Belfast is a city buzzing with vibrant nightlife, offering you a different environment to let your hair down every evening. Whether it’s a traditional pub you’re after or a dance to hard- core EDM, the cobbled streets of Belfast offer the perfect place to satisfy all your needs. With most places shutting earlier than average due to strict licensing laws, it’s essential to start as you mean to go on. Follow our guide to the ultimate night out from start to finish, in the birthplace of the Titanic.
1. The Dirty Onion – 3 Hill Street
An authentic traditional Irish pub with a modern twist, The Dirty Onion is open every night and is home to one of the largest beer gardens in Belfast. Offering free entry, the pub prides itself on its expansive selection of craft beers and whiskey. Taking up residency in one of the oldest buildings in the city, the external wooden structure will transport you back in time to the trading days and guarantees a genuinely Irish night full of good, old-fashioned craic!
2. Filthy McNastys – 45 Dublin Road
Head down the bustling Dublin Road and grab a drink at Filthy McNastys .The bar/club is a great place to kick off a night on the town with its live music, great cocktails, open mics and impressive beer garden. Decked out with wacky vintage furniture, the bar is most definitely a sight for sore eyes. Go upstairs and start the party under the fairy lights in the Secret Garden beer garden or sip on award winning cocktails in Filthy Chic. With a friendly atmosphere and a lively crowd, the drinks will be flowing in no time.
3. Muriel’s Café Bar – 12-14 Church Lane
The first thing you notice about Muriel’s Café Bar is the women’s underwear hanging from the ceiling - embrace the anything goes attitude in this charming space. Popular amongst locals, Muriel’s Café Bar offers an extensive gin menu. The retro chic décor mixed with the choice of plush velvet seating makes for a cosy, welcoming atmosphere and the ideal place to grab a cocktail (most likely served in a jam-jar) before hitting the dance floor.
4. Duke of York – 7-11 Commercial Court
Tucked away on one of Belfast’s most Instagrammed streets, the Duke of York is the place to drink in the authentic flavour of the city. Sitting in the Cathedral Quarter, the building was rebuilt after a bomb hit. Duke of York is listed as one of the must-see bars in Belfast so relax, enjoy the eclectic crowd it attracts and take in your surroundings in the outdoor area.
1. Limelight – 17 Ormeau Avenue
A real veteran of the Belfast nightlife scene, Limelight has been turning out live performances and sell out club-nights since the 1980s. Noted as one of the city’s main music venues, the stages of Limelight have hosted some of the world’s best international artists including Oasis and Snow Patrol. Featuring two club rooms linked in the middle by Katy’s Bar, the space plays standard club tunes as well as a wide variety of rock and metal.
2. Alibi – 23 Bradbury Place
Think country meets city chic and you’ve got the vibe of the classy addition to Queen’s Quarter, Alibi. The three floor venue offers cocktails, gin and craft beer served with a twist and regularly hosts guest DJs for their club nights. Creating a different atmosphere to the rest of the venues on the scene, the niche décor makes you feel like you’ve hopped across the pond to a gentlemen’s club in the streets of New York city and is well worth a visit.
3. Thompson’s Garage – 3 Pattersons Place
Another venue synonymous with Belfast nigthlife, Thompson’s Garage is open seven nights a week and is the perfect place for a spontaneous dance. Hidden down an alley way, a stone’s throw away from City Hall, this club has been hosting the people of Belfast for over two decades. With no real dress code and a more lax policy on closing times, Thompson’s is where you should party if you love a bit of Dance, House and R&B.
4. Ollie’s – 35-39 Waring Street
Nestled underneath the five-star Merchant Hotel, Ollie’s is an intimate affair with a dressed up atmosphere and sophisticated crowd. Making its home in the old catacombs, previously used as vaults for the bank, the old granite and exposed brick add to an ambiance of classy elegance. Move through the many rooms and mingle at one of the chicest nightclubs in Belfast.
Planning a night out in the Northern Irish capital soon? Make sure to tag us using the hashtag #ryanairstories in your photos of nightclubs in Belfast for a chance to be featured on Ryanair’s Instagram feed.
Flights to Belfast
- Lucy Norris
2017 © Ryanair DAC. All rights reserved.
