very sweet tooth. That last one was a bit of a disappointment. The gooey brownie that I was expecting was actually rather dry and the peanut butter was very scarce. It came with a scoop of honeycomb ice cream, which was too sweet for my taste and was sprinkled with a very thin and rather uninspiring milk chocolate sauce.

That will certainly not discourage me from coming back as the rest of the dinner was absolutely gorgeous. That is yet another great recommendation for my list of best restaurants in Belfast.

Coppi - St Anne’s Square - Belfast

Always on the look for a new culinary adventure, I was heading to my gym located on St Anne’s Square when once again I shot a look of envy to the menu of Coppi. Except this time, I stepped into the restaurant determined to book a table for my partner and I the next Saturday.

Named after Angelo Fausto Coppi, Italian top-level cyclist during the years of the Second World War and around, Coppi restaurant opens its doors on a wide wooden-floor room and open kitchen. The furniture, both modern and warm and the lights hanging from the ceiling create a buzzing and relaxed atmosphere in which I instantly felt comfortable.

We decided on sharing five cichetti (some sort of small antipasti/tapas). I was conquered by the “feta fritters” warm and crispy and ever so delicately enhanced by a truffled honey. The spiced pork and fennel sausage was an absolute success, melting on the tongue and smothered in a rich tomato sauce delivering a mouthful of delicious spices and herbs. The kitchen was running out of the Portavogie prawn aioli that we ordered and we got instead a crunchy slightly oiled bread topped with fresh hand-picked crab superbly seasoned with a mango and coriander mayonnaise. About the chicken and romesco sauce I wouldn’t be as enthusiastic even if the meat was tender and moist the flavours were maybe a bit too bland for my own taste. Finally, we finished with the “poponcini”, small round peppers stuffed with a very hot and spicy ricotta cream. My sensation was an explosion of flavours on the palate when the mint and tarragon enveloped the burning spices. Perfect to save for last.

As a main course my partner opted for the “duck ragu and porcini mushrooms ravioli”. This dish was absolutely unbelievable. The contrast of the truffle and the wine flavours in the jus, enveloping perfectly performed homemade ravioli and the devilishly fondant duck wonderfully melting in the mouth was positively to die for! As for me, I went for the “smoked chicken mafaldine pasta” a very well performed and creative carbonara revisited with high quality chicken contrasting with crispy pancetta and refreshed with a tasty leek fondue. The delicate and slightly creamy sauce exploding with waves of aged Parmesan completely seduced me.

Leaving clean plates on our table, we left promising ourselves to come back for there is so much more to try on the menu. One last word about that superb experience, icing on the cake, the staff was bubbly, charming and very efficient, bringing up wise advice both about the food and the wines. A complete success and definitely a “must go to” for your restaurants to try list.