This was my first time in the North, and a quick dive on Google while still at the airport to find the best place for dinner in Belfast (that was still open) led me to Mourne Seafood Bar. I secured an online reservation last minute, and I am so glad we had the chance to dine here! Mourne Seafood Bar is in Belfast's City Center, next to Kelly's Cellars pub which was bustling at 9PM. Our oysters were brought out in 5 minutes; the mains took 20 minutes. In my experience, the service was standard. What we ordered: -1/2 dozen of natural oysters: This was my FIRST time ever eating oysters. I was pleasantly surprised of how fresh, non-fishy smelling, and non-slimy they were! I tried the oysters by themselves, then with lemon and Tabasco, which I find more tasty as they enhance the flavors. -Beer battered cod and chips with mushy peas and tartare: The cod portion was HUGE and piping hot. The cod was properly cooked, not dried out as other fish and chips eateries. The thick steak fries were crispy on the exterior and fluffy on the interior. I did not like the mushy peas as a personal preference. -Pan fried fillet of seabass: Absolutely delicious. The seabass was flakey with a crispy skin. Clams were properly cooked. Saffron mashed potatoes supported the fish. It was a hearty and balanced meal. -Rockshore cider: This tastes like your standard apple cider. It is crisp and sweet and does not taste like alcohol. Atmosphere/Layout: It is a very narrow restaurant that can fit maybe 40 diners inside. The tables are very small too. I would recommend having a reservation due to the limited space. It was warm inside, which is nice from the brisk, windy weather. Diners seem to be all locals catching up over a meal and every table around us had wine or alcohol. read more

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Mighty tasty fish n chips @ Mourne Seafood Bar. Lightly battered and flaky. Had to make reservations as seating is limited. Waitress wasn't overly friendly. Seemed more so with the local clientel. Nice bottle of Italian red with our meal. read more

Mourne Seafood Bar - Tasty fish n chips - Seafood Near Me - Belfast, BFS

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Mournes is modern seafood in Belfasts city center. (Next door to Kelly's cellar, good for a drink before or after.) We made reservations a couple days ahead of time and were seated immediately. The restaurant is small and modern, the menu short. They also had a nice cocktail and wine menu, with a section on more interesting wines. We started with the peach fizz and strawberry fields. Both were lighter, summery cocktails. We shared the oysters, won ton soup, and the sea bass, and were too full for dessert. The oysters were local, and lovely. The wonton was actually a soup, served with shrimp crackers, really good flavor, just the right amount of spice. The fish was also cooked well, I liked the saffron potatoes as something just a bit different. Nice service, more than one staff took their time to be friendly at our table. They do accept walk ins, but it is about timing. During peek season, consider a reservation. read more

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My only Fish & Chips venture during my week in Belfast, Mourne Seafood Bar delivered! It's a place that gives you one large piece. Everything was clearly fresh, the fries and fish were blazing. Great service, cool ambiance. Definitely worth a shot! read more

Mourne Seafood Bar - Beer Battered Cod & Chips with Mushy Peas & Tatare! - Seafood Near Me - Belfast, BFS

Belfast is of course a sea town and you can expect to find amazing seafood here. This was a stop on the Belfast food tour. A simple pair of oysters, locally harvested this morning and shucked just before consumption, this was delicious. An absolutely perfect snack and I will need to return to see what else we have for a meal here later. [Review 1896 of 2024 - 874 in United Kingdom - 22918 overall] read more

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Delicious food here! The Scallop and Chorizo Risotto was a great combination of flavors. The Sticky Toffee Pudding was to DIE for! Service was attentive, yet not obtrusive. The atmosphere was an eclectic mix of old and new. Prices were a wee high, but we felt it was worth it. read more

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This place came recommended and we were not disappointed. The food, especially the oysters, were amazing. The service was only on point and had very friendly staff. Not to mention, it's right next door to a historic pub! read more

