Queen’s Cafe Bar

This is a nice enough wee pub in Queen’s Arcade in the city centre. It’s a good place to sit for a pint and a bite to eat while you watch the shoppers and workers pass by the windows.
I had the chicken tempura in here and it was really tasty — tender chicken in a spicy batter, complemented well by the sweet chilli sauce. They do a mixture of modern dishes along with the old favourites, like burgers, fish and chips, etc. The service is good too.
It’s a clean and modern pub, with comfortable booths throughout. There’s an upstairs dining area, but you can have your food downstairs in the bar if you prefer, which most people do.
The only thing that people may feel is a minor inconvenience is that the toilets are upstairs. It’s also a place where you could lose track of time quite easily, because there’s no natural light in the pub to indicate what time of day it is. For me though, with a pint in hand, that’s a bonus!

Queens Café Bar in the Queens Arcade shopping mall has been with Belfast throughout the Troubles, one of only a few bars in the City Centre to survive the slump in trade during the 70’s and 80’s when the City Centre became a no go area by night for natives. This in itself is testament to the quality of its service, food and drink. It’s a quiet, relaxed bar, generally frequented by local tradesmen such as plumbers and office workers and the food menu is a mix of posh nosh and greasy spoon from salted chilli squid to chicken burgers. If you’re out with a group whose tastes are extremely varied, I recommend a visit to the Queens; it’s guaranteed to suit everybody.