Until recently, Belfast's buoyant independent coffee scene has benefitted from the lack of multi-nationals. However, the cream rises to the top and, with two branches in pedestrian-heavy thoroughfares, this locally-owned chain continues to attract its share of the lucrative mocha market. All the food is freshly prepared on site, with paninis, bagels, salads and croissants setting the continental scene along with the extensive hot and iced coffee selection. Italian sweets, dreamy milkshakes and comfy seats making Arizona a pleasurable pit stop. [...]

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Grab a dusty novel and join the intelligentsia plotting the next socialist revolution at the back of this shabby-chic second-hand bookshop. No table or chair is alike, but that just adds to its no-frills charm. Hot drinks, filled pitta pockets and home-made traybakes go down a storm [...]

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Small coffee, soup and sandwich stop geared towards city centre shoppers and lunching office slaves. Filled ciabatta and pitta breads lend an international air and the flavoursome meatballs continue Xpresso's Italian theme. [...]

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One enterprising local spent seven years in California before returning home to set up this US-style coffee house. The frothy cappuccinos keep city folk sane and tourists refreshed, and the summer menu features a choice of ten salads and exotic Thai and Tex Mex wraps. The table service adds a welco [...]

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One of the city's best coffee chains, locally-owned Clements boasts several locations across the city and a rather hip, young clientele, epseically in its Botanic Ave location. A range of top-notch coffees are prepared by award-winning baristas and the yummy sweets and scones make divine accom [...]

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You've got to love the name of this tiny, take-out café where marinated chicken sandwiches, salad boxes and combo melts go down rather nicely with the Fairtrade teas and coffees. A handy snack stop if you're antique shopping along Donegall Pass or en route to Botanic Gardens. [...]

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A table and bookshelf crammed with tourist info - particularly of the local area and Ulster Scots heritage - provide plenty of reading material for all you history-hungry visitors. And the walls abound with framed poems, prose and pics depicting Belfast and NI past and present. Digest the lot at the comfy sofa area as you tuck into a gourmet sandwich, homemade soup or stew followed by tea, coffee and trad traybakes (flattish baking tray-made cakes, cut into squares, in case ya don't know)... ideal sustenance for your onward Shankill sojourn. Prints and souvenirs are also available to buy.
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This little place sent a fruity frisson across Belfast in the early Noughties when it opened as the city's very first juice bar. Sink your straw into a colourful array of cocktails from the Chilli Pop (pear, chilli and apple) to the Pulpitation (orange, grapefruit and lime). Smoothies, bagels, [...]

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Rub shoulders with the working crowd in this bright, bustling daytime diner with the pun-tastic title. Fill your boots (not literally, that would be hideous) with a steaming Irish Stew and wheaten bread or tackle a mega panini - we're not talking the usual flat fare here. The tasty soups and s [...]

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Part of a locally-owned chain serving coffees, sandwiches, ice cream and a particularly pleasing champ menu. And if you're not sure what that's all about, read our guide to NI's unmissable Local food. There are branches across the city...look out for the distinct orange and blue branding and you're there. [...]

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This bijou food kiosk offers a bit more than the average city centre sandwich bar. Burgers, hot dogs, homemade soup, toasties and daily specials sit alongside salads, snacks and those all-important sandwiches. There's a couple of stools and tables on which to perch as you eat before you hit the sho [...]

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