Exploring any city should go hand in hand with discovering charming coffee shops. That’s why this article is aimed at adding some of these unique Belfast coffee shops to your list of places to visit.
🍴 5 coffee shops you should try in Belfast
📍Established Coffee
As you enter, you’ll notice the smell of coffee wafting through the place. The atmosphere of the place will make you want to fantasise about working from a coffee shop like this, sitting at your computer, just like some of the customers who frequent Established Coffee.
The menu consists of egg-based options, toast and cereals such as oatmeal or granola. My choice was Poached Eggs on Sourdought toast and sausages, and it was the best choice I could make.
This breakfast was similar to the one at Ivy Chelse Garden in London. I enjoyed it in every way, and would even go back to the city for another breakfast like this.
Freshly made toast, poached eggs and sausages that looked like they had just come off the coals… Every time I remember this breakfast I drool 🤤.
For breakfast eaters, breakfast is the best time of the day. You take it easy, savour every bite and start the day with a smile from ear to ear. But there are always breakfasts that leave their mark on you.
Whether it’s the taste, the moment or the desire, those breakfasts are engraved in your mind and on your palate.
You can consult the full menu here.
Undoubtedly one of the best breakfast cafés in Belfast.
📍Guiltrip Coffee + Donuts
Thanks to Instagram’s new saved collections, we can leave stored in folders the places we saw in a profile and caught our attention 📲.
Well, Guiltrip Coffee was one of them.
It fulfilled all the requirements I could ask from a place. Nice, inspiring and that it had coffee – or failing that, hot chocolate – and sweets. Still, it exceeded my expectations by far.
Why? Its details! At first glance it may look like any other coffee shop with charm, but as The Little Prince says, the essential is invisible to the eye; or, in this case, to the naked eye.
A small drinking fountain for pets, chairs for children, books to read, walls decorated with a neon sign or motorbike helmets, a small shelf where they sell their own mug, were the small details that I liked about Guiltrip Coffee + Donuts.
Leaving banalities behind, let’s get down to what really matters: their donuts 🍩. It’s hard to choose just one, so I encourage you to share if you go with someone else. My selection was Tiramisu and Maple Bacon Long John.
Note for coffee lovers who can only drink decaf: they don’t have that option here. But their hot chocolate is worth the visit.
📍Oh Donuts
They say that where there are donuts, there is happiness 🍩😁…. Or so I like to believe.
Donuts have always been a bit of a weakness for some, like Homer Simpson and myself. So it’s no wonder that this list has more than one temple dedicated to doughnuts.
Oh Donuts is a tiny coffee shop located very close to Belfast City Hall, in the heart of the city centre. Here, you’ll find various types of doughnuts (Boston Cream, Lemon Meringue and even vegan ones like Noh!tella). You can also order them online.
Here a coffee and doughnut costs 5€.
📍Hotel Chocolat
Located next to City Hall is Hotel Chocolat, a chocolate lover’s paradise.
Hotel Chocolat is a company that was born in the north of the UK. Its founders opened its first establishment in 2004, and today it has 103 locations. They have cafes/shops all over the country and abroad – they even have a hotel in the Caribbean!
Hotel Chocolat is guided by 3 principles: originality, authenticity and ethics. All their products are top quality, and delicious! 🍫
I warn you, going in there means you won’t leave empty-handed or with a belly full of chocolate. The chocolate is to die for, and the shop is an exhibition of chocolates of all shapes and flavours.
📍Café Parisien
Located opposite the iconic City Hall, Café Parisien transports us to the city of l’amour through the café. Or rather, to the Titanic itself.
I’m going to tell you something you probably didn’t know! 🤭
Café Parisien is inspired by the café of the same name that housed the RSM Titanic. It was the first Parisian-style café adjacent to an à la carte restaurant. It served lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. In short, it was a place where friends gathered to chat and have a drink.
Like this Café Parisien.
Other cafés to try in Belfast
Two days are too short to tour all the charming coffee shops that reside in Belfast. So for lack of time Out Put Espresso and Root & Branch Coffee were left unvisited (for now).
If you get the chance to experience the pleasure of having a good coffee in one of them, leave me a comment with your experience 😊.
