Crown Liquor Saloon, Belfast

Often cited as the best pub in Northern Ireland, this fabulous example of a Victorian gin palace certainly lives up to such claims from an architectural point of view. The pub’s facade displays some pretty stunning, ornate tiling along with restored signs and impressive etched glass windows. Entering from the main road, you pass through a doorway with a nice mosaic tile floor design depicting a crown image, flanked by some detailed etched and stained glass windows, before emerging into the main bar area, with the servery along the left hand wall and some unique fully-partitioned booths to the right, each with its own door. The room has a decorative tile floor, an elaborate moulded ceiling, some superb ‘fish scale’ carved pillars and a run of elaborately etched and stained glass windows. The ten booths all have low doorways flanked by carved lions, bears, dragons and so on, and inside, hard bench seating runs around a single table, with the floors decorated with their own patterned tile design. The partitioning screens between each booth have a number of painted panels and coloured window panes whilst the doors have been fitted with smart, decorative handles. The servery is a real stand-out feature thanks to the incredible glazed tile bar counter with its polished granite top, heated foot rails, gas lamp lighting and grand bar back displaying high arched mirrors, old barrels, some attractive advertising friezes and pretty stained glass inserts. The toilets, to the rear of the room, also have fine glasswork in their doors and nicely tiled interiors, making them worth a quick look too. Aside from the booths, seating is very limited, with the odd drinking ledge here and there and a good deal of standing room opposite the bar. Upstairs, there is a split level dining room with its own bar. This is a much plainer space with lounge furniture on the lower section and formally set tables through the rest of the room, with decent fireplaces and a basic servery along the right hand wall as you enter. The pub is currently operated by Nicholson’s, who have invested a good deal into the pub and deserve some credit for the maintenance and restoration of the interior. A typical Nicholson’s ale range was available, comprising Broughton Hoppopotamus, Madness Absolutely, Mournie Gold, St Austell Proper Cracker, Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted and Nicholson’s Pale Ale. The Hoppopotamus was in fine shape but the Mournie Gold was flat and less enjoyable, although this was poured from the first floor bar, so I’m not sure if this was a location specific issue. As you would expect, the pub is very touristy, with a large group of Italian students entering as we were leaving and a few couples from the Far East popping in just to take some photos during the course of my visit. We also ate here, in the less interesting first floor dining room, and found the food to be pretty decent standard pub fayre. This really is a must-do pub for anyone interested in historic pub interiors, as it has to be one of the finest restorations of its kind and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring all the intricate details and grand gestures the pub has to offer. Whether it is the best pub in Northern Ireland though, I cannot say, but it did strike me as lacking the genial, lively atmosphere you might expect to find this side of the Irish Sea – a factor that perhaps makes this worth a look, but perhaps not a full session.