…and I’ll always love you.

So sang Aretha and who am I to argue with the Queen of Soul?  Last month I surprised my mama with a birthday trip to one of our favourite restaurants and we celebrated her 27th birthday,  (again 😉 ), with the help of her gal pals.

If you’re making plans to visit Belfast or you’re a local looking for somewhere that does great grub, where the craic is as plentiful as the wine then Harlem Cafe is worth a visit.  It’s right beside The Ulster Hall which, if you’ve not been yet, is a great concert venue and home to the Ulster Orchestra.

Be aware that, as is typical in good old Norn Iron, the portions at Harlem are generous so if you’re partial to a good pud then it might be worth skipping the starter.  The food is hearty and mixes mainly European flavours with locally sourced produce.  Staff are fun and friendly and I really appreciated how they went out of their way to ensure that we all had a great evening and mama enjoyed a special birthday to remember.

We finished our evening with warm hearts, full bellies and great memories, deciding upon a bit of damage limitation with a leg stretcher down to see the Tall Ships.  Would you believe it, there was a firework display right on cue for my mama’s birthday!  (Something of a running joke between friends and, hey, we’re all friends here, right?  Last year mama came to London for a big birthday celebration and when we went to dinner there was an enormous firework display on the other side of the Embankment.  It was as though it had been planned just for her!  So it was really pretty fortuitous for us to catch another display this year.  I wonder where we’ll see them next year?!)

A great time was had by all and the staff at Harlem made it all the more special. If you want to experience good quality local fare and get an insight into our sense of humour take a race up to Harlem.  Visit their website for more info.

See you next time,

L xx