Other Place

One word: Avoid.
To give a longer explanation, the food is of very poor quality. As a group of three, not one of us enjoyed our meal. Sadly, the service itself isn’t much to up either, with quite a wait (which is puzzling given the food itself). There is a wide range of good restaurants on the Lisburn Road which makes this one all the more confusing.
Don’t bother.

I love the Other Place on Botanic Avenue so was thrilled to see another one on the Lisburn road. But I wondered were the breakfasts as good? Well only one way to find out… so off we went!
They are! The all day fry’s are fantastic and come just the way you want them! Big and tasty! They do great tea too, for all you fans out there and the lunch menu look really great too! Just as good as, well, the Other Place! If you want a good old fashioned Ulster fry with all the trimmings served with a smile AND for less than a fiver… well…you know where to come!

I hadn’t been in one of these places in years but decided to go in for dinner one night on the recommendation of a friend. It’s a nice set up when you walk in. The place is bright and airy, created by the glass shopfront, the light paint, and the well spaced out tables. They have a mixture of booths, and tables and chairs. The booth seats are cream, and the tables at them are marble effect (I think — although I suppose they could be marble). Be careful of the booth seats though, as they aren’t the deep padded sofa you would think. They are padded but look like they are much more padded, so if you slump down on them from a bit of a height (as people instinctively seem to do on padded seating) you’re going to be starting your dinner with a sore ass (luckily I didn’t slump down). A few of the walls were bare brick, which always creates a nice effect.
The menu was pretty good here. They do breakfasts in here as well, but the lunch/​dinner menu is what I was interested in. It included a good mix of old favourites with more modern cuisine — fish and chips, burgers, lasagne, spaghetti, platters, steak, tacos, Thai beef pittas, enchiladas…
I ordered the lasagne with chunky chips, and my friend ordered the steak and skinny fries. Ten minutes later and our food was in front of us. The portions were good. My lasagne was one of those ones with loads of melted cheese on top. I’m usually wary of that (having seen places tried to hide a lack of food under a load of cheese), but there was plenty of meat and pasta underneath, and I was loving the melted stringy cheese. The chunky chips were really good too. It also came garnished with salad on the side. And it wasn’t one of those piddly ones with a cherry tomato hidden in a bit of grass. It had tomato, lettuce, cucumber, red onion, and a drizzle of some type of extremely tasty salad dressing. I couldn’t quite put my finger exactly on what it was. It was a bit sweet, and tasted like a few different salad dressings I’ve had. Upon leaving I was informed it was a house dressing that I think the chef put together himself.
My friend’s steak looked good, and tasted even better. It was done medium to well, so it was nicely pink in the middle, and came on a bed (more like a pile) of fried onions and mushrooms. It came with peppered sauce, which was done beautifully. It had a perfect consistency — none of that runny stuff here — and had that tantalising pepper kick. The skinny fries were done nicely too, one side of each of them having their skin still on them.
The staff were excellent too. They were friendly and attentive. What I liked as well was that they were all in their ordinary clothes. No uniforms, just jeans and a polo shirt of no particular kind. It really gave a more relaxed, comfortable feel to the service and the place as a whole. I wouldn’t have thought it but it really worked.
They sell bottles of beer and wine, although you can bring your own bottle (which they’ll charge you £2 for opening).
I can’t fault this place, it was excellent throughout — food, staff, service, ambiance (there’s a nice level of background music as well) … I’ll definitely be back. Visitors should take the short journey of a few minutes from the city centre to The Other Place on the Lisburn Road.
Starters — around £4; Mains — around £8; Extra sides — £2.50-£3; Desserts — around £4.
For all you lovely Unilocal fans out there, here’s a bit of additional info:
Lasagne, salad, and side order — £8.50
8oz steak, onions and mushrooms, peppered sauce, and side order — £10.95
Soft drinks — £1.50
Bottles of wine — £9.99
Bottles of Bud — £2.75