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Harlem cafe

4.0 (80 reviews)
ModerateCafes
Closed 11:30 am - 5:00 pm

Harlem cafe Photos

HARLEM CAFE ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Classy
Good for groups
Outdoor seating

Recommended Reviews - Harlem cafe

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Croquet monsuer with egg

Adorable decor, saucy staff , fun music, delicious breakfast & mimosa! Everything about this place is perfect!

Karen A.

I was looking for a breakfast place in Belfast that served a nice Ulster fry and this little gem popped up. Its located right in the heart of the tourist area so a quick walk from most of the hotels. What a beautiful, cozy restaurant! Service was fantastic, and can I just say the decor in this place was outa this world! I got my Ulster fry, and it was amazing. Perfect portion size and quite tasty. The prices were quite reasonable too. If you are ever in Belfast, you must visit this place. Even if it's a bit out of the way, it'll be worth it!!

The exterior
Edmund M.

Loved it! This a super cool restaurant with a funky vibe to it. The food was high quality and the service was good. Loved the candelabras one the tables and the art on the walls. Also loved that they served high quality Drayne's milk. The best in Ireland.

Harlem burger
Dayna M.

Burger was excellent and HUGE! Tuna melt was good as well. Be sure you have plenty of time in your schedule if you want to eat here. We were there for a little over two hours.

Harlem advert for worst salad!
John M.

I had been to Harlem once before, when visiting the Belfast Beer Festival in the Ulster Hall a few years ago. The Festival catering that year didn't appeal to me as it had in some other years and so I decided to eat elsewhere. It was raining extremely heavily that day and so I made a run for the nearest eatery i.e. Harlem, where I had a much more pleasant lunch than what was on offer at the festival. I'm not sure why I hadn't explored Harlem further before now but I was spurred to do so by the board proclaiming "Come in & try the worst salad one woman on Tripadvisor ever had in her life". I went along to Harlem and when the waiter gave me the menu I just said that I already knew what I wanted - the supposedly worst salad, whereupon I was asked what I wanted with it. The choice definitely included both prawns and salmon and I think tuna, possibly chicken, but no vegetarian option. I chose the salmon and also ordered an Americano. About the coffee, I noticed one reviewer commenting about stingy milk rationing. Well, I judge my coffee quality by how much milk I need to put in it for reasons other than temperature. The better it is, the less milk I want. In Harlem's case, I used barely enough milk to colour the coffee and most of the milk stayed in the small jug. The salad arrived, presented very photogenically in a hierarchical arrangement of large and small crocks on a board with wheaten, salmon, butter and a slice of lemon. This wasn't simply style over substance; it was really nice food. Now this is a matter of preference but I would have liked a dose of Balsamic vinegar on this (just the vinegar, as opposed to dressing). However, that is a minor point. As salads go, this is definitely a good one. For someone to call it the worst salad that she ever had in her life, I'd be interested to know what she calls a good one. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g186470-d1861385-r418415061-Harlem_Cafe-Belfast_Northern_Ireland.html#

Salad
Natalie W.

Harlem is pretty into itself, but it's an aesthetic that needs that kind of commitment. It's very Alice in Wonderland - my dad was greatly intrigued by the kitsch decor which he isn't exposed to very much! Even on a Sunday afternoon at 2pm it's still the brunch menu, which was a little disappointing for me as brunch isn't really my thing. They were doing sandwiches though. In the end I opted for a superfood salad which was basically every single salad item in a massive bowl. It didn't have quite enough dressing for me, and some of the flavour combinations were pretty weird (e.g. olives and blueberries!) but you couldn't fault them on the range of ingredients. My dad seemed to enjoy his Ulster Fry although I didn't think it was the best I've seen. Service very friendly and prompt.

Highly Recommend! One of the best restaurants in Belfast to try. Very close to the city center! Harlem restaurant opened in September 2009, and it was the same time I came to Belfast. It has been ten years now~ Irish Breakfast for me and Smoked Salmon is my mum's favorite. The pancake comes with dish has been roasted, It is super delicious!

August K.

Stopped in for brunch today and was very impressed. What a fabulous looking restaurant. The decor is masterfully done and creates a welcoming environment. Very stimulating and comforting. Had the poached egg breakfast with bacon and enjoyed it immensely. Met the owner who was working as hard as the serving staff. She is really someone who takes pride in her restaurant. I overheard so many customers complimenting her on a job well done. I would certainly recommend this to anyone visiting the city.

Irish breakfast
Bobby H.

Great breakfast had the Irish breakfast fray. Delicious! Also had salmon and spinach. Omelet which was tasty as well, great ambiance and good coffee.

Afternoon cream tea....delish!
Cara S.

