McCrackens

While walking down the ally I thought we’d enter to confront a group of irate soccer fans. That was not the case at all. The atmosphere was warm and inviting. This is s great place to grab a pint and a snack after some Belfast shopping.

Unlike other reviewers I am a big fan of McCrackens it is usually my destination of choice come Saturday night. The bar is never too busy to be served and they have a convenient bottle bar located in the beer garden if you won’t want to wait at the main bar.
On a Saturday night there is an expensive door tax although they offer a deal if you say the ‘secret word’ at the door staff on entry. This ‘secret word’ can be found on ‘Club On’s’ Facebook page.
The crowd on a Saturday is pretty friendly — you won’t get any trouble in McCrackens.
They generally have an acoustic guitarist in the beer garden if you can’t stand the tunes inside — the live band will play a mix of classic sing-​alongs, think ‘Iris’ by Goo Goo Dolls! On a few occasions the band have taken requests which can lead to an almighty hoedown in the cove like beer garden. As you can imagine with this type of behaviour the staff are extremely tolerant.
Drinks prices are what you’d expect for a City Centre pub/​club and dress code is pretty casual although I would recommend wearing smarter shoes to avoid giving the door staff an excuse for turning you away.

We arrived for a late lunch and discovered delicious soups and sandwiches in the midst of a very cool restaurant/​bar atmosphere.

I’ve only ever been in here for late afternoon quiet pints but judging by the majority of the other reviews I’ll definitely be giving it a miss at night time, place sounds hellish.
Anyway, this is a really lovely done-​up and well situated bar up the claustrophobic Joy’s Entry (mind your step on all the pigeon caca though!) and has a beautiful tiled bar area and some fantastic black leather booths which are perfect for relaxing in.
The pints are good, a friend swears by the Guinness and the music, during the day at least, is chilled and not too loud. Hence it’s a great place to catch up with friends of an afternoon.
Pros: Nice daytime drinkin’
Cons: Hard to find.

From what I remember of Mc Crackens, and that’s not very much, its a great bar tucked away in Joys entry in the city centre. The place is absolutely buzzing at the weekend and they do charge £10 to enter although if you’re lucky (and we were) you may stumble across the PR guys handing out half price entry cards. So we all got in for a fiver which was much better than paying £10. which I think is a bit extortionate considering the size of the venue– it’s not exactly a nightclub. I must also point out that when we got there all of the tables were reserved! So if you want a seat best to ring in advance as the place does get really packed out! There is always a good atmosphere and the music is mainly R’n’B. The toilets could be better though so girls be warned you will be queueing in the hallway for quite some time as there are only three toilets. sort it out guys. But I’ve always had a great night out here and will certainly be back again and again!

I have to agree with a few of the other reviewers here. First off this is not my usual haunt at all, and this is especially true when it comes to the R’nB night I went to. I nearly, just nearly had a stroke at the prospect of paying £10 just to get into a place! As if all the money I’d spend trying to drown out the terrible music and make myself feel worse in the morning than I currently did. Everyone in the place appears to have a chip on their shoulder, giving the place a really uneasy feeling that I can’t quite understand is worth a £10 to experience.

From the look of their website, you’d think that McCrackens was this really modern, trendy bar full of beautiful, trendy people.
It’s not.
My experience of it is that it’s extortionate to get in and it’s a bit of sweat box.
In fairness, if you’re into your hip hop on a night out, you should like it here as the music is pretty good, but I’d give it a miss if I’m honest. There are better clubs with better crowds that aren’t tucked away down one of Belfast’s entries!

