The Perch

This is a really pretty little bar hidden away on the sixth floor of a building in the centre of the city.
It has a beautiful garden and bird themed interior with little birdcages and empty liquor bottles adorning the ceiling, it certainly fits the name ‘The Perch’!
Be prepared to climb a good few flights of stairs to get there but it will all be worth it in the end to sit back and relax with some lovely cocktails.

A return customer and enjoyed my visit just as much as the first. Very friendly and helpful staff and an excellent drinks selection from the cocktail menu to a nice little choice on tap all reasonably priced. Such a beautiful bar, nothing is missed in the décor so if it’s a quiet night over a couple of drinks there’s plenty to look at and keep you entertained.

The Perch is a relatively new establishment in Belfast and is one place you should visit if you are looking for a different experience. This bar is part of the China White /​Sweet Afton complex
Located 2 minutes away from Belfast’s City Hall, the Perch is located on the roof-​top of the building where China White is located. You walk thought following the large paint sign that leads you to an elevator. There are stairs for the those who are claustrophobic, but you may get your gym gear on as its a long way up. For those less keen to use the stairs there is an elevator that is manned by a Lift man who will operate the doors etc for you.
When you arrive at the top the first thing you will notice is just how big the bar is. The bar is separated into two halves (Outside and Semi-​Inside).
We chose to sit outside (in the middle of winter) and where lucky enough to get a seat. The perch supplied fleecy blankets for us which was a nice touch. I would love to come back here in the summer when its a bit warmer. Despite best efforts to have drink the only thing i could think about was just how cold it was. I should also point out that there are heat lamps placed throughout the outside area, but not enough to counteract the chill.
The bar offers a great selection of wines, beers & spirits as you would hope for. This was a true new experience for me and i will definitely be back. This is a great spot for socialising and catching up. If you are looking for something different you should check this place out, just dress appropriately for the time of year.

Umbrellas in a rooftop bar don’t quite cut it for the Belfast rain
Such a pity coz i love this bar

All my friends have been talking about how good this place was so last night I went to see what the fuss was about and as soon as I walked in I seen why. The place is fantastic, brilliant lay out with a good atmosphere! As its a roof top bar it gets pretty chilly but not to worry as they supply blankets for you! You can have a few drinks in there and later in the night you could head down stairs to China white if your looking for more of a club scene! Highly recommended!

Loved this new little gem! Brilliant service, very friendly and helpful staff. Loved the different cocktails they make. Only thing is you have to walk up lots and lots of stairs but trust me it is definitely worth it all … amazing place! Xx

I’m definitely a fan of The Perch — I’ve been about 3 or 4 times now and I’ve really enjoyed it! The drinks are great — I’d recommend that you try the jugs of sangria-​typed cocktails (don’t be put of by Sangria — I hate Sangria) they are delicious!
The bar itself is located on the 6^th floor so be prepared to walk up six flights of stairs (there is a lift but it takes forever) but it’s definitely worth the walk!
Each time I’ve been the weather has been nice although if it was raining I don’t think you would enjoy it just as much!

Be prepared to walk up about seven flights of stairs (there’s a lift too) but what awaits you is well worth the trek. The Perch oozes class, there’s a mix match of furniture that gives it character despite it being brand new. Take note its an outside bar so it does get chilly but they have you covered, literally, they have wee blankets to keep you warm.
The drinks are excellent. Make sure you get one of their sangria jugs. They are tasty but very alcoholic. They cost £25 but there’s ample booze for four people.
They have music playing so it makes an ideal place to begin or end your evening.

I went on opening week, big and busy. Lovely décor and singing birds on arrival. Friendly staff even when very overworked making cocktails to a huge crowd. Comfy seats and lots of different seated sections. Only been once after and seemed again like after work drinks for late 20’s plus and then lots of younger people came around 9.30pm. Semi casual dress.

