Northern Ireland: Tom Doorley's favourite spots, from top-flight restaurants to cut-above-the-rest coffee shops.
BELFAST
CAYENNE
7 Ascot House, Shaftesbury Square, 048-90331532
Open for lunch from Monday to Saturday and for dinner daily
Paul and Jeanne Rankin's original restaurant is in a slightly rundown neighbourhood these days, but it's still one of the most fun places to eat in Ireland, thanks to an impeccably executed menu. The decidedly cool environment is the perfect platform for dishes as varied as twice-baked four-cheese souffle and good old salt-and-chilli squid. The Rankins showcase their international take on classic French cuisine at the new Roscoff, close by, but this is where their hearts are, in my view. The wine list is a bit mixed, but it's big and has lots of attractively unusual offerings, especially from the New World. Although regulars complain that prices have risen while portions have got smaller, this is Belfast's best spot for informal, soulful food.
Good points: Very cool interior
Bad points: Run-down part of town
How much? Main courses £10.50-£24
What tastes best? Twice-baked cheese souffle
BELFAST
DEANE'S DELI
44 Bedford Street, 048-9024880, www.michaeldeane.co.uk
Open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday
The contrast between this bustling, cheerful bistro and the heavy formality of Restaurant Michael Deane could not be greater. Not to be confused with Deane's Brasserie, on Howard Street, this place used to be a pan-Asian outpost of the Deane empire, but since it became the Deli, with a totally new menu, it has become one of the most popular places to eat in the city. You can have excellent steak frites with bearnaise, perfect Irish stew served in an individual marmite topped with a savoy cabbage leaf, or an authentic coq au vin, to name but three favourites.
Good points: Great food at great prices
Bad points: Peak time congestion
How much? Main courses £8-£12
What tastes best? Irish stew
BELFAST
JAMES STREET SOUTH
21 James Street South, 048-90434310, www.jamesstreetsouth.co.uk
Open for lunch from Monday to Saturday and for dinner daily
Niall McKenna worked with Gary Rhodes and Marco Pierre White in London. At this very cool restaurant he cooks a combination of classical cuisine and somewhat chunkier Mediterranean food. James Street South's white walls and elegantly simple decor are rather more unusual in Belfast than they might be in Dublin or Cork. Deconstructed cassoulet is a possible modern classic, certainly a memorable dish. Valrhona chocolate truffle cake is as good as it sounds. Quite a decent wine list, too, although listing by grape variety gets up my nose somewhat. Lunch, by the way, is a steal at £13.50; Roederer Champagne is £5.50 a glass.
Good points: The new Belfast
Bad points: Too "London" for some
How much? Main courses £12.95-£17.50
What tastes best? Cassoulet
BELFAST
ROSCOFF BRASSERIE
7-11 Linenhall Street, 048-90311150
Open for lunch from Monday to Friday and for dinner from Monday to Saturday
This relatively new brasserie is a sharp contrast with the restaurant from which it derives its name (which was, at the time, way over-rated). For a start, the interior is simply decorated in muted shades, very elegant but not sharply minimalist. It's actually a very attractive restaurant to look at - and that's something I tend not to notice straight off. Cooking is quite classical but uncomplicated, amounting to very stylish and elegant comfort food, such as lobster thermidor with new potatoes. It also does an impeccable little salad of lobster, a marginally less successful carpaccio of beef and such main courses as veal liver with bacon and colcannon and pot-roast rabbit with potato gnocchi. Service is among the best around.
Good points: Delicately prepared food
Bad points: Delicately sized portions
How much? Main courses £12-£36
What tastes best? Lobster salad
CO ANTRIM
RAMORE WINE BAR AND COAST
The Harbour, Portrush, 048-70824313
Open daily for lunch and dinner
Not so much a wine bar as a place to go for informal eating and very good fast food. Come to think of it, fast food is rather unfair. This is really rapid food served in a generally very busy and rather loud environment. Expect chunky food with multicultural influences - oriental dips, Tex-Mex tortillas, salsas and bruschetta - with keen prices and, in summer, lots of holidaymakers. Coast, downstairs, does pasta and pizza.
Good points: They don't do "high tea"
Bad points: Noise
How much? Main courses £7.95-£14.95
What tastes best? Pasta
CO ARMAGH
ANNAHAIA
Slieve Gullion Forest Park, Killeavy, 048-30848084 www.slievegullioncourtyard.com
Open for dinner from Thursday to Saturday and for lunch on Sunday
Michael Rath and Ardal O'Hanlon (no, not that one) run this terrific restaurant in the middle of what appears to be nowhere. In the off-season in particular it's wise to phone ahead to check opening times. If you make the journey, you will eat the best food in Co Armagh and some of the best in Ulster. The menu is eclectic: you will find risotto rubbing shoulders with tagines. But all of it is executed with skill, commitment and care. Rath, incidentally, cooks fish to perfection. If you are unfamiliar with this vast wooded area, bear in mind that Annahaia is only 15 minutes from Dundalk and well worth a detour.
