Howard Street Restaurant - Howard Street - Belfast

As Damien’s birthday was coming up, I wanted to find a place really special to treat him to dinner. I had heard a lot of good reviews about Howard Street and the only reason we had not gone yet was because the prices are a bit higher than our average budget to eat out. A birthday celebration seemed the perfect excuse to try it out.

On Saturday night, at 9, the restaurant was still buzzing. Every table was occupied, the waiters were busy taking orders or bringing food, and it was as if the rush hour of 7pm had never stopped. I instantly loved the place with its high ceilings and subdued lights. The furniture and decoration were sober and tasteful creating a very pleasant atmosphere.

One look at the menu and we were both seduced. The food sounded amazing and we could hardly decide what we wanted as everything was so enticing.

We both finally chose the scallops for starters and ordered a bottle of white Australian Chardonnay to drink along.

Our waiter was fantastic; he had the knowledge of wine and food and was extremely efficient and attentive. I was impressed.

The scallops were gorgeous, cooked to perfection, delicately brown but so soft and tender. The seasoning was genius and so original, with a reduction of garden peas and delicately pickled cherry tomato and shallot. The bread-crumbed hen egg was absolutely divine with the yolk oozing out as you cut it and the Parma ham crisp was delicious and brought a salty kick to the dish.

The main courses were no disappointment after this fabulous start and we kept being surprised by the elegant presentations and the incredible flavours.

Damien had ordered the dry-aged rib eye and asked for the onion and potato gratin instead of the chips. The meat was beautifully cooked, richly coated in a red wine jus and particularly fondant. The potato gratin was my favourite because it reminded me of a French classic called “gratin dauphinois” with the potato infused with garlic and layered with cream. The dish also came with lightly battered onion rings and half a roasted tomato on a bed of buttery spinach: delicious!

As for me, I had picked the pork belly, which came with a potato croquette and some black pudding. If, like me, you both love pork belly and black pudding, you will love this dish. The pork was naughtily crispy and rich but without that feeling of fat that you can get when it is not correctly prepared. I savoured every single bite. The croquette was lovely as well, creamy mash potato coated with a crunchy breadcrumb layer. I particularly enjoyed the association of black pudding with the apple and cider sauce.

We had decided to share a side of chunky chips and they were as the rest of the food, perfectly executed, golden, crunchy and soft inside.

Really, I can only praise the chefs for the beautiful dinner they served us and I have to say that I can’t wait to be back and try more. The prices might be slightly higher than those of the restaurants I usually recommend but believe me, it is worth every penny!