The Mourne Seafood Restaurant (Belfast)

As the start of what will hopefully be a series of restaurants reviews of old and new eateries in Northern Ireland, the Mourne Seafood Restaurant has the honour of being the first to undergo scrutiny.

This review may be a little biased, as I must come clean and admit that it is my favourite place to eat in Belfast. I have been going now for a number of years and for very good reason. The Mourne manages what all really great restaurants do, great service, fantastic food, great drinks list etc, but unlike restaurants such as Deanes or James St. South, it is easy to have a dinner for two for twenty pounds a head! It is excellent value for money, which in this day and age seems to make it a popular choice, as it is fully booked every weekend and even weekday lunch services can have queues stretching out the door.

The building itself is nestled in beside Kellys Cellers on Bank St. and maintains a fishmongers that you must walk through to enter the dining room itself. I love this sense of theatre and I sometimes get the impression that this tiny fishmongers is only kept to add to the atmosphere more then anything else. Inside it is dark and traditional, with big black wooden tables and chairs. It was maybe unfair to compare it to Deanes earlier, as these are two very different dining experiences. The Mourne has a very laid back atmosphere and I am always made to feel very comfortable and relaxed. The ever changing menu (a great sight in a seafood, or indeed any restaurant) is chalked up in the numerous blackboards and the overall effect is that the restaurant is feels warm and cosy with a distinct nuatical feel, without being tacky or 'themed.'

The menu is presented in two ways, one for the regular dishes, and a specials menu that changes daily. I have managed to make my way through most of the regular dishes but the real fun is to be had in the specials menu, as most of the dishes are well thought out, use the freshest ingredients and are lovingly prepared by a small team of dedicated chefs in an astonishingly small kitchen. There are a number of dishes that continue to appear on the menu due to their popularity, such as the linguini and scollops in a basil, tomato and saffron cream, a very rich dish that is pure comfort food and there are always a couple of baked whole fish on offer, the seabass with bacon and clams or herb veloute, served with crunchy fennel salad and herb boiled baby potatoes being a particular favourite. The fish and chips also deserves special mention, simple but delicious and very reasonably priced and of course, the Mourne is famous for its oysters, the seafood platter being a great way to introduce yourself to this delicacy if you have never dared to enjoy them before.
While I love just about everything on the menu, I am usually happiest when scavenging through a large pot of mussles in white wine, garlic, cream and handfulls of fresh chopped parsley, mopping up the unbelievably good sauce with a bit of crusty bread.
I am not a big sweet person, but the dessert menu in the Mourne may be converting me to puds, as they do the nicest sticky toffee pudding I have ever eaten, (although I am yet to try everything else). The wine list is well thought out, mostly inexpensive and even the house reds and whites are very drinkable. There are also a good number of rather fine ales on offer and even a fairly original cocktail list.

One of the great things about the relaxed atmomsphere is that I am never made to feel pressured into ordering a three course meal. I have often popped in for lunch, shared a pot of mussles and a breadbasket, washed it down with a quick pint of guinness and been out in half an hour. The service is friendly and attentive without being stuffy or having waiters needlessly buzzing around the table. This is not silver service but neither is it surly part time students who couldn't muster enthusiasm even if they weren't out the back smoking joints all night (that isn't a joke, I actually know plenty of those...)

Together with the local artwork, the menu, some local beers on offer and its clientel and location, you get the impression that this is very much a local, Belfast restaurant, something that is missing in many of the fine dining establishments in the area. A lot of chefs often talk about good quality, local, seasonal produce as being massivley important when operating a restaurant and the Mourne's menu displays all these things. Oozing with character and charm, I cannnot recommend this restaurant highly enough. Some people may think this review hardly a critique and more of a an excuse to lavish praise on my favourite restaurant, but as it is fully booked nearly all the time, it would seem that the people of Belfast agree.