The Morning Star Bar & Restaurant

You're ducking into Pottinger's Entry, one of Belfast's most characterful alleyways, and stepping through the doors of a place that feels like it's always been here. All exposed brick, dark wood, and the kind of lighting that makes everyone look good, The Morning Star is the gastropub that takes itself seriously about food without being precious about it. The crowd's proper mixed—regulars nursing pints alongside people who've walked over from the nearby Cathedral Quarter galleries, and there's an easy energy that suggests this is the kind of place you'll end up coming back to regularly.