The Garrick, Belfast

Dating from 1870, this retains a traditional atmosphere, with a real fire, tiled floor and dark wood panelling. There was also an impromptu folk music session going on the night I was there. Relatively expensive at £3.60 for a pint of lager or Smithwick's Irish Ale, but most of the better city centre pubs have pricing at that level. The writing on the outer wall says "A nation that keeps one eye on the past is wise. A nation that keeps two eyes on the past is blind," which is probably quite apposite for Ireland. Unfortunately, none of the bar staff on duty knew who the quotation was from.

Small ornate bar with some booths to the left as you enter all with smart leather couches. There were a few people in when we called, late afternoon on a Thursday, but it was deathly quiet, almost like a library. Most of the clientele were single older men reading papers. It's that kind of place. Even the TV was off which is very unusual for a Belfast bar. The barmaid wasn't particularly welcoming, almost as if we had interupted her snooze. Standard range of Irish kegs on the bar, so I had a Guinness, which was OK. We had to move on after one though to prove that life was still going on outside.

Very nice bar indeed, very ornate