Il Pirata

As a native of this area I’m usually spoilt for choice when it comes to popping out for a bite but I arranged an early Friday evening mate date recently and made a point of checking out Il Pirata for the first time– it was well overdue!
When we arrived circa 6pm on a Friday evening we were the only table seated which I was surprised at but it did fill up very quickly after our arrival. I’d highly recommend if you’re heading for a weekend visit to make a reservation.
We went straight for the drinks menu and enquired as to what was included in a few of the cocktails as the menu didn’t actually state the ingredients. Surprisingly it took 3 staff members before we got an answer (?)
However when the drinks did arrive they were delicious and very generous.
The menu is as you would expect from an Italian restaurant: pastas, pizzas etc. I did find the menu a little hard to understand as it seems to be divided up into sections in a rather strange way but in the end we decided upon a selection of starters/​small plates rather than a huge feed but boy did we judge the portion sizes wrong. Don’t do this unless you’ve starved yourself for a few days!
The food was fresh, tasty and beautifully presented.
Dinner for two and four cocktails came to around £65 which is decent enough for a large feed and some booze heavy drinks.
I’d certainly visit Il Pirata again and I’m sorry it had taken me so long to visit in the first place.

Love this place. Large space inside.
Staff are super friendly and helpful. They know their stuff when you ask about the menu.
Had food lust over my friends meal. It’s was super tender creamy pork chops. And her gnocchi side was lush. I could eat their starters and side alone and not even look at the mains.
Would like to try their desserts.

Fresh, clean funky food! With a great atmosphere to go with the food! Love this place– Great with friends. family or romantic date nights! If you love to mix and match your food and have nibbles this is the place for you!

One of the best italian meals we’ve ever had ! The place was modern and stylish, the staff was nice, and the food was original and delicious. The carbonara pasta was the best for a reasonable price of 9,50 £. We went on a saturday night and it was busy, sometimes a bit noisy, but we found a table for two without any problem. Definitely a place to go back to ! Make sure to tip as it is not included.

Lovely food at reasonable prices. The only reason I’m not giving Il Pirata a full 5 stars is because I think they should offer more vegetarian options. Staff are attentive and pleasant. The breads with oil and balsamic is fantastic in terms of taste and value for money. Overall a lovely Italian restaurant, it’s just a pity I don’t live closer to it!

Visited Il Pirata for a leisurely lunch today and thoroughly enjoyed it. A lovely, relaxed restaurant with top class service from attentive waiting staff.
Unfortunately they don’t offer a separate, dedicated Vegetarian menu like their sister restaurant Coppi. However Il Pirata do offer a few good, clearly marked Vegetarian options on their standard menu.
The food was phenomenal, being extremely delicious, reasonably priced and consisting of generous portion sizes. I cannot fault a single thing and will be recommending Il Pirata to everyone.

Visitied Il Pirata with my other half as we wanted to try somewhere new.
First impressions, the interior is spacious, light, airy and tastefully decorated, we could choose where we wanted to sit, and water was quickly brought to the table.
We then studied the menu and both found it very confusing to understand what the food being offered actually was, headings were in Italian which didn’t help — obviously they are an Italian restaurant but we don’t tend to speak much Italian in Belfast. It was also very repetitive, same toppings for Pizza were also offered as part of pasta, so really the menu was quite restrictive.
It took quite a while for someone to take our order, when the food finally came, it was reasonably nice but there wasn’t very much of it.
From this experience and in my humble opinion, I don’t rate it as one of the best that Ballyhackamore has to offer!

Outstanding authentic italian! The portions look small but when i tucked into the spiced pork and sausage ragu my mind was blown! Flavour by the bucket load! Loved every second

Had my first whole goat leg in here. Was pretty tasty. Typical modern layout, which is nice but can often feel a little lacking in personality. The food, much like Coppi, is very tasty and satisfying. Nice menu, something a little different.

Possibly the best Italian restaurant in Belfast. Excellent value for lunch and an interesting and varied evening menu. Always busy which means service can sometimes be a bit slow but the food more than makes up for it.
Parking is difficult so take a taxi and enjoy sampling the wine and cocktail menu

I don’t know why it’s there before it was there the KFC was better than it, the menu wasn’t in detail of what the food was on the menu and when you asked for help with it small, big and large portion and that was it know help at all are, time was wasted so we went across the road to eat not be back there…

Love this place. As authentic Italian as you can get in Belfast; I know this because I took my Italian friend there and she confirmed this!
Don’t come here expecting spag Bol and sloppy pizzas!
The menu is great whether you’re looking for a light bite or a few courses and it changes regularly so not to becoming boring.
There’s a lovely atmosphere, quite a rustic décor and tables are well spaced.
The service is friendly, laid back and unintrusive.
The food is gorgeous too

