Malmaison Belfast

The Malmaison concept of boutique chic began in Edinburgh, & has made solid progress ever since. The Belfast offshoot opened its doors in 2004 in a radically refurbished space that was once a pair of ornate warehouses, later the McCausland Hotel. As ever with Malmaison, the dining option here is a French brasserie complete with wooden fixtures & fittings & discreet lighting. The main menu offers three courses along the lines of mutton & barley broth, followed by Toulouse sausage with pomme purée & caramelised onion jus, then pineapple carpaccio with pink peppercorns & mascarpone sorbet for dessert. Alternatively, the bargain-price ‘home-grown & local menu’ could bring potted shrimps, Irish rump beef with baby vegetables, & Knickerbocker glory. Vegetarians usually have a choice of three mains (root vegetable & Gorgonzola lasagne, for example). It’s dependable rather than spectacular, but a bit of a refuge all the same.