Maddens Bar

My husband and I accidentally went to Madden’s while looking for Kelly Cellars on our honeymoon. (um– we were on our 4^th or 5^th pub that night…) This place rules! Wonderful singers, down home atmosphere and down to earth, welcoming people. Lot’s of Bob Dillon and Hank Williams songs were song along with wonderful Irish Ballads. We got really drunk and I left my purse with ALL OF MY MONEY and my passport and credit cards at the bar! The next day we found our way back and my purse was left for me with a note that said «American Girl left this. Passport and Cash inside. She was with an Eddie Izzard look a like» (My husband looks almost exactly like Eddie Izzard:) I will go back to this place every time I’m in Belfast! Thank you Maddens!

Spectacular.
This little off-​the-​beaten-​path bar is quite the find in Belfast. Non-​touristy and incredibly local, you’ll see all sorts of Catholic Nationalist wall decorations. The atmosphere has just the right amount of grunge and there is live Irish music every night. I loved this place! The one thing that would have given it a 5 star rating would be if it had had a fireplace. The night I went there most recently it was chilly outside and the chill swept inside a bit.

Spent a couple evenings here two weeks ago! Loved it! Had a great time! Enjoyed the atmosphere, the music and the company.
Upon approaching though, I told the cab driver I thought perhaps I shouldn’t go in. It looked a bit fierce. «no, it’s a great place; you’ll have lot’s of fun.» he told me. Then he called over the doormen – three very tall men and introduced me to them. He told them my name and told them to take care of me I was an American. I exited the cab and the driver took off!
Next I was informed by the «doormen» that I had to answer their question properly or I wouldn’t be buzzed in.“wait!” I said. There was no mention of this when the cabbie was at Maddens Bar! They said it’s alright, I just had to answer a question properly. (yikes!)“great, ask away!” I said. Their question was «how are you with sarcasm?» I laughed A huge laugh! I had this one I said. My answer? I do well With sarcasm, as a mother of four, it’s a service my children provide for free!” They laughed and said I would do fine. They buzzed me in and I had a lovely time for the rest of the evening talking with a widower named Sean and some of his family.
Being from the States sarcasm is actually an art form few are good at, yet those that are – are cherished! Go to Madden’s have a great time, order the Carlsberg, listen to the music and laugh lot’s! Lovely place! Enjoy it! I did! Even if I am just a daft American. Lol!

Maddens serves the best pint of Guinness in Belfast. I know it is a big claim but having dedicated many hours of hands-​on research into the subject I have consistently reached this conclusion.
The Guinness here is so good that I would advise that you don’t have any dinner before you go so that you have plenty of room to accommodate the grandeur of these pints. It may sound like I am promoting irresponsible drinking but in fact I am promoting really good drinking.
The atmosphere here is electric when the traditional session kicks off upstairs. It is full of regulars, not so regular locals and people from all over the globe who are given a cead mile failte. Not so welcoming is the buzzer on the door to get in — a hangover from the days of conflict when city centre bars where being sprayed with bullets — but don’t be put off by this. It may even have been retired by now.

Sometimes work gets too hard and you just have to chill and relax over a beautifully chilled and tasty pint. Well, most of my day consisted of this (it’s a hard life I know, well someone has to do it!) and so my friend and I found ourselves in the great wee Irish style pub that is Maddens. Now it’s not a place that I would visit regularly, I’d never been on a quiet day, any other time it was jam packed and we couldn’t get a seat, but calling in on a damp afternoon made the place seem like a veritable heaven. As we ordered two very beautiful Harp Ice Colds and a tub of hot nuts (Bonus points there!) we sat down in the corner and took in all the memorabilia around the cosy wee pub. I laughed at the Madden’s Irish Pub t-​shirt from Amsterdam (I stayed right next door to this place last time I was there and never made the connection!) there’s also a mix of Irish dancing fliers as well as the ad for Irish language class held there every week, there couldn’t be a better place to hold it! All in all Maddens is a great if small bar located centrally in town and would be the best craic on St Paddy’s Day etc. Slowly becoming a winner in the best pub stakes (at £3 a pint I think it’s the cheapest I’ve found too!)