Wow I don't know how to express how much I enjoyed my time here! I brought my mum for afternoon tea as a treat for Mother's Day and we were not disappointed. Gorgeous table decorated in a vintage style with sandwiches and sweet treats, we ordered a bottle of Prosecco for the table which came in the most amazing wine cooler.....took us hours and still we couldn't eat everything put in front of us (doggy bag needed). We ordered a wee cocktail after and were pleasantly surprised by the quality...very nice and reasonably priced at £6 each. Can't speak highly enough of the staff who talked us through the drinks and made recommendations for dinner if we fancied staying on lol Will defo be back to this little gem of a place for dinner and would be more than happy to recommend to friends anytime :)

The daily special - Sweet Chilli Salmon with noodles
Stevie M.

Harlem is a funny old place, a bit all over the place to be honest, in terms of décor, but it always seems to pull in the lunchtime punters. On my most recent visit to Harlem I made the mistake of ambling in the door in the midst of the lunchtime rush and perhaps this was my first mistake. I asked the obviously busy waitress if there was any chance we could get a table for two and she sat us at a large round table in the centre of the café. This was grand until 5 minutes later she also sat two businessmen with us - I don't they were overly impressed, especially not with our standard of chat. At first I was fine with our new lunch guests being in such close proximity but it became clear that they weren't enamored and this made things a wee bit strange. This strange experience shouldn't take away from what is an amazing City centre lunch spot. I ordered the daily special which was Salmon Sweet Chili Noodles - the quality was exquisite and the speed at which I got the grub was even better. To top it all off it was under £6. The staff are great but as mentioned they are clearly rushed off their feet at lunchtime. So be patient and you'll have a better experience. My advice to anyone thinking of going to Harlem for lunch would be to go early or go late otherwise you could end up lunching with unintentional guests.

Afternoon tea info
Tara M.

So at some local awards this place won best cafe in Belfast 2016. Went for afternoon tea. Which was lovely. They laid the table with proper tea cloth and had all fine china etc. Tea pots where huge. Got 2 between three of us. Also go 2 finger slice sarnys and filled croissant. They has a good amount of filling in them and nice stuf too. Not the usual afternoon tea rotten fillings. Also go a massive scone,eaten mess and three tray bakes. Scone was nice. Eaten mess was a bit chewy instead of crunch and traybakes where ok. Decent price of £14.95 each. The staff are very friendly and helpful. I like the quirky setting and nice lighting. The place is very spacious and has good big tables. The other food looked lovely. Though think it's a bit pricey. If I was in town I would probably opt for other places. £8.95 for a filled baguette is a bit steep.

Interesting table for breakfast.
Jim T.

Excellent wee cafe for a quick breakfast. Interesting place, great photos on the wall, good menu. Poached eggs on toasted soda and excellent coffee. Set up for the day now. Ok Belfast, what you got?

Coke by candlelight

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2 months ago

The food was great and the decor was very unique! The service was quick and friendly.

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

The two woman working here were extremely kind and helpful. The two men working were very rude.

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6 years ago

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6 years ago

We went for breakfast to Harlem cafe before the circuit breaker. Good food, nice atmosphere and friendly staff

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Arthurs Coffee House And Sandwich Bar - Inside

Arthurs Coffee House And Sandwich Bar

(5 reviews)

£

City Centre

It's a pain to have to give a crappy review to a place that's always been a favourite. Arthur's has…read morealways delivered a decent lunch at a good price. After years of going in that has changed for the first time. As with everything these days the prices have crept up, especially in terms of the lunch specials. OK, that's to be expected these days. But there a 'meal deal' in there now for £12 or so! Not long ago that was a basic restaurant price, the specials are now around the £5 mark and gone is the awesome £3. I could live with that, but I got the club sandwich. It was tiny and bland.... With a club you expect the double layers... not in this case... just the 2 rounds of bread, and they were very poorly filled at that. I'll definitely be back... I won't give up on a stalwart like this after 1 bad experience... but with the hike in prices there needs to be an understanding there be a hike... and certainly not a drop, in delivery!

Not bad, not bad at all. I was about 10 minutes early for a meeting in the city centre today so I…read moredecided to pop in to Arthurs to kill a bit of time. As eluded to Arthur's is in a really handy location beside Montgomery Street Car park and only a short dander from Victoria Square.s iWith loads of neighboring offices I suspect Arthur's is rammed in the morning and at lunch time but luckily for me I visited around 2:30pm and there were only a few other customers. As soon as I walked in I was asked 'what I would like?' and to be honest I hadn't even worked that out in my head yet so I just blurted out Americanno! I like the prompt sty;e of the staff in here - no messing about - gimmie your order! The coffee was great - very strong which is just what I needed before a meeting. I even got myself a wee pecan slice as there was a lonely one left in a basket just staring at me at the counter. So I had to, you know yourself! Anyway, it's a big old thumbs up from me for Arthur's and who knows it might even get that extra star when I sit in!