First things first, the bar is named after Mary Ann McCracken, one of Belfast’s most famous daughters, and incidentally sister of Henry Joy (note: Joy’s Entry, this alley was one of the last streets he walked on the way to his death) McCraken’s however celebrates the female of the species as Mary Ann was an extraordinary woman in her own right. She campaigned for the rights of both women and children, she fought against slavery and against the terrible conditions of factory workers. She also ran a shop in Belfast (not very common in her day) and took it upon herself to raise Henry’s illegitimate daughter by herself after his death. She lived a long and interesting life until her death aged 96!
But more about the bar, it’s a spacious, inviting and well lit premises with interesting art work on the walls (some by local artist Martin Bradley others of Irish literary figures) The sofas are incredibly comfortable, perfect for sinking in to after a hard days shopping! The middle section of the bar looks interesting as well. It makes it really well laid out and separates the bar well.
Their food is top notch, I had lunch here with a friend a few days ago, we ordered … the beer battered fish with homemade chips & mushy peas and the special of homemade lasagne served with side salad and chips. The end bill came to £23.50 (Two meals&Two pints) There wasn’t a thing wrong; I really couldn’t fault any of it. The waitress was a lovely local girl who knew lots about the bar, the menu and the drinks list. They serve a range of ‘house’ cocktails and special drinks, these all look really tasty! I had to save those for another time.
The bar has a motto; ‘in touch with old values moving with the times’ which I think sums it up entirely. McCrackens is a great pub steeped in history yet contemporary and modern at the same time.

Im still not entirely sure what to think of McCrackens. Sure, its situated in a cool location in the centre of town, it looks very nice from the outside and even better inside, but theres just something about it that just doesnt do it for me. Ive been to McCrackens on a few occasions on their busiest, supposedly best saturday night R’n’B sessions and although its usually busy, thus proving its popularity, theres something that I just dont like about it. In the first instance you have to pay £10 to get in which I think is objectionable at best, robbery at least and when you get in you have to wait around 15minutes to get served at the bar. The atmosphere inside isnt the usual easy going, thank-​god-​its-​saturday type mood that I thought it would be, or im used to. Instead there seemed to be an uneasy kind of vibe to it, with people, even though they seemed to be quite content, with snarling faces, almost like they thought it was cool to look like they werent enjoying themselves!
Anyway, enough of the negativity! The club stays open til 3am on a saturday nite, which is one of the later niteclubs around in Belfast and this is obviously an advantage if you want to party til late on. If you arrive down on a saturday night and find it to be similar to how I found it, or if R’n’B music isnt really your thing, they do a brilliant acoustic session in the outdoor area that will keep any easy going customer happy.
Away from the night time entertainment, McCrackens has a fantastic kitchen serving excellent food during the day and is open 7 days a week to get a good feed in!
I dont want to put McCrackens down too much though — everyone has their own tastes and I can appreciate that this bar is to alot of peoples liking, just not mine!

Its quite hard for me to review this place.
During the day I have enjoyed a couple of nice pints in here with friends and found it a perfectly pleasant wee bar with good enough staff and a nice atmosphere. It has a nice location, just in Joy’s Entry in the centre of the city and right near an ATM which is always a bonus.
But at night I can’t really say what I think about it because I have never been allowed in or have found the alleged £10 door tax just too ridiculous to fathom going in. On the occassions it was free entry I was told my the unfriendly bar staff that the bar was full, despite the predictable group of well dressed girls being allowed in just as I was walking away. I’m not a trendy dresser but I make an effort and I just think they didn’t like the look of me despite me not being in anyway too drunk.
A bit pretentious is my opinion of this place, but everyone else I’ve spoken to — especially girls — seem to enjoy it.

I think this is one of the best small bars in Belfast. It has really nice kerb appeal, even though it’s not on the main thoroughfare, but snuggled neatly in Joy’s Entry, one of the old, original passageways on Belfast city — and named after the infamous Henry Joy McCracken. Whether it’s due to its name or its location, or both — it certainly does have a historical atmosphere, with it’s cobbled pavement outside, and it’s exposed brick and small rooms inside. What I like most about McCrackens is the food — they offer traditional Irish grub but with a modern hint and edge to it, and there is great choice on the menu. They also pride themselves on serving locally sourced food. At the weekend there is a proper party atmosphere in this bar, and it can get really busy and almost uncomfortable — but the crowd are always friendly, as are the staff.