William Barry mixes and matches the brews in Belfast’s classic brewery restaurant, Molly’s Yard.

Located on Botanic Avenue and adjacent to Queens University, Molly’s Yard is owned and operated by Siobhan Scullion, whose family own the celebrated Hilden Brewery in Lisburn. Hilden is Ireland’s oldest independent brewery, and the Scullions have pioneered the revival of Ireland craft beers for over thirty years.

The brewery restaurant setting is unique, and it plays a large part in the restaurant’s character: it's as if you are leaving the city behind as you enter through high-arched black gates, make your way down a narrow alleyway, then through a hidden courtyard to the converted stables which house the quaint dining rooms.

The menu is short: rich contemporary Irish food that emphasises seasonality and local suppliers. To start, try Walter Ewing’s pale smoked haddock on homemade fadge with crisp black pudding and chive hollandaise, or terrine of Irish game with toasted brioche, black and red currant sauce.  Mains includes pan-roasted venison (from County Down's Finnebrogue Estate) with celeriac and potato dauphinoise, braised red cabbage, cranberry and onion jus, and there's a robust dry-aged Irish ribeye steak with pan-fried colcannon cake. The chunky chips are fit for a king. Rhubarb, orange and ginger crumble with crème Anglaise is a refreshing twist on the classic pud, or wallow in a Belgian chocolate brownie with Molly’s Chocolate Stout ice cream and chocolate sauce.

The craic in Molly's is to match your food choices with a range of craft beers from the Scullion stable: have fun trying, mixing and matching and letting your palate decide.  It's an idea to match like with like – lighter ales with lighter foods, and the richer stouts and porters with richer foods, a light malty Belfast Blond draft with your starter, then moving on to darker drinks such as Scullions Irish Ale or Headless Dog with darker meats.

“ If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world”.

This J.R.R Tolkien quote appears on the Hilden website and it rings as true today as it did when it first appeared in The Hobbit, in 1937. If every town had an destination like Molly’s Yard, then Ireland would definitely be a merrier place.

Molly’s Yard
1 College Green Mews
Botanic Avenue
Belfast BT7 1LW
Tel: 02890322600
Web: www.mollysyard.co.uk