Robinson & Cleaver - City hall across the road

Robinson & Cleaver

(17 reviews)

££

City Centre

If your looking somewhere a little different with excellent views and a gin this is the place on a…read moresunny day. The balcony at Robinson & Cleaver overlooks Belfast City Hall and has a lovely peaceful atmosphere above the buzz of the city. It would be excellent for a date/ special occasion. The balcony/ terrace has a Bombay Sapphire bar and a European/ irish style menu. I've eaten here twice and food has been average and didn't really stand out for me. On my first visit I had a meat sharing platter with my partner. The platter was somewhat disappointing as the only meat on it was some boiled ham and a duck pate which isn't overly a meat in my eyes. The ham was quite tough and had a plastic type texture instead of being dry and tender. We shared one slice between us and left the rest. This was served with melba toasts which were delicious but a few more wouldn't have been nice. Also on the board was a smoked apple wood cheese which was nice on the toasts. The pate I really did not enjoy and the majority of it was left. I definitely wouldn't order this again as I left feeling quite hungry. I decided to return a second time, mostly because of the view so that I could watch the Pride parade and also to try the hot food as I really wanted this restaurant to impress due to its location. I ordered the steak sandwich with a side of French fries. The steak was tender and served on ciabatta with crispy tobacco onions. It was however a very small portion and flavours weren't outstanding. My partner had the chicken burger topped with chorizo and was hugely disappointed at the quality of chorizo. Just looking at it you could see it was mostly fat and she had to leave it to the side. Unfortunately I won't be in a rush back which is frustrating as the restaurant is in such a great location. It just doesn't have much ambience and staff aren't the most pleasant and seemed very starey and appeared as though they were discussing our table as they pointed in our direction. This made me feel very uncomfortable. They also only have one toilet which had a queue on both days I visited. When there's a queue this then blocks staff coming out from the kitchen to serve food and also the elevators so you are made to feel quite awkward.

If you like the minimalist vibe then Robinson & Cleaver is the lunch destination for you. Located…read moreopposite the City Hall Robinson & Cleaver is the café of choice for many local office workers - thus it can get busy at peak times. Robinson & Cleaver is a bit of a sun trap - the huge glass front of the building creates a green house feel - if you're a sun worshiper head here and grab a window seat - you'll be slathering on the factor 50 in no time. In terms of lunchtime grub Robinson & Cleaver offers sandwiches and snacks. You can opt to have your sandwich heated if you like, although the sun might cook it if you set it near the window. They have a great meal deal, which includes a sandwich, soft drink and a snack (apple, banana or tray bake) for a fiver. You'll be hard pushed to find a better deal than this in the City centre. I'm a fan of Robinson & Cleaver - I like the layout and the minimalist feel to the place - it's open and airy and the glass front makes it feel as if you're sitting outside. It's the perfect escape from a stuffy office.

Oh! Donuts & Coffee

Oh! Donuts & Coffee

(6 reviews)

City Centre

As someone that normally is not crazy about donuts, Oh! Donuts & Coffee has made me a convert! They…read morehave a wonderful selection of both vegan and non-vegan donuts that are so delicious and fluffy. We got a 6-pack selection and everyone got something they loved. We were over visiting family in Belfast for Christmas, but will definitely be back - specifically for these donuts!!

TRIGGER WARNING: this review contains "minimally invasive creme hole" and "generously sized nuts"…read more First of - an absolute hipster dream when it comes to decor. Whoever their graphic designer is, id hire him to...idk. Design my. Life. The donuts were the centre of attention - are my photo of the window display, which was eye catching and immediately had me salivating. They've managed well with COVID, but only one person in the store at a time (a wee cramped space honestly). Might be a long wait at a peak time. We had the place to ourselves however. Ok, donuts; we had A vanilla glazed - just a "control" for the taste science experiment. I have to say it was delicious and fresh, weighty and "doughy". A Boston Creme - the creme was SO GOOD. As a former donut baker, I was impressed with the minimally invasive "creme hole". Nothing was leaky, and the creme itself had a great consistency. The chocolate on top was dark, textured, and great accent visually and for the palate. A chocolate noh-tella: which for a vegan donut tasted surprisingly "unvegan". The donut was dense and full flavoured regardless of the filling; the filling was more viscous than Nutella and had generous sized nuts. A apple chai : yet to eat but apple filled, infused with chai. Looks delicious. Unlikely to be a gimmick. Donuts are so often gimmicks; a crappy donut with some bright colour slapped on it to give it appeal. But a real donut is good regardless of how dressed up it may be; and for that, the vanilla glazed takes the cake. Or yeast. Or dough. Do have a pop in. Looks like their coffee was pretty good as well, although didn't partake this time. The worker was kind and put up with my extensive donut chat, even my creme hole chat. Poor woman. Give it a shot!

Harlem cafe - cafes - Updated May 2026

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