Belfast nightlife

Spider_Baby

Hi,

I've never been to Belfast before. There are a few of us going there for a weekend soon.
....I just read in another thread though that most bars close at 1.30am!!??...is this true???

Also, can anyone recommend some pubs / clubs that are really good fun??? We are all mid twenties, so somewhere with a really good atmosphere that isn't full of 17 year olds would be great!
Any decent music venues or comedy clubs??

Thanks a million!

ems_12

Hi Spider Baby,

Lots of clubs and pubs have been mentioned here before.

Yes, pubs close quite early here but there's clubs that stay open longer.

Clubs that open late:
Ollies (nightclub of Merchant Hotel)
Yello (I don't recommend this but it opens until 5am or something? don't go until late)
Kremlin (Belfast's biggest gay club, it's crazy:D but sometimes has strict door policy:()
La Lea (I think it stays open late? Haven't been here much so not sure about it!)
Thompsons (not sure about Sat/Fri night in here - anyone?)
There's prob lots more but they are the ones that open late as far as I know......

Pubs: Lots to choose from here:
Potthouse (v. close to Ollies and Yello)
Mynt (v. close to Ollies, Yello upstairs)
Northern Whig (big and great cocktails!)
Apartment
Cafe Vaudeville
Robinsons
Bar Bacca (nightclub La Lea upstairs)
Stiff Kitten
Botanic Inn (dancing upstairs)
Empire
Taphouse (has a club upstairs called Scratch - very good)
Whites (dancing upstairs)

...and all those in between! I tried to think of the ones me & the girls would head to for a big night out dancing lol! I'm sure others will have more suggestions as there is a huge choice (and no doubt disagree with some of the above! :P).

Spider_Baby

Thanks a million Ems!!!

Hopefully I'll get to check out most of them!
Is drink a lot cheaper in Belfast than in Dublin too...??

Also...do you know of any comedy clubs that are open on Fri or Sat's?

ems_12

Hmmm.....I only know mid-week comedy nights. Tuesday night in Empire and I think Wed in Student Union.

If you're visiting soon, you might get some of the Queens Belfast Festival comedy nights: www.belfastfestival.com


Edit: Yep drink is cheaper, some places I've mentioned above won't be too much cheaper but off licenses def are and lots of bars are cheap/have deals on.

pow wow

Stiff Kitten ftw

markok84

Spring and ayre break is a good spot too!!

Stiff kitten is good if you like having the cuffs of your pants covered in ****e!!

Check out sugar as well above the Pothouse it has a glass floor; great for slipping and falling on your arse... the £10 entry charge is a bit steep tho. The one great thing about sugar is that the music isn't too loud, so you can have a conversation with someone.

Avoid all the pubs around shaftsbury square too if its a weekend.. All in all Belfast is a savage spot to go out in, I'd recommend it over dublin any day of the week.

TestTransmission

any recommendations for a place to go out tomoro nite in Belfast?Never been before..

m@cc@

jackncoke wrote: »

any recommendations for a place to go out tomoro nite in Belfast?Never been before..

Depends on what your looking for but be warned there will be students there no matter where you go. The Bot (Botanic Inn) is decent on a Weds night for all-round music, but there are plenty from the 'checked shirt and desert boot' brigade. The Box in the Odyssey is ok if you are into your R n B but not my kinda thing.

TestTransmission

m@cc@ wrote: »

Depends on what your looking for but be warned there will be students there no matter where you go. The Bot (Botanic Inn) is decent on a Weds night for all-round music, but there are plenty from the 'checked shirt and desert boot' brigade. The Box in the Odyssey is ok if you are into your R n B but not my kinda thing.

checked shirt and desert boot brigade??????? :pac::pac:

biko

Have a look through the suggestions at http://www.belfastbar.co.uk/

LornieLou

A group of us are heading to Belfast for a wed night and are wondering about student bars / nightclubs and what is the closing time during the week?

the_doctor199

LornieLou wrote: »

A group of us are heading to Belfast for a wed night and are wondering about student bars / nightclubs and what is the closing time during the week?

The Bot, Box & The Eg are probably the main clubs on a Wednesday, all close at 1am.