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I will declare this my favorite place to eat in Belfast. It is a small place so you should definitely make reservations. I think while we ate, there were at least ten sets of diners who had to be turned away. I think if you get there right when they open you might be able to walk in. The food was really incredible and fresh here and yes it is mostly seafood. Scott helped us out a lot and our server was great. Scott helped with my whiskey selection and overall choices for a meal. A definite must do. read more

Nice atmosphere, good service. Food is OK. The muscles were tiny and in a bland sauce. A neighboring table ordered the fish and chips and that looked good. Maybe that's the winner there. read more

Great experience at this spot! My husband ordered the fish and chips and I ordered the mussels as an entree with fries. Delicious! Service was quick and polite. Would recommend read more

Came here last week when visiting Belfast. Easily the best of the three seafood restaurants I tried while there. We shared the seafood chowder appetizer, my boyfriend had the risotto, and I had the pan fried seabass. He also got an apple cider and I had a cocktail. Everything was amazing. The seabass entree was honestly one of the best dishes i've ever had. I can't recommend this restaurant enough! read more

Mourne Seafood Bar - Top: Risotto "kedgeree" Bottom: Pan fried seabass - Seafood Near Me - Belfast, BFS

The locals will tell you that Northern Ireland isn't known for "great" food but they highly recommend popping into Mourne for some fresh seafood. The food and service did not disappoint. The seafood chowder was well flavored and packed with different types of fish, my seafood bass came whole with potatoes and it was nicely seasoned. The high light of the evening for me was the warm sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream! Wow, so good! As luck would have it, they had a tad bit of Jamaican Wray & Nephew White Rum on the bar, my fave rum & rare to find in Europe bars. If in Belfast, I definitely recommend making a reservation at Mourne. They certainly made my birthday dinner memorable. read more

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We had arrived earlier in the days and were not decided on what we wanted for dinner. After later deciding on seafood we stopped into Mourne. Jackpot! Service, food and experience were all top-notch. From our oysters, sea food chowder, mussels and sea bass we were wowed by the consistency of each course. If you're in Belfast this is the place to go! read more

Amazing food! We were recommended to Mourne from Jimmy, a local in Ballycastle and we we not disappointed! It's cozy, personal and our food was excellent! read more

Beautiful atmosphere next to Kelly's cellars bear garden you can eat out in the summer. Food is beautiful and reasonably priced.

Everything we got was phenomenal. You cannot go wrong here and the price is crazy low for the high quality you get. I cannot recommend Mourne's enough. read more

Mourne Seafood Bar - Grilled half lobster with prawns in a cream sauce. - Seafood Near Me - Belfast, BFS

This was the best food and service we had in all of Ireland! It is a must! The oysters were to die for read more

It was pretty good but wasn't the hype I expected. Whole sea bass was good value Linguine was not worth it Chowder was good but small portions or big size charge and a bit salted. Once again pretty good and fresh but for the money and hype and big reviews not worth returning in my opinion. read more

Mourne Seafood Bar - Delicious seafood chowder - Seafood Near Me - Belfast, BFS

Great location very well situated near most hotels. Menu was awesome seafood was very fresh. service was wonderful. Great on all fronts!

Really good service. The food was excellent as well! I had the Hake fish dish, which was delightfully flakey, tender, and flavorful. The chocolate dessert was a must. read more

Consider Belfast isn't a foodie city, Mourne is a better restaurant where you can get some good seafood. Oysters, mussels, and the langoustines were all fresh and tasty. Crab claws was a miss, don't order, they tasted frozen. We tried walking in on a Sat night but was turned away as they had a full house so we made reservation for Sun night instead. Weekend can get busy so do make resy ahead of time. read more

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Best raw oysters of my life and I've had them all up and down the east coast of the US. My scallop risotto was perfect and the fresh arugula salad with fennel was much appreciated after a week in Belfast where fresh veggies are rare. read more

Really enjoyed our seafood dinner. I had the seafood casserole and it was a lotta food. It has large prawns, mussels, and topped with an l'agostino, an oversized prawn or a mini lobster. Great service and atmosphere! Highly recommended! read more

