Kelly’s Cellars

I love this little place whenever it’s not that busy!!! It’s a small bar so it can get very over crowded very quickly (which I don’t like) but if it’s quiet I could sit all night because of its good atmosphere. Can be very cold aswel so make sure to wrap up!

Trad Irish pub, great pints and hot toddies. Usual to find musicians playing away and it’s warm cosy and old school inside. It gets busy and has a wonderful outdoor area. very central and welcoming.

Kelly’s Cellars is a lovely, traditional, Irish pub which is quaint, cosy and quirky serving a full range of beers and spirits. You’ll find whitewashed walls, roaring fires, traditional Irish music, chatter, laughter, noise and plenty of atmosphere in Kelly’s. They also serve food though I’ve never actually eaten here, I’ve only visited for drinks. There’s outside seating which is nice to lounge in over the summer months. I have always found Kelly’s to be very busy any time I’ve visited and thus sometimes unfortunately haven’t managed to get a seat. Definitely worth a visit however to soak up the music, history and great ambiance.

I loved Kelly’s Cellars! Exactly the type of evening I needed for this short weekend in Belfast. And Smithwicks on tap??? It made my day (my evening, my weekend and the following Monday.) Smithwicks is definitely one thing that is missing in my life in France!
A beautiful pub, friendly staff, a very Irish atmosphere, good live music on a Saturday night, this particular smell you can’t find anywhere else in the world. I’ll be back.

Great local bar with rough and ready Belfast craic. Locals love it as much as the tourists.

Located in the city centre Kelly cellars is one of the best bars in Belfast. It has a very tradional Irish atmosphere. Drinks are very reasonable and there is indoor and outdoor seating. I went with 3 people and had an amazing time, everyone was very talkative and there is a great vibe, would highly recommend this bar to anyone, we all had a great time

Kelly’s Cellars has a very different character from the old school mirrored and panelled pubs I otherwise visited in Belfast — it’s subterranean and a little more alternative. The staff were good and the whole atmosphere is friendly, although it’s very loud so the old man I was with struggled to hear what was going on (is the old man me? maybe). Worth a visit if you’re having dinner in Mourne’s next door, or to hear some live music.

A bar that is trying to be a typical Irish bar. We where there on a wet Saturday afternoon and the bar was packed. The usual array of drinks and walls covered in Irish stuff.
Bad point was how hard it was to get a seat inside, the guys playing instruments where a great touch but took up a good bit of room.
Good points was the rather large covered area outside for over flow.
A good bar if you are looking for an «Irish» bar real close to the centre of town.

My favorite pub in Belfast — maybe the oldest, and looks it. Its age is part of its charm, and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into history (pitchcapping!?!). Guinness and Smithwicks on tap. Nice «beer garden» in the square outside. Lots of locals, and the craic rolls on. Music most nights.
Didn’t try the food, but Mourne Seafood next door is excellent.

If you’ve never heard of Kelly’s Cellars the only way you’d find it is by accident.
Hidden down behind Tescos and the side of the Castle Court shopping centre, Kelly’s is a proper Irish pub. It is dark and dirty (not unhygienic, just dirty) in just the right way. You won’t find any fancy cocktails or poncy gastro-​pub lunches. You can have stew and like it. Or maybe a toastie, if you are lucky.
If you are looking for a cosy spot though just off the beaten track to drink pints and have the craic it is perfect.

Great traditional Irish atmosphere and music. Best bar in NI for a fun Saturday night.

Toastie + boozy coffee for a fiver? Oh yes.
Grand central Belfast pub. Black inside, gold writing, pints of Guinness and Smithwick’s and all. A good dirty boozer with tables outside for sitting in the rain.
And they’ll do toasties + a boozy coffee for a fiver. These aren’t the best toasties, and only decent coffee, but it still goes down a treat, and the Paddy helps you forget the sandwich’s lack of flavour.

Très bonne ambiance!!!

This was our favourite pub in Belfast. Great atmosphere and cool, slightly hidden location. I’m not sure what drove one of the previous reviewers to suggest that it was unfriendly. We had no problem striking up conversation with regulars. Regular beer selection for Belfast, but fantastic vibe more than makes up for that.

Strange one this. The bar itself has that low-​ceilinged ‘oirish’ charm to it and there’s definitely a no-​nonsense approach to the service and drinking. However what lets the place down is that anytime I’ve been there the atmosphere always seems slightly tense and a bit ‘down’. I know the cliché is for Irish bars to have a bit of a jolly, banter-​led vibe to them but this is sadly lacking in Kelly’s.
Having said that, if you’re in a larger group of people you can always make your own fun and the drinks are solid and well priced. I must admit I’ve never spent much drinking time in here, normally moving on next door for food or to another bar. Way back in the mists of time I did attend a gig in the upstairs where some brave soul was attempting to start a new ‘indie club’. From what I recall the gig was a disaster and the club didn’t catch on at all.
Pros: Good drinks.
Cons: Weird vibe.