The Perch is an intriguing place, with it being a roof top bar, you would walk right past it on the street but, once you are ferried up in a lift, birds tweeting through speakers as you go, you enter a small oasis. A covered bar area and then a little garden littered with tables and benches to sit around. Perfect for the summer, but it will be interesting to see how it fairs in the winter. The staff are very keen, and they were on hand to give out brollys or a blanket I f it got cold.
Unfortunately the first time I visited here it was teaming it down (good old NI summer) but it didn’t dampen our spirits.
We found a few seats at the bar (which was lucky, the place was packed for a Saturday afternoom). And settled down to work our way through the cocktail list.
Whoever designed their drinks list is clearly passionate about it l, one thing that sticks out is the verity of gin and tonics, I recommend «The Botinist» with an elderflower tonic.
Their cocktail choices are limited but they are quality cocktails, the Negroni in particular was delicious. Rang no between £7 and £9 you get what you pay for.
I’ll definitely be returning, they do light bites from what I’ve heard and would be interested to try these on my next visit.

This is getting 4 stars for the setting and décor mainly– love how cute it is and has a proper theme running throughout. A lovely setting to go casual or dressed up and right by town. Loved the gin menu with a lot of different options, also asked a barman what gin they had and what would be nice with it. His response was a knowledgable answer and a delicious Tanqueray 10, fever tree tonic and berries– happy with that. Only difficulty is actually getting a drink and a seat but hey that’s a busy bar for you. In the words of Arnie…

We tried to go here this evening as I was keen to try it out, however a rather rude and picky bouncer on the door stopped myself and my husband and said he couldn’t let us in as we were too ‘casual’. Now considering it was 6pm on a week night and it’s a bar, not a club, we were quite surprised that we had to dress up to get in for a drink. It suggests that it is a pretentious bar with rude picky staff and I certainly have no interest in trying to go back. If they’re so keen so turn away custom because of how we dress, then we’re happy to take our custom elsewhere!

My wife and I checked out The Perch last night. Looks great to be fair. Pint of draught Blue Moon was £4.50 which I thought was reasonable. Lift available or you can take the stairs. Plenty of bar staff on duty. Mixed crowd of people. I would guess the average age was 30. Nice place for a drink before moving on for dinner. We will definitely return.

Never heard of this bar … Believe it’s not long open… Very impressed! Been advised its very busy at the weekend but there was a nice atmosphere for a Monday tea time
For a light bite, a few cocktails and some bubbles :) hidden gem!

Love The Perch. Such a cool wee spot right in the centre of Belfast.
Everything from the entrance to the seating has a fun, light element to it.
The food is quite nice (if a little on the pricey side) and the drinks selection is quite good.

It all started off so promisingly. I was initially enjoying The Perch, thinking what a great spot it was, if a little gaudy in design — it’s basically a newly opened rooftop bar located in Franklin Street, above Chinawhite and Rita’s. Then it all went downhill, literally from the very first drink!
Unfortunately the service at the bar is terrible. It’s one of those spots with what seem like dozens of bar staff, yet you still stand at the bar for 30 minutes being ignored before you’re served! This is the case even when it’s not actually very busy, as we visited on an early Saturday afternoon. Ironically, there are also dozens of waitresses walking around the floor, lifting glasses and looking bored. However the ‘waitresses’ won’t get you a drink from the bar, despite the fact they look like they’ve nothing to do! You need to go to the bar to order both your own food and drink.
In addition, after having stood at the bar for 30 minutes waiting on an overpriced bottle of Prosecco, I had the misfortune of listening to an obnoxious, rude barman arguing with another customer over whether she ordered 2 glasses of water or 2 glasses of Captain Morgan! She did actually order 2 glasses of water — I was standing beside her and heard her clearly!
The drink is standard enough, however we also sampled some truly terrible ‘cocktail type’ things. Watery, bitter concoctions in which the fruit, syrup and whatever else they consisted of floated to the bottom of the glass. We obtained some food — a couple of halloumi and vegetable skewers and while the food itself was good enough the cooking method wasn’t! Everything’s cooked on a large BBQ, from which wafts huge amount of smoke. Your eyes sting, the fire alarm was constantly going off and you’ll come away with your clothes stinking of smoke. Also the portion sizes are a bit miserable as well — snacks rather than a filling meal.
It may be newly opened but I don’t think the issues are teething problems. It’s just an awful, pretentious, gaudy place filled with artificial grass, insufferable staff, poor cocktails, BBQ smoke and deplorable service. Wild horses couldn’t drag me back to this bar!