Mourne Seafood Bar - Seafood Near Me - Belfast, BFS

I love good seafood and here, at Mourne's, the seafood is very good. First it's a nice place. It's old, but very cosy and it's a comfortable place to sit and eat. The menu is varied, the service is happy and friendly and they take obvious pride in the presentation of their food. It's difficult to pick a favorite...Fishcakes, smoked salmon, goat's cheese, bream...it was all world class. I managed to move away from Guiness and was pleasantly surprised by their Shandon Stout which gets a special mention along with their chips (big and proper) and their coffee. However, I need to make mention of the deserts. Fans of custard will love their pannacotta. It was nice, but not as good as the toffee pudding, and at least the equal of the chocolate fondant. Belfast is a wonderful city with some truly great eateries. Mourne's is up there with the best we tried. read more

Great service and food. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming. Location was easy to find.

I guess the only drawback about this place is the wait! It took me 4 days to get reservations for my team of 7 and the one I got was at night 9.15! But it was so worth the wait! I ordered the seafood casserole. It was too much for just one person but the gravy and the all the seafood in it was awesome! My teammates ordered the large mussels basket and they were delicious too. We had their sticky toffee pudding and oh boy! It was too too good! This place is a must try when in Belfast read more

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Oyster, catfish were good , crab claw ok, lobster not worth it , dead lobster from yesterday, can not compare to what I had in Edinburgh and portee last week I will not come back P.S. few hours after dinner, I had to use toilet 4 times last night!! read more

Mourne Seafood Bar - Seafood Near Me - Belfast, BFS

Outstanding fresh seafood that is perfectly prepared. The servers are lovely. This is must-eat place when visiting Belfast. Reservations Recommended. We lucked out to get a table without a reservation. Mussels appetizer and beer battered cod were superb with a pint of Harp lager. read more

Fresh food and delicious flavours, staff were lovely set up scenery very country sea side not modern good atmosphere and certainly be back again, not too expensive read more

Going off of other Yelp user reviews, and because my boyfriend loves seafood, we decided we had to try this place for our last night in Belfast. The city's fresh, local, farm-to-table (or in this case, sea-to-table) philosophy had us entranced as it was. Starting with a delicious large hot pot of mussels was perfect, so much so that we decided to order raw oysters as well. I had never heard of Monkfish but after trying my boyfriend's Monkfish and Chorizo Risotto, it became my main meal instead of his. He had the hake and thoroughly enjoyed it. The service was lovely and there is a decent but small selection of local, craft beer on tap. read more

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This place was recommended by our tour guide and seeing good Yelp reviews, we headed over and got there just in time as its a smallish place, with only 10 tables and a party of 6 had to be turned away as all tables were full. For appetizers, our group of 3 split a side order of Champ (local food, mashed potatoes with spring onions which completely changes the taste) plus the bread basket. For mains, I ordered the seafood platter for two which had smoked mackerel, Mussels, winkles aka whelps, rolled mops aka herring filet, oysters and for £12. My brother got scallops linguine and our friend got megrim (local fish). The potatoes accompanying the megrim had this amazing herb butter - basil, parsley and mint which tasted divine. The megrim tasted similar to sole. I loved the champ which was buttery and had a hard to describe zing due to the addition of the spring onion. The olive tamponade which came with the bread basket had oil, garlic and calamata olives plus in a twist that made it unique, there were capers! The scallops in the linguine were these small perfect bites sides of sweet and brine - so so different from the US where I just can't eat scallops as the taste turns me off. The linguine also had these marvelous roasted sun-dried tomatoes in the sauce which gave the dish an awesome piquancy. For the seafood platter, the star for me was the smoked mackerel - I could have just happily had that by itself. The Mussels were grand too - small and packed a punch. The winkles aka whelps were a bit too salty for me. The rolled mops aka herring filet was good and the oyster was ok, but not to my taste. Decor wise, liked that they had local artist's paintings on end wall for sale. The loo was nice - only one stall, but there was a nice waiting room. The one thing that was weird was that the food came all at once rather than the bread basket first as an appetizer. Good food and service, so I would definitely recommend and return to if was a local living in Belfast. Note: #219 of Yelp 100 challenge for 2016 read more

