Made In Belfast - Cathedral Quarter - Belfast

As I was looking for yet another culinary destination, I found out about the Made In Belfast restaurants. There are two of them in Belfast so I picked the closest to us, the one in the Cathedral Quarter. Nothing better than walk to the restaurant to work your appetite!

As soon as I stepped in, I knew I would love it. The place is a whirlwind of romantic lightings hanging from the ceiling, vintage furniture, comfy sofas, mismatched flowery china, cute vases and fancy drawings…It is like a hidden treasure, ideal retreat to enjoy a relaxing evening while rewarding your palate.

I worshipped the menu and would happily have sampled everything if I have been able to. The dishes seemed really inspiring, creative and all so different and original! We opted for sharing the crispy fried squid as a starter. It came beautifully dressed. The squid was tender and slightly coated in a very delicate and crispy batter. I am quite the squid lover and must admit this one dish is the most extraordinary and delicious I ever had. It was completed by small chunks of potatoes that made me think of the Spanish tapas “patatas bravas”, roasted but still fondant inside and glazed with a sublime garlicky seasoning. A perfect balance of flavours and textures!

As for the main course, it was I am afraid, a different adventure. My partner’s “spring mushroom and leek carbonara” was drowned in an excessively rich full cream sauce overpowering the rest of the ingredients (rather scarce) and so heavy that he couldn’t even eat half of it. I had ordered their very appealing Irish beef burger, which was served with a side of beef fat chips. The burger was such a disappointment! The patty, well seasoned and tasty was wasted by being really overcooked. It resulted being very dry and hard to swallow and as the small piece of cheddar and wee stripe of bacon weren’t doing enough to help, the whole thing was barely palatable. The beef fat chips that I had never tried before were, on the contrary, a great discovery: glossy golden and nicely crisp. I devoured them.

Curious to know if the desserts would be a hit or a miss, we greedily ordered a sticky toffee pudding and a white chocolate cheesecake. Oh dear, they were both to die for. The sticky toffee pudding was a decadently rich and moist piece of cake smothered in beautiful velvety butterscotch sauce, I literally licked the plate! The cheesecake was surprisingly light and fluffy with just the right amount of batter on top of a superb buttery biscuit crust. A great ending for our evening and a good reason to come back!