The Morning Star

I was a little disappointed with this place as i was told they done ‘the best steaks in Belfast’. I ordered medium rare, but the steak came out well done, which is the far side of the spectrum. in addition, the meal was ok, but wasn’t that fancy for what we paid. The furnishings, décor and even dinner plates looked a bit old and tired. It by far wasn’t the worst meal I’ve ever had, but could do with improvement.

I’ve reviewed the star before and I’m now giving it two stars instead of one, very disappointed and embarrassed in having to send my burger back because of it being full of gristle with the first quarter after a fantastic starter of breads and oils and a great side of chips, service however is great and nothing is too much bother at all. Its still a great local bar in a great location. It would take very little to make a huge difference. Staff are all friendly and really make the place

Got a morning star burger, with smoked cheese which was nice accompanied with 2 onion rings and a pot of coleslaw and a pot of pepper sauce and bowl of chips, the pepper sauce was gorgeous and very spicy which is what you expect with a good pepper sauce, coleslaw was tasty only issue I had with it was that it was very dry and needed some sauce, but the chips were nice. For dessert I chose cranberry and dark chocolate roulade with ice cream, which I was unimpressed with the roulade sponge wasn’t moist it was hard which was a shame, like as if it had been sitting a while, the flavour was ok not that flavoursome, ice cream was what I think was shop bought, tasted like shop bought ice cream rather than homemade, wasn’t impressed with the dessert at all and wouldn’t buy a dessert from here again, but the burger was lovely so I would go back again.

Went here for dinner on Sunday and it was out of this world. Food was amazing, definitely the best mussels I’ve had, steak and beef were beautiful and my daughter had the nicest pasta dish!!! Service was top notch. Will be back next Sunday

There’s nothing my partner loves more than a steak, the bigger the better. I had no idea what to get him for his birthday, so decided we could go for a meal instead, so I asked around as to where you could get the best steak in Belfast, and the Morning Star was the place that seemed to be mentioned the most.
I went ahead and booked a table for two, and booked by partner the largest steak on the menu (48 oz, but I later found out they will do bigger if you phone ahead and ask!!)
We arrived at the Morning Star, situated down Pottinger’s Entry beside the In Shops (or where they used to be!) and got shown to our table in the restaurant upstairs without any fuss.
I had a steak too but I have to say the rest of the menu looked fantastic. Our food arrived, and what was brought to us was the nicest steak dinner either of us have ever had. we kept it standard and with our steaks had chips, gravy and onion rings on the side. Absolutely divine! And cooked to perfection too, which is hard to find!
Suffice to say we have been back here many times, the best steaks in Belfast for sure, and food is all locally sourced too which means a lot.

For food it’s decent for what you pay for. For having a few drinks and watching the horses it’s close to perfect.

Even though it is situated incredibly centrally in Belfast, amazingly not many people have ever been into The Morning Star and it’s a real shame because it really is one of the few proper old-​school pubs of any note left in Belfast.
At lunch they do an amazing carvery/​buffet Monday through Saturday from 12−4pm for a paltry £5.95 and their food really is what bar food should be, hearty dishes served up in big portions! However, in recent time they have become more strict about piling your food too high on your plate and although never caught, I have undoubtedly taken a slice or two more of chicken in my time… Their pies, lasagne and roast dinners have on many occasions lined my stomach before a few pints of Guinness and Smithwicks during a football game or Ireland rugby match on one of the TVs downstairs.
The table waiters and barmen are always keen for a chat and if you venture upstairs you’ll be more than pleasantly surprised about the surroundings as from the outside I’m aware the bar may not look very appealing to all tucked away in Pottinger’s Entry.
The a la carte menu is nothing short of extensive and reasonably priced and upstairs’ atmosphere in the evenings really is lovely either with friends for a few drinks or a more quiet affair and they’ve been the recipients of much acclaim for their food from many of Ireland’s key award-​giving bodies and this should be enough to steer you up one of Belfast’s most famous ‘Entries’ never mind many drinks being only £2.10 on Friday and Saturday evenings from 9pm!!!
A great bar, with great food, craic and some real characters…

Hidden down one of the alleys off High Street known as ‘The Entries’ The Morning Star is a proper pub, an old man’s pub if you will. That doesn’t mean the crowd is all old, there is a good mix of allsorts. Students and shoppers and hipsters and businessmen all are here, either taking a breather from the shops or concentrating on the latest horse-​race.
As it is a ‘proper pub’ it also does top quality proper bar grub. This is not a gastro experience, but they certainly aspire to what locals would describe as a good feed.
If you are about, try the pies, as the venison one will bring happy tears to your eyes. Yum!

Good food, reasonable prices, friendly service, no waiting. Just a great spot tucked away south of the cathedral quarter.

Stumbled across this bar hidden down an interesting looking side lane while on a weekend trip in Belfast. Great beer selection and a great atmosphere in the bar with locals watching the horse racing and dipping out to place bets nearby. Upstairs in the resturant it is a good deal quieter and lovely green leather backed seats to recline in. We were dissapointed that they were sold out of oysters but our main courses were delicious. Well worth a visit and it wont break the bank.

Great food, great service (both upstairs and down) and great atmosphere for sports.
Being vegetarian was no good here, but I got fantastic garlic cheese bread and sauteed mushrooms while my friend got the morning star burger which he loved. We also got a bottle of house wine for 8pounds which was great for what it was. Service was friendly and it was really clean and kinda fancy upstairs.
Downstairs was more crowded as there were more TVs and it was a big day in rugby and football when we were there (and horse-​racing I guess because a lot of people were watching that). Bar service were great as well, and quick given that the place was packed.

