the merchant hotel in belfast

belfastgal

it looks fab .has anyone been yet ? i believe they do afternoon tea ( bit like the ritz hotel ) bet its a fortune .
Belfast seem to be really coming on up there with the rest of the big cities.
Has anyone been here yet ??

irishjohn

Hi
I went for dinner two weeks ago - I was treated!

The building is fabulous looking but a bit dark and old fashioned, and in the restaurant the seating is very heavy if you want to move your chair closer to the table.

Arrived around 7.30 and about half full - and continued to be so as some left and others arrived.

Seating well planned - never felt anyone was seated too close for comfort.

The food was goregous - beautifully cooked and presented - but potatoes and vegetables just plain cooked seasonal so the main course had to be imaginative to compensate.

Coffee was dark and bitter and not palatable at all - and no petit fours with them.

None of the staff native to Northern Ireland and with English as a foreign language they found it difficult to establish rapport - so they stood quietly and took orders then delivered food with little further comment.

The place had a hushed tone all evening and I felt the atmosphere was lacking.

One interesting point - we were sat under the central dome and chandelier and as there was heavy rain, they discovered that night that the glass dome was not water tight - we had to move tables between the main and dessert.

The bill - for two - including water and a bottle of white wine - £148 which of course included the optional 10% gratuity that is added to the bill automatically.

My mate who was paying, loved it and cannot wait to do the posh bit with his English friends coming to visit. Me? I love cooking, I love simple food, and I love entertaining and I reckon it was about £80 more than I would have liked to pay.

I am told that they do lunch for £15 - might make a nice xmas treat!!but go soon before they start the xmas lunches and charge higher prices to make you wear a paper hat and pull crackers.

Polly

I went with OH for Sat night break and at £140 per room inc breakfast it wasn't exactly cheap. All very nice and found the staff to be very friendly. Our evening was spoiled however by the noise from outside which persisted until after 3.00 am. I contacted reception at 2.00 am and they promised to get the night manager to get in touch but he did not do so. I raised it again next morning but got a 'couldn't care less' kind of response. Would def put me off going back as for that price, a good night's sleep should have been included. Didn't eat in the place - good old Potthouse across the road was just the job for a meal and drinks at much better prices.

nelliebag

I went with friends for cocktails as a bit of a treat - decor was fab - we stayed about 1 hour and found the staff v helpful so we went back after our meal elsewhere and got free coffees with our nightcaps. Didn't fancy paying £750!!!! for a g&t though - yes seven hundred and fifty pounds.

mirakl

My mum and I had the £19.50 for 3 courses lunch. We had a HALF bottle of wine with the meal.

The food was delicious although my dish was a bit over done - a few more ingredients than were really necessary.

Cost £60.

BigAl94

Stayed there last Saturday night and ate in The Great Room. Absolutely wonderful all round and well worth the money.