10 Best Local Restaurants in Belfast

Actons Restaurant brings the heartiness of Northern Irish food and mashes it together with the boldness of all-American cooking. The restaurant is centrally located in the midst of the Belfast theatre district, on Brunswick Street some 5 minutes' walk from City Hall.

Done out like a rejigged factory, the place has elements of the industrial chic about it – think painted grey walls and exposed brick inside. The menu includes steaks and mashed potato sides, grilled sandwiches and stacked burgers. There are also some more off-beat options in the form of curries and Middle Eastern-style veggie salads.

The Bank Square Brasserie offers a taste of the Emerald Isle right in the heart of the city. It's tucked into a corner of – you guessed it – Bank Square, only a few steps south of Castle Court, one of the main shopping hubs of the whole capital.

Step in and you'll be greeted by a space that's at once modern and vintage. There are copper-tinged chandeliers dangling overhead, elaborate ceiling roses, and exposed-brick walls. The menu fuses east and west, with dry-aged beef burgers next to blackened miso cod. It's pub grub with a fancy twist, and plenty of great beers and spirits to match it all with.

Darcy's is one of the best-kept gastronomic secrets of the Northern Ireland capital. It drags visitors away from the much-trodden Cathedral Quarter to the happening Golden Mile part of the city around Shaftesbury Square – a more lived-in, local part of the town.

Compact and cosy, the joint has rough-wood tables and paint-peeling chairs dotting a tiled space under football murals scrawled on the walls. The menu is hearty comfort food through and through. Start with a bone-warming chicken chowder and follow that with fish and chips or lamb shank. There are great options for veggies here to boot.

Flame ticks all the boxes for a local kitchen, serving traditional Northern Irish pub grub in a classic setting. The location is just about perfect for those looking to hit the theatres or the Cathedral Quarter bars later on – the joint is on ever-busy Howard Street, right in the midst of the town centre.

Primarily a grill house, the food policy here is heavy on the meat, though there's a particularly intriguing veggie chickpea steak in the offing, too. Get ready for a medley of chargrilled burgers, chicken skewers, and beer-battered haddock. Other dishes will surprise with an infusion of spice, like the tandoor kebabs or cauliflower tempura.

Himalayan Restaurant Belfast does as its name implies – brings a spice-plumed taste of the high Asian mountains to the capital of Northern Ireland. It's not in the thick of the city centre, but rather down in the happening student quarter close to Queen's University. The joint sits behind a covered terrace on Botanic Avenue.

Inside, you'll be met with the scents of sizzling garlic and ginger, capsicum and fenugreek. The dishes run the gamut from Himalayan curries to spiced biryanis and noodle dishes that hail from the Annapurna region. There's a surprisingly good wine list and tap beers to match.

Home Restaurant blurs the boundaries between café, kitchen, and homeware shop. It could hardly be more central – look for it less than 100 metres down Wellington Place from Belfast City Hall. The entrance is emblazoned with a kitschy sign that glows in neon yellow and green.

The interiors are stripped-down and simple, drawing the eye to just a couple of big pieces of Pop Art on the walls. Tables are darkened mahogany, fringed by chairs of noir faux leather. Expect some taste-bud-tingling food concoctions, in the form of sweetcorn and pancetta chowder, mezze boards with homemade falafel, and tamarind-glazed pork.

Howard Street is ready to cook you up a proper Irish storm. It's named after the road on which it sits, on the southern fringes of the Belfast City Centre, within easy walk of City Hall and bustling Great Victoria Street alike. You're on the hunt for the pub-style exterior with its hanging lanterns and green-timber sign.

What you get inside is a true Irish gastropub with age-old features – check the iron columns and the wooden partitions that separate the booth tables. The kitchen here has been open since 2013, which has given the chefs time to curate a menu of hearty local dishes. There's Irish chicken supreme. There are slow-cooked beef cheeks. There's roast hake and sour broths. What more do you need?

Nu Delhi is a twist of the subcontinent in the midst of Belfast. It's a big, 100-cover restaurant with a place smack dab on Great Victoria Street, in the city centre. You should find that easy to walk to from both City Hall and the Cathedral Quarter.

Be ready to be wowed by the bold and boisterous colour schemes. It's all rich purples and fiery reds, punctuated here and there by copper Buddha statues and Bollywood art. The menu brings much-loved British curries – tikka masala, among others – along with more traditional vegetarian dishes like aloo gobhi, daal tadka.

The Pizza Guyz are purveyors of deep-pan Americana pies that do both dine-in and take-out options. The restaurant makes its home far from the baying crowds of the Belfast centre, in the down-to-earth suburb of Andersonstown on the cusp of the Black Mountain.

The menu is prime causal dining. Dough ball starters with garlic butter can be followed up with 12-inch, thick-crust creations with all manner of toppings. Perhaps it's a night for a Mighty Meat Deluxe that's packed with chicken, ham and salami? Or will it be the Hot and Spicy, which comes with chilli and tingly pepperoni?

The Lantern is firmly established as one of the most coveted pre-theatre dining spots in the core of Belfast. The location is just about perfect for chowing down prior to a show at the Grand Opera House or Ulster Hall, both of which are under 10 minutes' walk away.

The charms start on the outside since The Lantern occupies an eye-catching space in a glorious Art Deco building. There are zingy green filigrees above the door and exquisite ceramic murals strewn on high. The food is unashamedly regional, with Irish burger patties and sirloin steaks in pepper sauce to name just 2 options.