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The Best Breakfast In Belfast City: 10 Spots That’ll Make Your Belly Happy

The Best Breakfast In Belfast City: 10 Spots That’ll Make Your Belly Happy

Wondering where to grab the best breakfast in Belfast City? You’ve landed in the right place! 

After publishing a guide to the best places for brunch in Belfast last year, we received a crazy number of emails (46, to be exact…) about Belfast breakfast spots that we missed.

So, after doing some digging and from chatting to family and friends living in the city, we’ve come up with the guide below.

It’s packed with well-reviewed places where you’ll be treated to some of the best breakfast in Belfast City, from quirky eats to traditional Ulster frys. 

Our favourite places for Breakfast in Belfast City

places for Breakfast in Belfast

Photos via the Pocket on Facebook

The first section of our guide tackles our favourite places for breakfast Belfast has to offer, and there’s some fierce competition for the top spots.

Below, you’ll find everything from casual places to nip into after a night spent in some of the best pubs in Belfast, to more refined eateries that go toe-to-toe with some of the finest restaurants in Belfast.

1. The Lamppost Café

Lamppost Café

Photos via the Lamppost Café on Facebook

The Lamppost Café is a family-run artisan coffee shop that looks like a vintage tearoom. The breakfast menu includes options such as homemade scone with strawberry jam and cream, poached eggs with avocado, and savoury waffles.

It is also worth mentioning that the Lamppost café caters to many dietary requirements including gluten-free and vegan dishes.

Even the pickiest of eaters will surely find something on the menu at the Lamppost Cafe. I almost forgot to mention that the café is dog friendly and even has a special “Puppy Plates” menu that includes milk with dog biscuits, chicken, and sausage.

Related read: Check out our guide to the best coffee shops in Belfast in 2024 where you can grab a top-notch caffeine fix.

2. Grapevine

Grapevine

Photos via Grapevine on Facebook

Specialising in freshly baked bread and delicious homemade grub, Grapevine is a great option for a hearty breakfast. 

Breakfast, which is served until 12pm, boasts everything from porridge with cranberry and maple to toasted bagels with cream cheese and the popular breakfast burrito.

If you are visiting for lunch, make sure to try their beef stew or order the mouthwatering Malaysian spicy root veg soup served with wheaten bread. To sum it all up, Grapevine offers delicious and reasonably priced Hispanic-inspired dishes.

3. The Pocket

funky breakfast in belfast

Photos via the Pocket on Facebook

Located right across from the Queen’s University Belfast, the Pocket is one of the most popular breakfast eateries in the city. Instead of a classic breakfast menu, the restaurant decided to get a bit more creative with their dishes.

Try the pea pesto avocado or order the sunshine Buddha bowl and you’ll see what I am taking out. If you wish to go for the classics, I recommend getting the Big Pocket Fry that includes creamy soy mushrooms, fried brioche, sausage, and poached eggs.

4. Established Coffee

Established coffee

Photos via Established Coffee on Facebook

Next up is a buzzy spot that’s known to knock up some of the best coffee in Belfast. I’m talking, of course, about Established Coffee in the Cathedral Quarter.

Here, you’ll find everything from poached eggs on sourdough with black pudding, crispy artichoke and fried egg to home-made chocolate milk.

There’s also cinnamon and brown sugar French toast along with a clatter of other options that’ll appeal to those looking for a sweet treat.

5. Harlem Café

Harlem Café

Photos via Harlem Coffee on Facebook

Opened in 2009 by Faye Rogers, Harlem Café is a charming bistro that offers an all-day breakfast for just £6.95. The interior is amazing, but the food is even better.

The breakfast itself includes your usual suspects like pork sausage, oak-smoked bacon, grilled tomato, sauté mushrooms, soda bread, free-range egg, pancake, and black pudding.

You can also order the French toast. According to their website, ‘As well as going to great lengths to make her customers feel right at home she also goes above and beyond for charity; Faye has trekked though the Amazon and the Himalayas for the Teenage Cancer Trust in recent years.

6. Panama Belfast

Panama breakfast

Photos via Panama Belfast on Facebook

Panama Belfast is another of the more popular places for breakfast in Belfast City Center and, while it looks like a corporate building from the outside, this trendy café on McClintock Street boasts a beaut of a breakfast menu.

From porridge (with soaked oats topped with nut crunch) to a baked fry (bacon, sausage patty, poached egg, potato bread, chorizo and black pudding crumb, there’s something to tickle most tastebuds here.

There’s also home-made waffles (candied bacon, mascarpone, Canadian maple syrup and roast nut crunch) and some tasty juice combos.

7. General Merchants

General Merchants

Photos via General Merchants on Facebook

General Merchants is well known for its brunch and its coffee, but it also dishes up a very tasty breakfast. Due to its popularity, this eatery is usually packed with guests.

Make sure to arrive early, especially on the weekends. The menu is packed with both innovative and classic dishes.

One of the must-order breakfast dishes is their Huevos Rotos, a fried egg with slow-cooked pulled pork, and triple roasted potatoes. Guests on TripAdvisor are also raving about the Mushroom Croque Madame which includes eggs, cheese, and sherry roasted chestnut mushrooms.

8. Mad Hatter Coffee Shop

Mad Hatter Coffee

Photos via Mad Hatter Coffee Shop on Facebook

Welcome to the Mad Hatter Coffee Shop, a traditional cafe in Belfast with an extensive all-day breakfast and lunch menu.

Whether you are craving poached eggs or you would rather get some paninis or wraps, there is plenty to choose from.

The fry is crafted to perfection and the raspberry ruffle tray bake is also amazing. On your way out, make sure to get an apple tart for the road.

9. Belvedere Cafe Restaurant

Belvedere Cafe breakfast

Photos via Belvedere Cafe Restaurant on Facebook

Spread across two floors, Belvedere Cafe Restaurant offers everything from succulent steaks to hearty breakfasts. You’’ probably need a nap after ordering the pancake stack with bacon and maple syrup.

The same goes for their insanely large Ulster Fry. Healthy eaters can order sourdough with beetroot, egg, bacon, and avocado. The coffee is nice and Terry’s chocolate cake is also amazing.

10. No.1 Belfast

No.1 Belfast

Photos via No.1 Belfast on Facebook

A popular venue for breakfast/brunch in Belfast, No.1 Belfast lives up to its name! The sourdough with eggs, bacon, chilli oil, and avocado is executed to perfection.

The homemade spicy nachos, homemade granola, and Moroccan cake are all worth having! In addition to tasty breakfast foods, No.1 Belfast is well-known for its beautiful decor and attentive staff.

What Belfast breakfast spots have we missed?

I’ve no doubt that we’ve unintentionally missed out on some great places for breakfast in Belfast City in the guide above.

If you have a favourite Belfast breakfast spot that you’d like to recommend, let me know in the comments section below.

FAQs about the best breakfast in Belfast

We’ve had a lot of questions over the years asking about everything from where to grab the fancies breakfast in Belfast to where to get the best fry.

In the section below, we’ve popped in the most FAQs that we’ve received. If you have a question that we haven’t tackled, ask away in the comments section below.

What is the best breakfast in Belfast City?

In my opinion, you’ll get the best breakfast in Belfast in Curated Kitchen & Coffee, The Lamppost Café and The Pocket.

What places for breakfast in Belfast do good pancakes?

You can get pancakes in Panama, Conor, Belvedere Cafe Restaurant and Harlem Café.

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Tom W

Saturday 2nd of September 2023

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