Good points: Exceptional food in the wilderness
Bad points: Getting there
How much? Set menu €36 (€14.95 for lunch on Sunday)
What tastes best? Picatta of veal
CO DERRY
BROWNS
1-2 Bonds Hill, Derry, 048-71345180. Open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday
Browns would have been the height of provincial chic in 1982, but these days is a bit sad. Curious that it's regarded as Derry's leading restaurant until you realise there is no real competition. Some say the cooking has flashes of inspiration but my experience, not helped by Arctic service, was of adequate food, pleasantly flavoured and neatly presented. Unexciting wine list.
Good points: It's the best restaurant in Derry
Bad points: See above
How much? Main courses £8.50-£15.95
What tastes best? Stir-fried prawns
CO DERRY
EXCHANGE RESTAURANT & WINE BAR
Queen's Quay, Derry, 048-712773990
Open for lunch from Monday to Saturday and for dinner from Monday to Sunday
I'm not sure, but I reckon this must be the only wine bar in the country that serves Blossom Hill. It's odd, because this looks like quite a cool restaurant, with its generous space, high ceiling and lively buzz. While it looks just like the kind of place for a pretty wild girls' night out, the average age profile, when I visited, was rather high. Food is not the strong suit here (marinated lamb with couscous was a fright, garlic fries were good) and you have to order and pay at the bar. Despite fairly modest prices, this is too much hassle for the quality of the grub. Service is friendly and cheerful. It's a lively place and I'm sure it could be fun if you are very hungry and not very critical.
Good points:
Bad points:
How much? Main courses £7.50-£15
What tastes best? Garlic fries
CO DOWN
BRASSERIE ANNAHAIA
23 Church Street, Warrenpoint, 048-41753222
Open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday
This coastal outpost of the Annahaia restaurant at Killeavy serves simple, well executed, occasionally inspired food, especially if Michael Rath is cooking and especially if it's fish.
Good points: Best place to eat in Newry and Warrenpoint
Bad points: Underwhelming wine list
How much? Main courses €13-€18
What tastes best? Roast cod
CO DOWN
ORIEL
2, Bridge Street, Gilford, 048-38831543, www.orielrestaurant.com
Open for dinner from Thursday to Sunday, and for lunch from Friday to Sunday
Michelin stars, in general, are taken far too seriously. However, when an obscure restaurant tucked away in a corner of Co Down is singled out by the Michelin inspectors you can be sure there's something very interesting going on. And here, at Oriel, there is, in the form of outstanding food from Damian Tumilty, who once worked with Conrad Gallagher at Peacock Alley in Dublin. Tumilty's reputation is built on mature and disciplined cooking. It is quite definitely not the sort of stuff you would attempt at home. People travel from far and wide; not only for the food but for the prices.
Good points: Some of the best value fine food in Ireland
Bad points: The exterior says "B&B" rather than "Michelin stars"
How much? Main courses £16.50-£19.95
What tastes best? Oxtail and foie gras terrine
CO DOWN
SHANKS
Blackwood Golf Centre, 150 Crawfordsburn Road, Bangor, 048-91853313 www.shanksrestaurant.com
Open for lunch from Tuesday to Friday and for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday
Shanks is a great favourite on the so-called Gold Coast, which, allegedly, has the world's highest incidence of BMW ownership. Many readers say of Shanks: "I love it, but it's expensive". Or: "there's always a supplement of a few quid for some of the dishes". I don't think this would cause such comment down south, as Robbie Millar is one hell of a chef. This is imaginative food that remains true to the ingredients, well judged, skilfully executed and done with real flair. It's quite possibly the best restaurant in Northern Ireland. Millar and his team deserve great credit for maintaining a cutting-edge performance for so long.
Good points: The best food in Northern Ireland
Bad points The Gold Coast set
How much? Set menu €21-£45
What tastes best? Scallop gratin
CO FERMANAGH
CAFE MERLOT & RESTAURANT NUMBER SIX
6, Church Street, Enniskillen, 048-66320918
Open for lunch from Tuesday to Sunday and for dinner from Wednesday to Sunday
Cafe Merlot is on the ground floor of a fine old Enniskillen pub, Blake's of the Hollow, the vast premises of which also accommodate a formal restaurant called Number Six. It gives the impression of being in the cellar of a rather grand château, the prodigious wine list adding to the impression that this is somewhere that takes the fruit of the vine very seriously indeed. It is the only place in Ireland, as far as I can tell, where you can drink Quintarelli's legendary Veneto wines. Food, at cafe level, is simple and full of flavour. Upstairs the food gets more elaborate. Service is superb, provided largely by French and German staff, and prices are keen.
Good points: A fantastic wine list
Bad points: UK smoking laws
How much? Main courses £9.95-£14.95 (Cafe Merlot); €10.95-€15.95 (Number Six)
What tastes best? Bang bang chicken salad
CO TYRONE
THE LOFT AT THE LINEN GREEN
Moygashel, 048-87729929, www.hawthornhouse.co.uk
Open from Monday to Saturday
This cafe above a gift shop is a good place to eat. There are panini, and Coronation chicken salad, great scones just like your granny used to make (but not with too much soda) and good old lemon meringue pie. The Loft is an oasis in a county that is very beautiful but very low on proper food.
Good points: The only decent food for miles
Bad points: The gift shop is not exactly Philippe Starck
How much? Main courses £3.70-£5.25
What tastes best? Scones