Maddens bar is a craicin’ wee spot for a few day time jars and a bit of banter with the staff and the collection of crazy locals they pull in.
Had a great Sunday night here recently after a fun-​filled and Guinness filled weekend.
The Volcanic Ash cloud of May 2010 had grounded a load of our English friends in Belfast. They had been over for a 30^th birthday party and couldn’t get home. So we decided to show them a real authentic Irish bar.
They were a bit bemused by all the ‘dirty lady’ shops near by and the door buzzer to get in, but once inside and settled down to a nice cold pint of the black stuff everyone was happy.
There was a big crowd of us and because the bar is very small we were kind of taking over with our loud laughing and story-​telling. Weirdly and quite suddenly a bunch of musicians seems to appear mysteriously in the corner and began pumping out the traditional Irish tunes.
Other customers began to tell us to keep quiet!
From then on in we had to have quiet craic, which is no craic but, on the plus side, the English folk loved the traditional music and the whole Irish charm of the evening.

Tim C’s review on Madden’s was pretty much spot on, except that I’d give it four stars.
There are a few points that another Unilocaler made that need clarification. This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, anything even remotely approaching a «porn» district. Madden’s is in an area that was known as Smithfield, before it was separated from the Smithfield Market area by CastleCourt shopping centre (see my review on CastleCourt). There are, I think, two shops selling adult material at the opposite end of CastleCourt — the opposite end. Nowhere even in the line of site of Madden’s. If CastleCourt was closed, it would take you about five minutes to walk to them.
«Porn» district can also have other connotations, for example, ladies of the night. I’m not saying that this is what the author was implying, I’m merely clearing up anything that might possibly be misconstrued or misinterpreted in anyway. If there were any such ladies in this area, I’d be happy to carry out a Unilocal review! (although I’d have to take issue with the policy of not receiving services for free in return for a good review…)
The only activity you’ll find around here late at night is from the bustling pubs that are the excellent Madden’s, and the nearby Kelly’s Cellars (another good pub), and the odd black taxi picking up people leaving the town (see my Black Taxis review) — that is it.
Incidentally, the buzzer on the door is a remnant from the troubled past in Belfast city centre when security was a much greater issue.

As one of my friends put it — there’s so much Craic in this place it’s like an explosion of Craic. A veritable Craic-​atoa.
Yes, this bar is located in a part of town called Smithfield. I also have another name for this part of town. I call it the «Porn District» as there are a lot of shops of that nature in the area. I think it just lends to the charm.
The best part of Maddens is the door buzzer that you have to ring before you go in. Makes you feel like some part of a special club.
The music here is fast and lively. They have some planned music nights, but also musicians will just show up spontaneously and start jamming. Buy them a pint or two and they might even play one of your favorites.
They also have Irish language and dance lessons here occasionally. Check the signs and chalkboards around the bar for the exact night and times.
Yeah, it’s not the cleanest pub in the world. And the seats are really small. Maybe they’re built for the Leprechauns. But Madden’s is a great place to catch a little bit of local culture.

Maddens Bar is the type of place that you call into with the intention of having a casual drink and end up leaving several pints later, whistling a jig and wondering where all the sunlight has gone… or at least it is for me! It is situated just beside the Castle Court shopping centre in town, which is handy if your looking for a place to escape from screaming children and crazy shoppers!
Maddens is a no frills traditional pub and doesnt pretend to be anything other than what it is. It is quite small, so sometimes finding a seat or table may be a problem. But dont let this put you off. With live music on every night of the week, including some very lively Irish trad. sets, Maddens has a warm, relaxed atmosphere that after a few beers, almost makes you feel like you’re in the front room in a friends’ house.
With a bar that serves good beer and keeps a good variety of drinks in the fridges, served by friendly staff, Maddens is a good alternative to other city centre pubs and you’ll generally find a good nights craic waiting for you if you decide to head there!