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Ive only ever had it in a bottle so i've nothing to compare it to, love the stuff tho!

Back in the 80s when only hilden beers where around the linenhall in linenhall street was the place to go,have not being to belfast in a long time so do not know if it still is a great place.

"DEMPSEY":2wlkzks7 wrote: do not know if it still is a great place.[/quote:2wlkzks7]I don't think it's even a place any more. Strolling along Linenhall Street[/url:2wlkzks7] there's barely a building that's more than 15 years old, and no pubs that I can see.

I did a guide for a mate visiting a while ago, so Im gonna be lazy and cut and paste the contents of that email;

Pubs
clicky-de-click[/url:25ez0p24]

Id recommend the following (not in any particular order)
The Garrick - good fun and a decent bottle range with some interesting specials
The Spaniard - tiny (smaller than the small Ron Blacks on Dawson st) - not a great selection of cask ale tho!
Duke of York - old school style pub with lots of young ones - upstairs is the Belfast equivalent of SlapperFaces (in terms of ease of scoring)
Downstairs is fine for a beer and a bit of craic
John Hewitt - nice bar with Kolstryker on tap!
Kellys Cellar - really retro decor (like 1940s!!!)
The Crown - full of tourists, and generally not impressed by the barstaff - they do have cask ale tho!
Laverys - central bar nice and handy
The Botanic Inn - studenty
The House - bit poncy (think coctail bar) but not on the same level as Ron Blacks or Cafe InSane
The Kitchen - newly redecorated - nice enough
Whites Tavern - nice place for a quiet pint and a chat
The Morning Star - good pubgrub but a bit pricy
Avoid the Bridge House, Benedicts, and the Beaten Docket (all dodgy), Cafe Vaudiville (unless you like talking indeterminably about how you bought your Porche 944 cos that was the one that you actually wanted, and you didnt really want a 911, and Jeremy Clarksons a tosser, and....) and under no circumstances go into the Royal bar (massively loyalist)

Food
Generally you'll be shocked by the price and the quality (in comparison to Dublin)

Tao Noodle - good grub in the centre of town for less than a tenner!!
Laverys - pub grub - nothing fancy but plenty of it
Villa Italia - Really good - go here if you like Italian
Gingerroot - good oriental food
Mollys Yard - foods grand, but I mostly went here for the beer on tap!

"Irish Party Ale":22agvm47 wrote: under no circumstances go into the Royal bar (massively loyalist)[/quote:22agvm47]Yeah? They hide that quite sneakily[/url:22agvm47].

I don't think anybody has mentioned bittles bar yet, here some blurb about it from a website.

Beautiful old bar, narrow as a fish tank, in a building off Victoria Square. Walls and drapes are dark green and hung with bright oils of literary figures that bring it to life. Clientele ranges from old and wise to office types after work, and then trendy scensters pile in late on as a DJ plays disco until dawn. Try a sweet-hot whisky with lemon and cloves and dream that your horse is coming in. This is Belfast's best kept secret.

Its right beside the kitchen bar, its in that disctincive clothes iron shaped building, its a grand place with loads of different whiskeys, and real ales on tap and in bottle, love this comment from the potato head that marked it down.

[b:16sa1v6j]"What a horrible bar. Been in it twice and I wont be in it thrice. First time I was there the beer from the fridges was warm. When I asked for a cold bottle I was told all the beer was that temperature (get some new fridges then!)"[/b:16sa1v6j]