Berns

Got randomly thrown outta the beach club one night. The Bot was a fight started beside me and wasnt involved yet seemed to be the only person carted out.... So wouldnt recommend either :rolleyes: Only been in the others a few times and was years ago. Box was nice when was there before but its at the odyssey so maybe outta the way.


mmmm, it's wed night already, nm me

How'd it go

Naos

Hi there!

I know it's been asked 101 times, but still

I'm heading up with a mixed group tomorrow evening - any decent places that are opened until later than 1:30am?

Cheers!

Airsoftmedic

+1 for the box

stripysocks85

Heading to Belfast this Thursday and Friday night. 2/3 girls in mid 20s lookiing for cheap booze & decent music for dancing.

Recommended the 'Bot' so far but see a lot mentioned in this thread, what would the best choice be? I'm sorry but don't have time to research and don't want to end up somewhere crap like I did before when i went somewhere on a whim in Belfast!!!

We're staying in Ramada Encore Hotel - decent place? Decent area? Sorry for all the questions!

stripysocks85

Do they close at 1am on a Thursday too? I want to dance the night away until at least 2.30 or 3am!!!!

Vain

Where did you go last time you found crap? Im going this weekend myself. Anyone know what kinda shoes lads need to wear to be left into pubs clubs?

stripysocks85

Some garage place. Thompsons or something. I guess it's unfair of me to say it was crap. I was barely with it as I was too drunk. Had met some Belfast boys in The Crown or somewhere ha

pow wow

What kinda music are you into dancing to? The Ramada's a grand hotel, fairly new and a 5 minute or so stroll from all the good stuff in town.

spdmrphy

The Bot and The Eg are ****e. Same goes for Thompsons. Head into the Cathedral Quarter, plenty of choice there.You could try the Limelight for something "alternative". The Empire can be pretty good sometimes too, live music often enough. Same for the Duke of York (great wee spot).

stripysocks85

Thanks for that, but the 2 girls I'm going with won't want alternative!

Ideally; somewhere there's a good ratio of men to women, place to dance, cheap booze, good music [good by their standards is popular chart stuff like Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Snoop Dog, J. Lo, all those ones] That's what we're looking for on a Thursday and Friday night!

POCKET.ROCKET.

The Ramada Encore is in the Cathedral Quarter so I reckon you're best options for heading out are The Roost on Church Lane, and you can try Muriels and the Spainard bars on your way there. Alternatively you can try 21 Social which is opposite the Merchant Hotel, or The Northern Whig Bar (on the corner opposite the Premier Inn) which is also in the same area. Or head to Union Street Bar and the Kremlin night club (gay) where you'll get a steady stream of pop music n plenty of laughs.

Enjoy your trip to Belfast.

the_doctor199

stripysocks85 wrote: »

Thanks for that, but the 2 girls I'm going with won't want alternative!

Ideally; somewhere there's a good ratio of men to women, place to dance, cheap booze, good music [good by their standards is popular chart stuff like Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Snoop Dog, J. Lo, all those ones] That's what we're looking for on a Thursday and Friday night!

Sounds like Rain is going to be your best bet for the Thursday.

spdmrphy

I concur with the doctor. Rain seems to tick all the boxes.

stripysocks85

Aww lads she's giving me a headache now. She was already highly strung about going to Belfast because she reckons us Catholics will get attacked or something! Now she texts me she's been reading 'The Mirror' and they've reported that Belfast is on high alert for a bomb scare because of the royal wedding! She said 'Oh god, the newspaper doesn't sound good' So what, we don't go???

Berns

Past threw it today and didnt get blown up.

stripysocks85

Music to my ears. I shall inform her of this!!

Seriously, she's uptight about it enough before she read that rag of a thing! Grr!

muffler

stripysocks85 wrote: »

Now she texts me she's been reading 'The Mirror' and they've reported that Belfast is on high alert for a bomb scare because of the royal wedding!

She shouldn't read such sh.... The Mirror together with most English papers have repeatedly shown how irresponsible they have been over the years with their sensationalism of stories that never bloody existed in the first instance.

I'd feel more safer on the streets of Belfast than on the streets of Dublin!

TheZohanS

Can anyone recommend some good late bars?

sasta le

Looking for spots for this Saturday,like any style music/bars/clubs as long as it aint a rough crowd thanks