I was here for a pint recently meeting a friend after work. We were after a quick pint before going out. It was a sunny day so we sat outside. The crowd were a bit rough to be honest. I’m not one to judge but it did look like Kelly’s has seen it’s fair share of bar brawls.
Inside is all low ceilings and very dark and dinghy. The bar woman had a no fuss attitude about her and they served Kopparberg so I was happy.
We sat outside at one of the picnic tables. There were groups of men on their 40’s downing pints of Guinness and playing old Irish tunes on a guitar. There were also some women who had really bad haircuts. I’m talking 80’s mullets. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. Luckily I didn’t get beaten up.
I can see how the place does have a certain amount of quaint Irish charm and it does remind me of some of those type of bars in Temple Bar down in Dublin, so maybe it was just the crowd on that particular day I was there. Oh and the ladies toilet was minging!

There’s not much to add here that hasn’t already been said. However, I would like to attempt to clear up a few things for visitors to Belfast regarding where the «oldest bar» in Belfast is — we wouldn’t want a load of visitors returning to their home countries and claiming they’d all been to the oldest bar in Belfast, with some having been to Kelly’s Cellars, some to White’s Tavern, and others to McHugh’s. So here goes…
It depends on your definition. McHugh’s is Belfast’s oldest building, but it’s apparently uncertain as to what year it actually became a pub — it’s been suggested that this was in the mid-​18^th century. As far as I recall, the records don’t go back far enough to verify that it’s the oldest bar in Belfast, but it’s the oldest building. White’s Tavern has the oldest liquor license in Belfast but, as correctly reported by another Unilocaler, the business moved premises, presumably some time after Kelly’s Cellars opened.
— White’s had the first license
— McHugh’s is the oldest building
— It’s probable that Kelly’s is the oldest continuously licensed premises
As I said, that’s all to the best of my knowledge, and it will depend on you definition of the term «oldest bar». For my money, it’s probably Kelly’s, but visitors should have a pint in all three, just to make sure their bases are covered.

We came here after a few pints in town because we wanted to somewhere which had a bit of traditional music and some Guinness. To find a place like Kelly’s Cellars which seems like it has been lifted straight out of Temple Bar in Dublin is a real treat, because you don’t have to pay those prices.
We were greeted by someone being thrown out. That always gives me a good feeling because sometimes staff can be accused of not caring about their patrons and not throwing them out when everyone else in the bar knows they should be.
We sat outside with the smokers (which was lovely) and drank our pints (which were lovely) and had the craic (which again was lovely). We ended up staying longer than we had planned which I suppose is a good thing.
Though there was a creepy old man who watched everyone as they walked past and paid particular attention to any person that was wearing a short skirt. That’s a bit unnerving in my book and I suppose you can’t be arrested for looking but if he did it to the wrong person then it could end up in a bit of an argument.
Not to take away from the place, it is a great night out and the staff really make it an enjoyable place to be.

Kelly’s Cellar really is the cliché of everything you expect when you think of an Irish pub! Its got fantastic live music most nights, cheap great tasting beer and Good old Irish stew on offer– they even sell cockles from behind the bar!
I adore the atmosphere of the place and the minute you walk in it’s like being catapulted back in time to the traditional and lively! The décor really is something to be seen! Every nook and cranny is filled with memorabilia from old notes, beer bottles and promotional posters. You could spend the whole day in there and still be able to point out something new!
The craic, as they say, is mighty and situated in the centre of Belfast, tucked away behind castle court its central to everything in Belfast and really is the one place a visit to Belfast wouldn’t be complete without! A fantastic night out filled with live traditional music and plenty of banter!

Not the most welcoming bar I have ever been in and it was a little bit intimidating the first time I was in there if I’m honest.
The low ceilings and dark atmosphere, while being cosy, welcoming and familiar to the regulars, I found a little bit daunting and the clientelle and staff did little to really make me feel at home.
There is Irish music on most nights which lightens the atmosphere a bit and I hear the food is excellent but this place just was’nt for me but I can see why people like it with its old Irishy charms and non-​pretentious attitude.
Well priced I guess, but there would be something seriously up if this place was overcharging.

If you’re looking for a traditional Irish pub in Belfast, then you need look no further than Kelly’s Cellars! Situated just off Castle Street in the centre of town, ‘Kellys’ offers a warm, welcoming atmosphere that has customers at ease as soon they enter! With live music on every night of the week (ranging from traditional Irish to rhythm and blues) Kellys is the personification of the Irish term ‘craic agus ceol’ which literally translates as ‘fun and music’.
No matter where you’re from, or no matter what time of the day you visit, Kellys has something for everyone. If you’re unfamiliar with the pub then your attention will automatically be captured by almost everything in the décor, from the low ceilings in different parts of the bar (mind your head!), to the pictures and paintings on the wall, or even the turf fire by the door, the interior is steeped with tradition and history that will provide more than enough ammunition for an active mind!
Drinks and snacks are reasonably priced (£3 for the best pint of Guinness in town) and if you’re hungry they offer a beautiful homemade Irish stew that will settle almost any stomach!
Kellys Cellars is well worth the visit and you may find that the longer you stay the harder you find it to leave!