eating out in belfast – Licensed & Catering News (LCN) – News Coverage from the Local Trade

Happy Out Cafe finds bricks and mortar home

Joe Kearney — Wed, 01 May 2024 08:48:45 +0000

East Belfast Enterprise has welcomed the arrival of a new tenant offering great gourmet coffee and baked delicacies.

Happy Out Coffee, born out of a mobile coffee company travelling the length and breadth of Ireland catering markets, festivals, parties, weddings, Pride and corporate events, has taken up residence in City East on Newtownards Road.

Open daily from Monday to Saturday, the menu ranges from early morning bakes to lunch time favourites of sandwiches, wraps, toasties, stews and soups, accompanied by high quality coffees and non-coffee options, until early evening.

Owners Vic Young and Alex Campbell have partnered with their new business partner Eamonn McGill in their expansion to their new bricks-and-mortar café space and are incredibly passionate about the food and coffee being served.

Vic said: “Our beans are supplied by Bailies Coffee Roasters – a local speciality coffee company dedicated to the ethical and sustainable sourcing of their beans by working directly with some of the finest coffee farmers and their communities”.

“The Bailies Coffee perfectly complements our carefully curated traybake menu and vice versa, with everything fresh-baked daily, including options available for vegan and gluten free dietary requirements.

There’s a full range from croissants to accompany the first coffee of the day to traybakes including decadent Belgian chocolate brownies, white chocolate blondies and sponges. A sweet indulgence is a must following one of our daily specials which can be anything from an overnight slow cooked meat dish to a fulsome flavoured soup with fresh-baked focaccia, as we change it up every day.”

Speaking about welcoming the new tenant at City East, Jonathan McAlpin, Chief Executive of East Belfast Enterprise, said: “At East Belfast Enterprise we are committed to nurturing and assisting in the growth of new businesses, and we are very excited to welcome Happy Out Coffee to our café space on Newtownards Road.

“As well as providing our entrepreneurs with onsite homecooked food and speciality coffees, the local community can start their day with a takeaway coffee, sit in and sip a cuppa and watch the world go by ahead of their commute into the city centre, drop in for lunch or enjoy a well earned afternoon snack.

“We wish the Happy Out Coffee team every success in their expansion as they put down their roots in City East while their van continues to clock up the miles.”

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Warning after diners’ bank transfer scam

Joe Kearney — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 13:47:53 +0000

Hospitality Ulster has warned restaurants to be vigilant of a bank transfer scam after one venue was scammed out of £300.

In a post on social media, the trade group said it had been contacted by an unnamed business that shared an encounter where three men ran up a large bill and later claimed they didn’t have cash or cards to settle the bill, instead asking if they could pay via bank transfer.

“One of the party showed the staff a text message allegedly from his bank, confirming that the funds had been transferred to the restaurant. He said that it could take an hour or more for the transfer to show in the recipient’s account, so the party would wait and have more drinks,” read the post from Hospitality Ulster.

“The restaurant owners grew suspicious and informed the party that they had contacted the PSNI, at which point they left the establishment. Police attended the restaurant and informed ownership that they were aware of this scam.

“Please remain vigilant to situations like this, or similar, where you are unable to confirm that payment has been made.”

The warning of the scam comes at a particularly difficult time for hospitality venues. In February, it was revealed a quarter of hospitality businesses have no cash reserves and a further 29% have less than three month’s worth, according to a survey covering the whole of the UK.

The joint survey by the British Beer and Pub Association, British Institute of Innkeeping, UKHospitality alongside Hospitality Ulster showed the overwhelming majority of businesses have seen costs rise across the board, and are struggling with additional pressures.

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Flout still an outlier in top 100 restaurants

Joe Kearney — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 12:57:25 +0000

Viral pizza shop sensation Flout has been names among Ireland’s top 100 restaurant for the second year in a row.

The east Belfast pizzeria only opens for 12 hours a week and seats just six people but sits alongside Michelin star venues including Dublin’s Chapter One and Ox in the guide.

Pete Thompson, the man behind the Newtownards Road venue, which has received a swathe of rave reviews, said: “I’m not chasing a bank balance here, I’m chasing quality, I want to be proud of the thing that comes out,

“We’re just a tiny, tiny business that’s trying our best,” he told Sunday Life. “We’re not even a restaurant as such, so to be up there with all those other restaurants, Ox — Michelin star; Muddlers Club — Michelin star; Noble, my favourite restaurant… it’s insane.”