I was there this afternoon for lunch and i have to say the choice of food on the buffy was excellent and the service from the bar and waiters was very friendly and made you feel very welcome. the price for the buffy is very good too, i be going back soon: D

Myself wife and two friends called into the Morning Star at around 4.50pm on a Sunday. The Bar and Restaurant was half empty so I expected a Quick service but was very Disapointed.
About 5 minutes after sitting down we were asked for our drinks about 10 Minutes after that we were ready to order, from order until the food was on the Table was a full Hour, that was an extraordinary time to wait for food and it wasnt busy at the time. We did not have a starter or dessert as we thought as It is a Pub we would get a decent sized feed.
The food was good and cooked properly, but were it fails miserably is in Portion size, I would consider it suitable for a small child. The sides of Chips were in a miniscule bowl.
I had Champ and Sausages that was in a soup Bowl, and the plates had a lot of empty space on them, The emphasis was on decoration and presentation rather than quantity, Mashed Potatoes on one side of a large plate with Chicken on the other and nothing in between, we all finished in record time as there wasnt much off it. When I got home I made a few sandwiches to fill me up.
The Morning star has always had a good reputation but I think it has changed from a pub to a bistro style Gastro Pub feel that locals just dont like.
The Irony was that 15 minutes before we left another group of people ordered food and got it served within 10 minutes.
The Bar is trying to be a little bit more professional and upmarket than the others, staff are dressed formally and are courteous.
Its good food but as I said, fails terribly on the portion sizes.

Great food, very reasonable. Great service & a really clean pub ! I’ll be back…

Clean and off the beaten path (or at least the paths i saw). We were gifted enough to be served some sausages from the kitchen upstairs an they where delicious! I wish I had more time to try more.
There’s really something about beers in around here… both my Guinness and my bass where significantly more fabulous than their Los Angeles versions.

The Morning Star is a fairly average wee pub, and probably the most ‘old men in tweed caps with a folded Racing Post vibe’ one in the city centre. It’s quite old-​blokey because of that, and I always feel a bit disapproved of walking in with the mad red hair and tattoo, particularly by the wives/​concubines of the old folk. But where I love it is its food, or more particularly the buffet.
‘Pinta Smithwicks and a plate please,’ is my usual refrain when I call in here of an afternoon, the latter referring to the fact that you can buy (well, rent) a plate for a fiver, which you can then fill at the buffet with all kinds of delicious local homemade food. It’s my favourite pub lunch in all of Belfast.
The food is just that type of traditional Mum-​type, stomach-​lining, hangover-​curing, carb-​heavy tasty stuff that you just couldn’t say a bad word about. Succulent steak and mushroom pie, creamy champ, lasagne, cauliflower cheese, chilli, rice — it’s all standard, but it’s lovely, and I love being able to just help myself.
Be warned though, if you use your fingers, try and sneak back for a second helping, or take the mick and load your plate up more than one layer, the staff will not be happy. It has long been a source of delight to me the sign on the bar behind the buffet, warning that ‘Plate pilers will be barred’. Class.

This is a great bar and even though it’s been around for a lifetime is still one of the more interesting and vibey places in town for a drink. One of those factors I feel is the location which gives it a bit of mystique and history which makes visiting a much more rewarding experience.
The bar is basically in an L-​shape and there are seats and tables all around the rim of it. The pints are good and the staff are great, always ready to stop and chat if the bar isn’t too busy.
Next time you’re heading to your favourite watering hole in town, take a detour and try this place out if you haven’t already.
Pros: Lovely bar, good drinking.
Cons: Might be a bit ‘old fashioned’ for some.

Only recently did I get the chance to sample some of the fine food The Morning Star has to offer. I’ve been in here numerous times for a drink and always wanted to try the food as it always looks and smells great. Well, lucky me, my boyfriend took me here last week and we got to try the great value buffet for £5. The food was delicious! On offer there was a choice of lasagne, steak pie, ribs, mince, spaghetti, mash, roasties, carrot and parsnip, and many others. We tried a good selection and all of it tasted great. I’ll definitely be back here to take advantage of this brilliant offer in the old man style pub that is the Morning Star. We also had a couple of bottles of Corona which were chilled to perfection with a juicy fresh slice of lime. Love it! Definitely somewhere I’ll be back to.

It’s a very plain traditional Irish bar with very plain traditional Irish staff and a very plain traditional Irish clientele. Although I do like trad Irish bars, this one seems to be almost «too» traditional and lacks any real ambition to be a better bar than the other 5000 in Belfast (that’s not a totally accurate number).
It strikes me as being too touristy and doesn’t strive to be anything other than a place that people go in for a pint of Guiness and then have their picture taken outside, then leave and never return.
I’ve not tried the food, though the people ordering it did seem pleased when it came out so that in itself is worth pointing out.
But ff I was in a harsh mood, I’d almost say it is boring plain traditional Irish pub.

If there’s one reason to visit the Morning Star, I can say it in two words «Lunch Buffet». They serve some of the best pub grub at their «all you can eat in one trip» lunch buffet. I’m a vegetarian, and even I was able to find plenty of things to eat. But don’t worry, meat eaters, they have stuff for you too.
I love all the signs warning against «food stacking» while you’re at the buffet. So, in order not to have your buffet privileges revoked, you have to perform a delicate balancing act of piling your plate with a lot of food, while, at the same time, not making it look like you’re trying to stack your plate.
If something runs out while you’re buffeting, don’t worry because they replenish the dishes constantly throughout the lunch hour.
I’ve also eaten dinner there a couple of times and had a great meal every time. They’ve got the usual beers on tap and a fully stocked bar.
The waiters and bartenders all wear bow ties. I mean, come on. That’s old timey.