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Delicious seafood, fresh and prepared well. Raw oysters, seafood casserole and of course, their sticky toffee pudding for dessert. read more

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Close to Kelly's Cellars - great and friendly staff. Held our table, we were running late. Extremely fresh seafood - not just fish & chips. Extensive menu, can't go wrong. We were not rushed and will go back if in Dublin. Don't let the reasonable prices fool you, expect an excellent dining experience without paying a small fortune. Make a reservation. read more

Yeah - as Montell Jordan sang, 'this is how we do it' ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hiUuL5uTKc - for any nostalgia fans...) Basically I'm visiting Belfast for a couple of days and just had to go for quality seafood as I was so close to the coast and I wasn't disappointed with this visit. You're talking about pure quality in terms of the menu and ingredients and the salt and chilli squid was some of the best I've ever had - purely awesome! The prawn linguine main was a real treat to follow and tbh I could have probably ordered about 6 dishes of the menu as everything sounded appealing (although FYI - the portions are massive) and they do loads of daily specials. Really chilled out place, great staff, a great eclectic classic rock soundtrack - ticked all the boxes for me! I'll be back on my next visit!! read more

Mourne Seafood Bar - Kick ass salt and chilli squid - Seafood Near Me - Belfast, BFS

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I was really looking forward to trying Mourne Seafood, obviously it's one of Belfast's top rated restaurants so I was expecting great things. I would advise booking if you're hoping to attend at the weekend and for peak times and large groups I would recommend booking weeks in advance. We managed to get a table at 6pm on Saturday evening but even then we had to wait two weeks to get booked in. When booking we were told that we had to have left our table by 8pm as they had a booking after us. I didn't mind this, as at least our expectations were set when we booked. One thing I liked was that they phoned on the morning of our booking to confirm we were attending. I liked this touch! When Saturday evening finally came round we couldn't wait. We were met at the door by the charming waiting staff and shown to our window side table upstairs. The decor is definitely simplistic, there's a wooden feeling to the place. I'm not sure if they are trying to continue the nautical theme by making it feel like you're on a boat. After browsing the menu we decided that we'd mix it up a bit and not have the traditional starter and main. Instead we decided to try a selection of starters. We went for the Mussels, Salted Chili Squid, The prawns, The seafood Chowder, a bread basket (for dipping) and a side of chips. The stand out from all these was the Salted Chili Squid, the flavours were excellent and it was some of the best squid I had tasted. Everything is was average to be honest. In comparison to The Dirty Duck and Molly's Yard I felt that Mourne Seafood was inferior. Don't get me wrong, the food was great but maybe I'm just spoiled. The service as great, the waiting staff couldn't have been more attentive. The wine list was also great and the selection of beer was vast. I really enjoyed Mourne Seafood but I think I was left disappointed mainly because of the hype before dining here. A solid four stars for me! read more

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On our recent and frequent trips home to Belfast our first thought is: "let's get to Mourne Seafood!" We did and the experience was very disappointing. The bread was stoggy, inedible causing a disappointment in the dipping in the soup in which the mussels are cooked. A couple who were seated next to us asked us how we enjoyed our meal stating that their meal was bland and without flavour. How sad for us all as this is the restaurant that we refer to all and anyone who maybe visiting Belfast. This will not be our wont going forward, sadly, read more

It's advisable to book here as it's busy and deservedly so. The menu has some great choices although I wouldn't miss the oysters to start - as Glenn M. says 6 for £7 is a great deal and the mignonette dressing is excellent. For mains I had the special which is a scallop linguine - the best seafood pasta I've ever had and probably ties for best scallops with the dish I tried at the Mourne's sister restaurant in Dundrum 3 days later. The scallops are small but you get loads so it's not like the normal unsatisfying two or three. The sauce was absolutely perfectly seasoned. Truly delicious and if it's on the menu you really should order it. I suggested my dad try the monkfish which he also enjoyed. Not quite as outstanding and I've had better versions but a solid dish nonetheless. He had the crab claws to start which sounded like they would be quite spicy and interesting (supposed to come with chilli butter) but were a little disappointing to me - the sauce seemed more creamy than expected and the crabmeat itself was underwhelming. Perhaps I just prefer crab cold. I had a very good espresso martini for dessert, also the house white chardonnay (from Chile) was extremely drinkable, so much so that my dad actually drank nearly all of it when I wasn't looking. read more

