The Dirty Onion

Big bar on the ground floor good resturant on the second floor.
We arrived just before five and were disappointed that after we’d gone over the menu it was after five and we couldnt order the burritos anymore.
I got half a chicken which was reasonably priced with chips and it was solid with some good sauces on the table for flavour. I enjoyed it and i’d definitely go back.

go here. get the boilermaker (a classy presentation of a shot of whiskey + a beer) and sit by the fireplace. you will not be disappointed.

A Cathedral Quarter gem, the problem is, everyone knows it. It’s packed Friday and Saturday, you’ll need to get in early doors, if you want a seat. Don’t get me wrong once you get in and find a seat, the warm homely rustic welcome is lovely, a roaring fire, not only feels great, but it smells great, I particularly like it at Christmas, when the lights are up! Really good selection of beers and sprits here, but as with most bars in the area, they aren’t that cheap.
They have a really good beer garden partly covered, stocked with heaters and an outdoor bar, so if you don’t mind wrapping up and staying outside for the night you’ll have a good time.
They also have a restaurant upstairs, I have never tried it, it seems to be limited to chicken and baked potatoes, perfect if that’s what you’re looking!

On our way through Belfast, I spotted the Dirty Onion on the map and laughed out loud. What a silly name! I never imagined we would eat there at all, let alone enjoy our best meal from Northern Ireland. But as strangers in a strange land, we should have been prepared for that kind of irony. We took a wrong turn and ended up downtown, realized it was early, and decided to stay for some sightseeing before heading to the apartment we had rented east of town. After wandering in and out of churches and intermittent showers, we found ourselves in a bustling, stylish corner of the city. And we were starving. And, hello, rotisserie chicken?! We were in as soon as we saw the menu.
It took a little time and ingenuity to find the restaurant, but we first went through the spacious outdoor bar (exposed beams and brushed aluminum fixtures — very cool) and then up a narrow staircase and found ourselves in a cozy space reminiscent of a diner in the Deep American South: more wood beams, rough wooden tables and jazz-​inspired décor. They were serving a special of a whole chicken, two sides and a half-​carafe of wine for £20, so we ordered chips and the avocado salad, and before long everything had arrived.
The food was fantastic. We were betting that if a place only serves one entrée, it’s going to be a great one, and sure enough the chicken was falling off the bone, moist and flavorful and even a bit spicy. There were two sauces on the table: I preferred the smoky barbeque to the sweeter chili, but both were nice. The salad was huge and fresh: chopped lettuce, avocado slices and a dressing that was, weirdly, tomato-​based — almost like salsa. It needed lots of salt and pepper, but after that we really liked it. The fries were fabulous, as they are all over Ireland — again, needed salt, but I think that’s pretty standard. Our ice-​cold Rose was a perfect compliment to the food.
The service was fine, not amazing, but I think that’s just the nature of things in the UK. It’s no Paris, for sure, but then again, Paris doesn’t have the Giant’s Causeway. :)

This is one of my favourite socialising establishments in Belfast. The large outside bar is a great place to enjoy a summer’s evening pint and if you happen to be a smoker you can enjoy a fag with a nice cold pint.
The décor is fairly industrialised with the old exposed beams and columns remaining from when the building was once a whiskey store during the early part of the last century, I personally feel this adds character to the venue.
If you don’t like the outdoors then there is a decent size bar indoors with plenty of seating and even an old open fire to keep you cosy on winter nights. Each time I have been socialising here I have noticed that the bar staff are quick to serve which is always good!
Enjoy your Dirty Onion experience… always drink sensibly

Muy buena onda de exterior muy abierto y moderno pero manteniendo estructura antigua de destilería jameson. Adentro es enorme. también y tiene una chimenea.
Cada tanto hay músicos en vivo y la selección de cervezas es muy buena. Ideal para una noche de buena temperatura y estar afuera boludeando con tus mates.
Encima la zona es re trendy, en 3 cuadras a la redonda hay una docena de lugares lindos.

