The Poet

Nice atmosphere at the weekends with live music. Food is always very tasty, with regular specials. Not bad prices, you get what you pay for. Quality over quantity & all that. I would recommend this place & think it is harshly treated because of the location.

Recently The Lonely Poet have dropped the ‘lonely’ bit so now they are just The Poet.
Perhaps they felt it gave negative connotations. I think it’ll take more than a name change to change my opinion sadly.
The bar itself is really nicely kitted out, they sell alcohol which is what a bar should do, but there is something about it that just jars. Being situated in a shabby looking 1970s shopping centre really doesn’t help, but if the food was brilliant or there was a good atmosphere or service it would make all the difference. Put it this way, it is the closest bar to my house and I’d rather walk half an hour in the opposite direction.

One to avoid.
We booked this for a family pre-​Christmas meal. The whole thing was terrible.
The alarm bells should have started ringing when we had to pick our choices from the menu in advance, but I know places get busy at Christmas so we let it pass. Although as a party of 8 this was unexpected.
On the day the service was very poor. Difficult to get any attention, and when we did the feeling was we were a nuisance, not a customer.
The food was not nice at all. The prawn terrine and the pâté in particular were inedible.
I would have complained at the time, but it was a gift from my father, so I didn’t want to make a fuss. But I must say I don’t think I’ll ever be back.

A stylishly decorated bar/​restaurant in an area sorely lacking. I’ve been here a number of times with about a 60% success rate.
Sometimes the food and service are brilliant and other times poor. The difference between a good and a great restaurant is consistency. The Lonely Poet is missing this.

Oh goodness… I’m really in two minds about this place.
On the one hand, it really is the most gorgeous pub /​bar. Well decorated, sleek and refined, it really is a million miles away from what the pervious pub looked like. Having frequented The Lonely Poet almost every Sunday night for a couple of months, my friends and appreciate the fab wee Irish band who play their hearts out each week.
The very first time I went to the Lonely Poet was with a couple of friends for dinner. The food wasn’t brilliant — my pasta tasted a bit watery, and we did have a very long wait for it, despite the fact that there really weren’t that many other people in the place. I was a bit disappointed.
The first time I went on a Sunday night with a large group of friends for a drink, we waited 25 minutes to be served, and there must have been at least 10 of us sitting there. Not a great start.
Since then, it has really been hit and miss. The staff have sometimes been lovely, other times they’ve been stand-​offish and a bit awkward. One Sunday, we were told that the kitchen had been closed early, even though it was only 9pm, and they didn’t close for at least another 2 hours. Oh dear.
So, there you have it. I’m really no clearer, and in fact, probably a bit more confuddled. Still, Sunday nights at the Lonely Poet will probably be a regular occurence. The only way is up, eh?

Myself and approximately nine friends decided to hold our annual Christmas meal here; it turned out to be the dining equivalent of hearing your mum and dad wrestle Christmas presents, «from Santa», out of the loft at the age four quickly followed by the realisation that all is not as it seems until eventually an older sibling delivers the sucker punch, ‘Santa isn’t real’.
After initial reluctance — for no apparent reason — from the manager to even take the booking over the telephone, we were told we would be choosing from the Christmas fixed menu. This was fine and what we considered normal practice during the festive period. When we arrived, the manager informed the organiser — after a frosty reception — we were to be given the normal a la carte menu and told to order from that as the Christmas fixed price menu had either ran out or was finished. Even at this, we were not perturbed as many of the party didn’t feel they could have finished a three course meal. In what we saw as an effort to seem apologetic, the manager offered to send out pinot-​noir sorbet (which we assumed was free of charge). Most of the party ordered two courses with a few only ordering a main.
After finishing the meal we entered the farce that was the bill served up with an enormous side order of managerial incompetence. We had been charged for the fixed price 3-​course menu (of which no-​one got) and we were charged (extra!) for the sorbet (which no-​one ordered or even wanted). After ‘discussions’ with the manager approached an hour, during which he displayed the grace and customer service skills of a rutting stag, he agreed to let us pay for what we had eaten i.e. the a la carte prices. How compromising seeing as this is what we were told on arrival. He insisted we must pay for the sorbet which, quite frankly, was gelatinous, gloopy and bland, no-​one had ordered and most of which was returned after one frown enducing mouthful. After further discussions we eventually agreed to pay for half the sorbet received. We were in shock when a different member of the party tried to talk to the manager only to be told, ‘I’m not talking to you!’ and was then ‘shooed’. Never before have I come across a venue with such appalling management. Such a disappointment considering the food and waiting staff were of a decent standard. I have worked in catering for over a decade and have never come across a more uncompromising, incompetent management with such an unyielding arrogance.
I have written a letter of complaint and the management didn’t even have the courtesy to reply. (I have subsequently heard I am not the only one)
Me and my fellow diners have been left with nothing but contempt for this establishment and utter disdain for the management.
I would strongly recommend you stay clear.

The Lonely Poet is one of those great places that really does have something for everyone. I have seen people have business meetings over coffee and pastries at 10am, rowdy girly lunches at noon, romantic nights out (even one first date and yes I am an obsessive eavesdropper) and raucous Big Nights Out. Oh, hold on, that was me.
I recently had a night out with a large group in the lonely Poet, for a meal and (lots of) drinks. I am delighted to say that the waiting staff were friendly, efficient and had all the patience required to deal with a bunch of over excited thirty somethings let loose for the night. I had Thai fish cakes to start — totally yum and served with lime dressing and then I played it safe with a steak as I needed something substantial to line the old tum with. The steak was perfectly well done as I had requested, and the extra chunky chips I ordered were certainly chunky! The rest of the night was a blur of multiple drinks orders and our lovely waitress didn’t even flinch at the end when we tried to calculate our shares of the bill.
On the visit before that with just a couple of friends, I had a chicken ceasar (ok ok, chunky chips too) which was top notch and then enjoyed the live music which I think happens every Sunday.
It will sound like I never cook, but I was recently in the Lonely Poet with another group of friends for a birthday lunch. There were a couple of small kids in the group and they were treated like visiting royalty. A colouring in book and crayons for the young lady? Of course. Some complimentary carrot sticks? Certainly. Sausage and chips which aren’t even on the menu? No problem as we say in Belfast. Anywhere that makes this much effort to keep the whole family happy will always get my vote!

The Lonely Poet is a bit hit and miss. On the one hand, it’s a really nice venue and much needed bar on this side of town. On the other, it seems to be pitching itself as a gastropub and I’m not sure that’s working. Have heard mixed reviews from friends on the quality of the food and of the food service (bar service is fine).