Northern Ireland

Belfast’s friendliest pubs revealed according to TripAdvisor

The Reporter, Rattlebag and Felons Club all feature in the top 10

The Reporter Bar in Union Street. Picture by Hugh Russell
The Reporter Bar in Union Street in Belfast. PICTURE: HUGH RUSSELL
By Suzanne McGonagle

A bar honouring Belfast’s newspaper printing and publishing heritage has been named the friendliest pub in Belfast, according to a new study.

The Reporter, which is located on Union Street, topped the poll of almost 70 pubs or bars across Belfast.

Cocktail bar Rattlebag took second spot with Bert’s Jazz Bar, Felons Club and the Sunflower also among the top 10.

The study, which was carried out by Belfast Bus Tours, analysed TripAdvisor data on 69 pubs or bars across Belfast.

Each pub was rated out of 100 based on its TripAdvisor rating and mentions of positive terms like friendly, helpful, lovely, and kind per review.

The Reporter, located close to the former Irish News offices and the old Belfast Telegraph building, topped the study as the city’s friendliest pub, scoring 70 out of 100.

It had a perfect review score of five on TripAdvisor and a high rate of reviews that mention positive social terms. An average of 80% of reviews included positive terms such as friendly and lovely.

Rattlebag on Ann Street had with the joint-highest rate of favourable social terms per review of any bar in the city.

With a score of 65 out of 100, the city centre cocktail bar placed above almost every other bar in Belfast, propelled towards the top of the ranking thanks to averaging one friendly mention per review.

The bar also had a score of 4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor.

Felons Club was ranked the third friendliest bar in Belfast and the top for west Belfast, according to the research.

The Felons Club on the Falls Road
The Felons Club on the Falls Road

Reviewers on TripAdvisor have given the bar an impressive score of 4.5 based on 85 reviews with the bar receiving a positivity score of 74%.

In fourth spot is Liquor XXX with the Latin-style cocktail bar on Dublin Road ranked high for friendly service thanks to a TripAdvisor rating of 4.5 and 71% of the reviews praising its friendly staff.

The Pavilion, on Belfast’s Ormeau Road, was ranked fifth friendliest.

Renowned for live music and comedy nights across its three floors, The Pavilion was found to have some of the friendliest workers, with 67% of guests leaving positive comments.

Owner of the iconic Sunflower Bar in Belfast , speaks to The Irish News on leaving Belfast. PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN
Publican Pedro Donald, pictured outside the iconic Sunflower Bar in Belfast before leaving Belfast earlier this year. PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN

Berts Jazz Bar, Ryan’s Bar, The Mermaid Inn, The Errigle Inn and The Sunflower make up the rest of the top 10.

Chris Graham of Belfast Bus Tours said: “Belfast is renowned around the UK and worldwide for its friendly locals and charming, welcoming pubs and nightlife.

“Four of the friendliest bars in the city can be found in south Belfast, while a further four are located right in the city centre, making these spots the best in the city for a friendly drink.

“One of the top-ranking bars was in west Belfast, while no bars in the east made the top 10.”