Sunday, 11 August 2013

Muriel's - Church Lane - Belfast


Muriel’s is the perfect place for a relaxing dinner out on a week day when you feel too lazy to cook, or that your fridge is empty or if you can find any other excuses for not staying at home. It is located exactly five minutes away from our place, walking, which gives it this kind of “neighbourhood café” unique charm. Inside, it is small and cosy. It looks like a little boudoir with velvety benches, deep, comfy armchairs and a lot of cushions: the perfect surroundings to chill out after a busy day at work.
And if you want to enjoy a sunny evening they also have a cute little terrace protected from the street by short wooden fences.


The menu is simple with a few options of hearty food but they also offer this amazing board of cheese and meat with the bottle of wine of your choice (red or white) for the competitive price of 18.95.


Being French, I couldn’t resist the temptation of what I thought would be a beautiful display of cheese and “charcuterie”; and I was not disappointed! Ten minutes later, the waiter brought us a large rustic wooden board covered in generous piles of pancetta, chorizo, Serrano ham, apple wood smoked cheddar, blue cheese, brie as well as two delicious homemade dips, carrot houmous and olive tapenade. A large selection of crackers (wholemeal, sea salt…) and toasted ciabatta bread had also been gathered around it. We both instantly felt ravenous and had devoured half of everything before I could remember to take a picture: my apologies…


I have to say that it was absolutely delicious and I do have very high standards in that particular food area. The cheeses were mature and tasty, the Serrano ham was dry as it should be and slightly salty, the chorizo hot and spicy and I was gobsmacked at the quality of the tapenade – amateurs of black olives, you will love it!
As for the wine, a cabernet sauvignon, it was a perfectly sensible choice to accompany the selection, we did really enjoy it. All in all, we had a great evening and I would highly recommend it, plus I honestly don’t think you can get a deal as good as this one anywhere else in Belfast.

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