I'm pretty sure Mourne Seafood Bar will never change, it really is fantastic and has managed to maintain and even surpass its very high standards of every aspect you would expect from a top, top quality restaurant. Given the reviews I'm definitely not breaking the mould or telling you anything new but I felt obliged to review such a fine establishment in Belfast. It's not every foodery in the world that would be able to have it's entrance as an actually working fish counter with fish mongers tirelessly cutting all day! The restaurant itself it quite small, seating roughly 40 people but you never feel like you're sitting on top of the table beside you or can hear everyone's conversation and I love the darkish, homely vibe of the restaurant floor despite the decor being actually pretty dull by today's standards but hey, what's that saying about if it isn't broken...? The main reason to come to Mourne is its menu and they really know how to muddle a fish lovers mind! On my most recent visit to Mourne, I can honestly say I would have eaten every single dish on the menu, without exaggeration. In the past I've had their excellent oysters with vinegar, monkfish, their homemade fish fingers and a few other delicacies but yesterday I opted for the crab claw and chilli broth to start and the dressers lobster special and both were simply divine. Light, full of flavour and impeccable cooked and presented. The waiting staff are also superb. Always clean and smart, friendly (which is a real requisite for a place that caters to so many tourists every day) and when they ask how everything is, it doesn't annoy me as much as it would in other restaurants, probably because the food is so good! They also have free wi-fi which automatically makes me like a place more as we all use our phones so much these days and it did make it easier to check in on the Yelp app...! So in short, if you want an EXCELLENT seafood meal (they do do steak) with great service, wine selection and ambience, seriously look no further... You will not be disappointed. read more

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I stopped by Mourne Seafood Bar for a late afternoon lunch and was surprised to see that it was still very crowded. Luckily I was able to get a table without a reservation or much of a wait. I decided to try the fish chips; it was delicious and the portion was more than enough for me. I also tried the sticky toffee pudding for dessert and it was wonderful. The service was average. read more

We had a perfect long, lazy Sunday lunch at Mourne Seafood during our recent mini break in Belfast. You can't reserve a table for lunch so turn up nice and early if you want to be sure of bagging a table - we arrived at the Sunday opening time of 1pm and all the tables were taken by 1.30pm. The dining room is simply but effectively furnished; lots of dark wood, exposed brickwork, blackboards with the daily specials on the walls and a nice relaxed vibe. The young staff are very friendly and helpful. Everything on the standard menu and the list of daily specials looked very inviting so we bought some time by ordering the Mourne oyster stout and oysters while we swithered over our main courses. The oysters were delicious and at £7 for six I thought that this was a bit of a bargain compared to the eye watering prices you pay in London. If you like Guinness make sure you try the oyster stout because it's a very special pint. We shared a number of starters between the three of us to ensure maximum coverage of the menu; the crispy seafood dumplings and salt and chilli squid were very, very tasty stand out dishes. I had a starter size portion of the seared queen scallop risotto with crispy sage and bacon bits as my main dish - a lovey plate of food. Fully loaded with scallops this starter size portion was still a big plate of food; expertly cooked and beautifully presented. Our other mains of shellfish linguine and fillet of monkfish were all superb. There is plenty of good drinking to be had from the well priced wine list - we enjoyed a very nice bottle Muscadet Serve et Maine, Sur Lie which was £18.50. We enjoyed our visit so much that we returned the next day for another pint of the oyster stout and some oysters Rockefeller. A very special place and a "must visit" in Belfast if you want to eat well at a decent price. read more

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