Whites Tavern, Belfast

Official site of Whites Tavern - www.whitestavernbelfast.com

Official site of Whites Tavern - www.whitestavernbelfast.com

Purportedly dating from 1630 Whites Tavern claims to be the oldest pub in Belfast. Located down an alley it is easily missed and I’d have not found it without the Pubs Galore app. The L-shaped interior is dimly lit with seating and an old fireplace to the left of the bar that faces a large wooden double sided gate on the front of the pub. Seating runs along this wall and then up the right hand side. The bar is very low, in fact there are a couple of chairs at the right edge where a couple were sat using the bar as a table. The back bar is exposed brick and old wooden beams run from front to back along the length of this pub that feels a bit like an old outhouse. Some of these beams are covered with old bank notes, most of which are dollars. I found the service to be very friendly and just before I left a couple of fiddlers set up at a table and started playing some Irish folk music. The Guinness was very good and I liked it in here so would pop back if in the area again.

Hidden away in an alleyway, this place claims to be Belfast's oldest pub but apparently it has moved premises at some stage (which explains why it doesn't look anything like as old as it should). Obviously very popular, though, but this makes getting served in the small bar quite tricky and then nowhere to sit down. No real ale either, so went for the anodyne Caledonia Smooth. On the plus side, there was a good atmosphere outside with some entertaining live music going on.

Although I'd been in here twice before some years ago, it took me a while to find it, as it's hidden away up an alley. It's worth tracking down though, as it claims to be Belfast's oldest pub, dating from 1630, and looks the part. Dark and atmospheric, it was very quiet on my most recent visit, possibly because it was a Monday night.

Called in here on a Bank Holiday Monday when it was also a holiday on the Tuesday. This meant that it was pretty busy and most people in here had been out all day, which made for a noisy, raucous, but friendly time. It has the feel of a cellar when you walk in. The bar is to the right and has a standard selection of Irish kegs. It's fairly spartan, but the old glass in the windows is worth a visit on their own. I had a pint of Guinness, which was fine and listened to the banter going on around us. Very amusing. It's a decent pub is this.

As it proudly proclaims on it's outside wall, Whites Tavern is Belfast's oldest pub dating back to 1630. It has a rather more modern exterior but whilst it might not look like Belfast's oldest tavern I found it one of the friendliest with the famous Irish “craic“ well in evidence. An impromptu guitar session was going on outside on my first visit and a young lady insisted, despite my protestations, on buying my pint because she had jumped in front of me at the bar (I could drink all night for free in London on that basis). On my second visit it was quieter as it was during the afternoon but I got chatting to a guy about local pubs and Belfast in general and we could easily have ended up sharing a few more beers if I hadn't had other plans.