Nil Parata!
Apologies for the less than glowing review but based on my experience its justified. We first visited Il Pirata when it first opened a few years ago and were really impressed. Albeit a few years later we decided that we would head back — it will definitely be the last time we visit for sometime.
It was a Sunday evening and «No we hadn’t booked!» — apparently booking in this place is the only option (despite the 6 empty tables) and the number of people that were quizzed the moment they walked through the door. I do feel that there are softer ways of welcoming people rather than an inqusition from the maître d’hôtel. We were told 30 mins wait, which given that we hadn’t booked was acceptable. We sat at the large central table that looks like its sole purpose is to have people sit an stare at other patrons who have a table. I find this concept rather odd as this table is enough to sit at least 12 people!
After 15 mins we were approached by a waitress who asked if we fancied anything to drink while we waited and then asked if we where comfortable to eat where we were sat. We accepted. The menu seems great, if you are an Italian connoisseur — but as the typical bloke from the east of the city, i had to take to google to understand what half the menu items are.
We ordered a pizzetta to share, which arrived before our drinks. The waitress who brought the food, took our drinks order again. After the pizza to share we sat for a further 30mins waiting for our mains to arrive and when they did they where pretty lack-​luster. The chicken i ordered was incredibly tough to cut and the garlic potatoes where drenched with salt.
The overall experience was pretty poor in my opinion and the food wasn’t great either. I feel that Il Pirata could do with a friendlier greeting to the restaurant and focus on a quicker turnover of it tables.
Note: It took the wait staff the full hour we where there to turnover a larger table made up of 3 4 seated tables, beside the window — but yet couldn’t seat anyone for 30mins… This just drives me crazy — i’m impressed that local restaurants like this can afford to turn people away.

I had cause to attend a friends birthday here recently and wasn’t quite sure what to expect as I had heard both favourable and not so favourable reports but I was very pleasantly surprised by the meal, given how many of us were dining! We communally shared a number of starters, all of which were flavourful and satisfying, setting the anticipation for the main event. I opted for monkfish, which was fantastic, but tried some of the other mains from around the table which were equally as good and judging from the noises being made from everyone else I wasn’t the only one to enjoy what had been ordered. We didn’t opt for dessert as we were more than satisfied with what we had. The interior of the restaurant was bright and spacious and the staff lovely! I’ll be back as Arnie would say!

Another fantastic restaurant in Ballyhackamore. I am a big fan of Italian cuisine and of cocktails — Il Pirata delivers on both of these!
I’ve been in for lunch twice in the last two weeks, once mid week week and another on a busy Saturday afternoon (in addition to many past visits for lunch and dinner!) There is a wide range if food on offer. If you’re unsure what to get, make sure you try the chichetti, small plates. I haven’t had a bad one yet. If you’re not quite as adventurous, the staff are very knowledgeable on the menu and very happy to offer a recommendation.

Wow wow wow. Great food and customer service at a reasonable price.
Rustic Italian is the theme and the décor really sets the tone for this. I ordered a flat white coffee to accompany my meal, which to be honest isn’t my usual choice of drink with food.
In the way to the table the server spilt a tiny bit of the coffee in my saucer, he apologised and whisked it away to be replaced by a freshly made cup! I had no problem with the first serving but it’s clear these guys take a serious amount of pride in what they are doing. Which, is quite impressive, as it’s so rare in Belfast.
Salami Pizza was cooked well and I enjoyed every bite thanks to a great tomato sauce to cheese ratio.
Lastly I would like to confess that I did not have enough change to leave a proper tip. I explained to the guys I will make it up the next time I visit. There will definitely be another visit!

The Upper Newtownards Road is a hive of restaurants and coffee shops so you’ve got to do something really special to stand out from the crowd, or so you’d think. But Il Pirata is chic and understated — from the outside there is no hint at what is behind the heavy stained glass door — you could easily walk passed without even giving it a second glance but that would be a mistake.
Inside there is a reclaimed feel to this hip Italian. The furniture is all made from rich oak and the walls are paneled with what looks like up-​cycled wood. This creates a real authentic rustic feel.
The menu is typical Italian with all the usual suspects listed — you’ve got pizza’s. pasta dishes, risotto as well as piatto. I actually opted for the Calzone of the day which at £5 was a bargain (Monday to Friday lunchtime special). It was filled with cheese and mixed Italian meats and was just the right size to ensure that the afternoon isn’t spent in a food coma. The calzone was served on a wooden board which actually made sense as I was able to cut through the doe without the fear of making porcelain shriek.
The service was second to none — the food was on our table no more than 10 minutes after ordering and the waiter even replaced a coffee he spilt a tiny bit of, even after we insisted that it was fine.
To me this is the perfect place for a quick working lunch — the food is light and relatively health and they have lunchtime deals on which make it value for money. I also noticed that they serve draft lager and there was wine listed on their menu.
I will definitely be back — there was a lovely relaxed vibe and the Italian food was as good as I’ve tasted in Belfast.

By far my favourite place to eat in the whole city. Chichetti, small plates and beautiful pasta dishes. My favourites from the small section include mushroom arancini, gnocchi with goat’s cheese and caponata, crispy whitebait with lemon aioli and from the mains you can’t beat the unmissable carbonara or the beautiful spiced Italian sausage dish. For dessert try the affogato (ice cream, espresso & amaretto in a cup) and the French martini from the cocktail menu makes a great apperitif! Haven’t had a bad meal yet!