The Dirty Onion is a hugely popular bar at the moment. It is a nice, quirky spot. I’ve never eaten in it but have been in a few times for drinks. I think of it as good not great. Lacks a bit of authenticity somehow — I’d much rather be in The Black Box, Duke of York or The Merchant…

The rating may be a tad harsh as my biggest issue with this gaff was the weather (and subsequent lack of walls!)… Given the February climate in Belfast a massive beer garden may not be the smartest hangout, although it’s clearly a popular joint as it didn’t seem to be putting many punters off.
An interestingly named bar of which I’m still trying to figure the relevance, if indeed there is any… Maybe I’ll head back in summer and try again.

A really nice atmosphere. The outside area is amazing, loads of heaters and loads of ledges to rest yiur pint. Was busy last night although that shouldn’t detract from an amazing bar!

I love this building. The building itself is brilliant, with it’s hipster grey paint and battered bricks and beams, and the beer garden also brilliant. I should therefore love the Dirty Onion, but I don’t.
Perhaps because it is part of the Beanchor mafia encompassing a load of venues along this street, like The Merchant, The National, that poncy club young people go to whose name I forget, Bar 66, it feels like there is a monopoly to make sure you pay loads for a drink. Or that while all the bars have a slightly different character, the staff and feel of the places are all interchangeable. I know I sound like I am moaning for nothing, but hob nobbing with tv weather presenters and guys in cashmere jumpers while paying through the nose just isn’t my bag. I’ll be in The Duke or The Spaniard instead.
I’ll finish on a high point, it has a nice fireplace. High praise indeed.

Don’t be put off by the name. The Dirty Onion is a unique kind of pub. Tucked down one of Belfast’s charming lanes, with an entrance that takes you into a large courtyard area, and then a bar tucked up a door up the back, and a restaurant serving chicken & fries (and nothing else) up the stairs above the bar, it’s quite intriguing.
I’ve been told in the evenings, the courtyard area is absolutely packed (and its a big area), and really warm even in winter because of the heat lamps. I didn’t see the inside of the downstairs bar, but the upstairs restaurant is very cosy, and that rustic, wooden furniture chic.
The menu is simple. Quarter chicken, half chicken, whole chicken. Sides of fries, coleslaw, avocado salad. Some spicy sauces. The quarter chicken I had was nice and tender, the fries tasty, the avocado salad was a lot of lettuce leaves with thin slices of avocado on top (as opposed to lots of avocado, as I had hoped). But overall, a satisfying meal.
I can tell this is a popular place to go in Belfast, and seems to have other great venues around too (I’ve been told The Spaniard is also a great bar). So, definitely one I’d go back to, and would recommend as a local-​recommended bar and eatery. So long as you like chicken!

If you’re looking for variety then The Dirty Onion is the place for you — it has a large sprawling beer garden, fully equipped with a bar and a canopy to shield patrons from the Belfast elements. Heaters are dotted around the beer garden but you’ll hardly need them on a Saturday evening as there’s enough body heat coming form the jam packed beer garden to thaw even the coldest heart. The beer garden has a unique rustic charm with the exposed brick work and beams denoting the sites past as a spirits warehouse in the mid 1700’s.
The beer garden bar was extremely busy but this is nothing out of the ordinary for a Belfast bar on a Saturday night, drinks prices were also nothing out of the ordinary. They have a huge selection of drinks in the inside bar also and the bar staff seemed knowledgeable and friendly.
The interior (downstairs) is cosy and understated with a real sense of atmosphere which is only heightened by the traditional band huddled in the corner. There’s a real joyous spirit in The Dirty Onion, a sense that the good folk of Belfast’s’ personalities have been stoked up like the open fire and their infectious warmth is now billowing throughout the premises.
Want something different this weekend? Go to The Dirty Onion, you won’t be disappointed.

Walking into the Dirty Onion you get that rustic oak wood smell that is still fresh from the breath taking framework. I have been to this bar both on a week night and the weekend, and my preference is definitely during the week for a catch up with friends. It is one of the very few bars in Belfast with a real fire to enjoy a glass of red to. It occasionally has an Irish Traditional band that gives it that extra atmosphere that tourists love.
At the weekend it can be bottleneck at entrance and moving through the inside because of the location of the bar. However it is ideal for drinking during the summer with the outside bar and spacious beer garden.
My favourite feature of this bar is the history behind the new establishment. It was once the holding house for Jameson I believe, the owners and Jameson have worked closely to offer something different to Belfast Market.