Friday, July 18, 2008

Made in Belfast (restolounge, Wellington Street, Belfast)

Outside view of Made in Belfast restaurant/restolounge in Wellington Street, Belfast

After a couple of weeks off, it’s back to work for me on Monday. So part of today was spent racing around Belfast doing some of the little tasks that are so much harder to cram into your lunch hour.

A while back I used to work in Wellington Street. The ground floor of the block tended to be dominated by trendy clothes shops. Now they’ve been replaced by a trendy restaurant restolounge. (Their word, not mine.)

So today, Alan in Belfast found himself lunching in the recently opened Made in Belfast.

Burger resting in a Belfast Bap in Made in Belfast, Wellington Street, Belfast

The menu had a pretty good selection of tantalising dishes on offer. In step with the décor, the presentation of the food was quite fantastic. My burger was served on a wooden board, sat inside an enormous Belfast Bap, and had a cup full of chips! It’s not the cheapest of lunch venues, but the food was good quality, and the service was very good. And there was no quibble when we asked for some tap water.

Mirrored tiles on the wall in Made in Belfast, Wellington Street, Belfast

But leaving the food aside for a minute, the décor is quite amazing. Every table and chair in the place is unique.

The walls are all different. In fact, there are variations across different parts of the same wall.

There’s a huge old-fashioned vertical radiator running across the middle of the room.

Bulb with chandelier shadow on ceiling in Made in Belfast, Wellington Street, Belfast

Bare bulbs hang from the ceiling, casting shadows that look more like chandeliers. Angle-poise lamps are mounted on the wall instead of spotlights to highlight the “art”. Sections of corrugated iron have been painted to look like wall paper.

I can pretty much guarantee you’ll not run out of things to talk about while you wait the short time for your food to be served. From the crowd in from lunch today, it looks to be very popular with teams of work colleagues who don’t mind spending £10–12 for their special lunch.

Folk on the phone over lunch in Made in Belfast in Wellington Street, Belfast

And everywhere you look there are quotes and comments chalked onto black surfaces.

Comments chalked on the wall outside Made in Belfast restaurant/restolounge in Wellington Street, Belfast

My conclusion (which could maybe make it to the wall outside!) ...

"Made in Belfast – well worth a visit for good food and a fantastic atmosphere. Bring your camera and some chalk too." Alan in Belfast.blogspot.com

15 comments:

Timothy Belmont said...

Sounds very good; look forward to trying it.

As a schoolboy, my mother used to take me for a treat to a little restaurant in Wellington Street called the Piccolo.

Tim

Stephen Barnes said...

Haven't been in Wellington Street for years. Must pop down for the nostalgia.

From your photo, this place looks like it's in the old O'Hara's unit which was bombed....?

Manuel said...

have to say I've been twice and wasn't impressed. Service was teetering on the edge of falling apart both times and my pie yesterday was limp, watery, and tasteless.

Anonymous said...

I saw this reviewed in the telegraph..im curious but it does sound a little pricey for what you get. Perhaps I'll give it a bash

although 'restolounge' sounds like an eatery in futurama :D

Anonymous said...

Hola! I would love to visit Belfast and whenever that dream comes true I will go to this place! adios Alan! x

Anonymous said...

Well Alan, history is repeating itself. I first found your blog when googling for Gourmet Burger Bank and you were the first result. Now you're the first search result for 'Made in Belfast'! (I was googling for it after a friend recommended it the other night.) You'd think these trendy eateries would get their own web domains sorted out before dealing with all the secondary stuff like the food...

Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban) said...

You would think it would be top of their list. Hope you enjoy MiB ... they haven't amended the chalk boards outside, so I'm guessing they're not overly searching the local web for reviews.

Anonymous said...

Went round for Lunch and wasn't impressed, A belfast Bap filled with a burger and a mug of Chips for A tenner!

This is one for the Tourists!

Total Rip off

Anonymous said...

never ever ever again!!blue mould on my belfast bap.when i tried to speak to a waitress they ignored me, health and safety should be in for a visit soon id expect. expensive and terrible service.it gives a bad name to belfast!

Anonymous said...

Well, Long time lurker, first time poster here...
I went to the Restolounge with some of my colleagues on the strength of Alans review.
I'd the Fish Finger sarnie, and it was wonderful.
A bit busy and hectic (Friday lunchtime), but service was ok, if a little slow.
I'll certainly be back.

Keep up the good work Alan!

Anonymous said...

Don't go!! Seriously!!
The service is terrible and the food is ok, just! Waited for AGES to be served, even though the place was half empty, then waited another 45 minutes for the food to arrive. In the mean time the waiter had cleaned our table by wiping the crumbs onto our laps!!

joe said...

id have to agree with the majority of these reveiws this place is terrible and not cheap either, service leaves alot to be desired food average !

Anonymous said...

If you all want a taste of good grub you want to try Brown Sugar Cafe round the corner from Made in Belfast,Upper Queen Street, beside the lighting shop and Apache. It used to be called charlies, but has been taken over. It is like sitting in a funky 1970's living room, very comfortable and free newspapers are on offer. Fantastic little place, good food, fantastic service and reasonable prices. They have a delicious Big Belfast Brekkie with free tea or coffee and specials, like loaded wedges, chilli wraps, stew etc on throughout the week. Perfect spot on a sunday morning for a hangover cure. Well worth a try!!

supersimbo said...

Just popped in for lunch today & i have to say that you will either "get this" place or you won't! We "got it" as an idea/atmospheric experience THOUGH the only table we could get was near the door so a touch chilly!
The food was excellent, my salmon rocked out with some rocket! The chips were good, the staff were nice! Cherith's fish pie was great too. All in al, we liked it a lot, Cherith is going back in a few weeks with a hen night..........thumbs up!

Andrew Livernois said...
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