The former advertising exec, who started the business as his wife was wife recovering from serious illness, added: “At that stage, I just thought why have any regrets, so I’m kind of wedded to this all now.

“I was lucky in that the jobs I did before this, I enjoyed them, I never once woke up and thought I can’t do this. But doing this, it’s different. It’s super-hard, it’s seven days a week, it’s extreme, baking the sourdough takes such a long time… but I love it.”

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Coffee specialists Trait expand with new cafe and bakery

Joe Kearney — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 14:28:35 +0000

Boutique coffee chain Trait is launching a new concept cafe and a separate bakery in Belfast, creating 26 jobs as part of a £500,000 investment.

The business currently has three locations, including its original cafe in Comber, the Lisburn Road and College Square East.

It’s now taking on the former Michael Chandler Estate Agents building on the Ormeau Road, transforming it into a new cafe with a large central bar area.

Trait, which is owned by Mark McAllister and Michael O’Neill, will also create a new, large bakery on High Street in Belfast city centre as part of the new cafe location at the former Jackson Sports store — which will be open and viewable to the public and customers.

“The bakery is on the left-hand side as you look in from High Street, and on the right-hand side you’ll be looking into the bakery,” Mr O’Neill said.

“We looked at a number of bars in Korea and Asia [for our Ormeau Road cafe],” Mr McAllister told this the Belfast Telegraph.

“We believe a central bar is unique… we can have stools around the bar, allowing someone to enjoy an espresso and also have that ability to see more V60 and pour over coffee being made. So, there’s a transparency there.

“It’s a great little community. You have Indie Fude, The Vineyard and Memento… there’s a nice hub.

“We’ve been looking at this area for a number of years and I’m originally from there. There’s the sentimental feel. I’m a huge fan of the Ormeau Road, it’s continuing to grow as a destination, not just for food, but for a day out.

“We are excited about bringing something different to the road. Our biggest uniqueness is that we bake our own items in Comber every morning.”

Mr McAllister says Trait’s strength and one of its main selling points is that it produces all of its own baked goods fresh each day.

“They are baked and fresh from 3.30am,” he said.

“We have about 14 items a month along with vegan and gluten-free options, savoury and sweet. We started in 2017 in Comber. That was our platform for bigger and better… let’s get the building blocks started.”

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Mex-imum value with restaurant’s new ‘low-cost’ menu

Joe Kearney — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 18:27:27 +0000

Popular Belfast Mexican restaurant Cu is to relaunch with a “low-cost” menu that promises not to break the bank.

Co-owner Niall Davis said the plan was to give the Lisburn Road eatery a “new energy” for 2024.

Cu was opened in 2021 by Mr Davis and business partner Tamsin Harper, in partnership with chef Gareth Crawford.

Mr Davis said: “‘New year, new Cu is the tagline. We are bringing it back to our original plan; low cost, fun, lively setting and food with a big Mexican influence.

“We’ve been open two years now and we’ve maybe lost it a wee bit. We’ve just been trying different things and kind of forgot what we’re all about in the first place, so I want to bring it back.”

The new menu will include a year-round deal which means customers can get a taco, a side plate and ‘small’ for £22 throughout the day.

Mr Davis added: “We want to bring it back to that lively atmosphere that the place was known for and make it accessible for people.

“So you can come in anytime, you don’t need to spend big bucks.

“You can just spend a few quid, come in with your mates and have a good time. We always have great tunes going, there’s a good atmosphere.

“I think that everybody’s struggling, everybody is having a hard time, but people still want to eat out and we’re thinking, how can we accommodate this?

“We’re always known for being busy and lively, and people will still be able to come in to enjoy that and won’t have to break the bank.”

Mr Davis and Ms Harper are also the owners of vegan restaurant Jumon in the city centre.

The duo, together with chef Niall Duffy, are also behind French-style bistro Marcel and Duad on east Belfast’s Belmont Road.

Last October, Mr Davis announced the launch of Marcel, which was formerly known as Monad, after it had opened less than a year earlier.

As part of the revamp which saw Monad rebranded into Marcel, Mr Davis aimed to keep the price point as low as possible, with all mains under £20.

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