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Image posted by peter ashworth
Submitted on Tuesday, 26th June 2018
With picture contributions to 25497 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (2 more images)
Detail Pages
Sunflower, Belfast
Belfast
BT1 2JG
Served areas

Reviews of Sunflower (Average Rating: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Sunflower
This is a cracking little backstreet boozer which, despite its somewhat foreboding external appearance, has a very inclusive feel to it. The exterior boasts some nice etched glass windows with the pub’s name cut into them, but this look is tempered by the large metal security cage around the entrance, which was apparently erected during the troubles following a shooting in the pub and has since been retained due to its popularity with tourists. You enter into a simple quarry stone floored room with the servery along the left hand wall. Banquette and hard pew seating runs around the perimeter of the room, supplemented by low stools and chairs. The bar has a dark wood panelled counter with a cheap Formica top, and a smart, part tile, part mirror bar back, decorated with lots of pump clips and a few cuddly toys. A unplayable dartboard has been hung from a far too high height near the front door and the rest of the walls have been decorated with brewery mirrors, enamel signs, black and white photos, cartoons, framed LP covers, road signs and all sorts of other random bits. A couple of high windows have been filled with beer bottle collections and an acoustic guitar hangs on the front wall, hinting at the pub’s live music policy. A door next to the bar leads out to a decent sized garden area, partly covered and with a concrete floor, corrugated iron walls and long tables. The whole garden seemed to be bigger than the interior and plenty of people had gone outside to take advantage of the extra space. There may well have been a further room to the back of the main bar, as a few people were coming and going through a door here, but I failed to explore myself.
There was just the one handpull in operation, dispensing Hilden’s Barney’s Blow for £3.90. This wasn’t the best pint I’ve ever had, but the conditioning was at least very good. There are a few craft keg beers available and one very friendly chap gave me a pint of one of these that he’d just bought and decided wasn’t to his taste!
I really liked the feel of this place, with its mixed crowd, friendly staff and punters, interesting decor and comfortable seating options. This felt more like the kind of pub I’d hope to spend time in than the more tourist-oriented Crown and McHughes and I think the next time I’m in Belfast, this will be my first port of call.
On 25th January 2019
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2545 recommendations about 2545 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Sunflower
Attractive, if compact, backstreet pub in the Cathedral Quarter. Simply furnished, with some breweriana on the walls. Well known for live music; with a folk club, Friday residencies and other weekend gigs. Also has a comedy club, and discrete signage indicates a gay-friendly venue. One handpump on the bar, offering the local Hilden Twisted Hop (£3.50), plus (more surprisingly) a good selection of Shepherd Neame bottled beers in the fridge. Quiet when I visited on a Saturday lunchtime, but there is obviously lots going on in the evenings.
On 27th July 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6199 recommendations about 6199 pubs]
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- Official site of Sunflower - www.sunflowerbelfast.com
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- CAMRA WhatPub :: Sunflower - whatpub.com
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 25 January 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 25 January 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 25 January 2019 by Pub SignMan
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 20 March 2014 by ROB Camra
- Car Park : No last updated 25 January 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 25 January 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Function Room : Yes last updated 25 January 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Hot Food : Yes - Friday & Saturday lunch only - last updated 20 March 2014 by ROB Camra
- Karaoke : No last updated 25 January 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Live Music : Yes last updated 27 July 2013 by hondo .
- Micropub : No last updated 25 January 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Pinball : No last updated 25 January 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 27 July 2013 by hondo .
- Real Cider : No last updated 20 March 2014 by ROB Camra