Il Pirata in Belfast

Service was quite slow in the beginning (there were only 2 waitresses on for the busy restaurant. Food wasn't anything special. In fairness the waitress who served us was very pleasant & you could tell they were just rushed off their feet

Walked in. Lovely selection of small plates and large plates. Had 6 small plates for 2 adults. Nice vegetarian and fish dishes. Scallops with peas were gorgeous. Good service. Lovely helpful staff.

Gnocchi alla papera… Chiamateli zuppa alla papera! Immangiabile, salatissimo, non ha niente a che fare con il piatto autentico. Pagato £20 per questa prelibatezza, meglio il McDonald’s! Povero chi ci capita. Auguri. Ps: la cameriera con gli occhiali non c’ha niente a che fare con il servizio.

I ate too quickly to take photographs but oh my goodness our meals were gorgeous!! We had scallops, bruschetta to start then the crab linguine for mains. Desserts (chocolate tart and tiramisu) were delicious but huge so neither of us could finish!! It was also reasonably priced. Well worth a try….

Not great. Food overpriced. Staff unable to answer questions about the menu. Table was missing cutlery. Not a great experience.

We waited over 90 minutes between starters and mains. When we enquired what was keeping them. We were told they were on now and it would be “worth the wait”. Not even an apology. They then arrived 25 minutes later. Again no apology. Food was not hot and the duck ragu that had been recommended to us was so salty and watery that 2 off the people couldn’t finish it. Again no apology. Would’ve been better going to KFC Will not be back.

Been at this restaurant well over two hours and still haven’t been served our main dishes. Absolutely ridiculous, will not be back

We had a birthday celebration this evening at the restaurant and I found the service very poor. We waited for over and hour and half from getting our starters before our mains arrived. The food was not great. I had the duck ragu which was incredibly salty. Disappointed as it was a special occasion and we didn’t stay for dessert as could have become another year older. Won’t be back unfortunately.

I have visited Il Pirata multiple times with work colleagues and friends and initially had great experiences. However, the true test of a good restaurant is how they handle poor experiences, such as that encountered during our last visit. We attended with friends for a birthday early on a wet Friday evening. After being seated and chatting briefly, one waiter became noticeably agitated when we informed him that two of our guests were unable to attend at short notice. While this might be frustrating on a busy night, the restaurant was not crowded. The waiter's visible annoyance and exasperated sigh set a negative tone for the evening. Despite being quiet, the food was served rather slowly. While the dishes were tasty and well-presented, the portion sizes seemed smaller than on previous visits. These issues continued throughout the night, especially when we asked for the birthday cake to be brought to the table. At the end of the meal, the bill arrived after a short delay, but the card machine took an additional 20 minutes to reach our table. Overall, we had a fairly decent evening despite these setbacks and would’ve accepted that it is difficult to ensure every meal will be outstanding. However, the situation worsened when a member of our party became ill shortly after leaving the venue, seemingly due to something eaten that evening. We reported this to the restaurant, mentioning both the illness and our poor experience with the server. To our surprise, we received a defensive response outlining their food safety processes, with little attention given to addressing our genuine concerns. They simply assured us the staff member would be spoken to. We have visited Il Pirata on many occasions and generally enjoyed the same dishes without issue. To have such a serious issue dismissed felt like a kick in the teeth after giving the restaurant our loyal business and recommendations. I felt this one-off experience unfortunately was enough to undo all the great meals we had previously. I cannot imagine we will be returning.

Great food but extremely bad service. Waited over an hour for table without any apology. We asked if the drinks we had while waiting could be taken off bill, to which the owner came over and shouted at us. Avoid at all costs

Fantastic quality and lots of really polite servers. Nice big space which was full but not cramped. Highly reccomend

Poor choice of menu not what is advertised on website not a great atmosphere no condiments available when asked and the small plates very expensive for quality and quantity

Great staff and wonderful food. Missed a few favourites from the old menu but still great

As always IL Paratha was on top form. Fab, food nice relaxed atmosphere.

Went for sunday lunch. Food lovely and service good, what more can you ask. Thoroughly recommend.

Lovely Sunday roast dinner shared between 2. Repeat customer as it's always great.

This is a nice place. Good atmosphere, family friendly-ish and good friendly service. I went for the Duck Ragu, which was good in terms of taste and well presented, but was a bit too watery for a ragu which was disappointing. Beyond this I struggled to understand what the target demographic is with this place. It focuses on ‘rustic Italian cooking’ giving the impression it serves high class dishes and online the menu looked good, but in reality it was quite limited and the food not special enough to get away with a limited menu. Also a bit more expensive than some other restaurants nearby where the food was arguably better. Not miles better, but better. That said there were young families there happily enjoying their meals, so it’s clearly popular with regulars.

Nice meal here last night. Drinks were lovely, service was excellent and food was overall quite nice. However we ordered the burrata starter and received a mozzarella ball instead & the sides required more seasoning.

My friend and I ate in Il Pirata last night The food in this restaurant is superb with flavours to match A special shout out to out waitress, Ailish, who was very attentive even remembering us from our last visit Cannot wait for our next visit

Loved the food and atmosphere. Would visit again!

The staff were super friendly, I was given a menu that the chef had checked what I could eat safely - the kitchen is small and they can’t guarantee there is no cross contamination but I chose options which were the least likely to be risky. The food came and the gluten free dishes were visibly different which is always a positive sign! The food was amazing and super flavourful, I didn’t feel like I was missing out at all! I am coeliac and had no issues afterwards either. Would absolutely recommend.

Been here before with friends and came again tonight for valentines, the wine was excellent as well as the focaccia, burrata and goats cheese polenta starters. However the carbonara boccatini was not good- the pasta was chewy and gummy so an indicator of overcooked or not made properly. The chicken parmigiana was bland (boiled potentially? ). The crispy gnocchi side was lovely. Service was not good but only 2 servers for a near- full restaurant, waited 20 mins for our bill. Otherwise lovely restaurant and atmosphere- mains let it down.

First visit. Lovely carbonata and little bites. Friendly staff.

Very tasty food but limited choice in the menu

Very rustic restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere. We had the Sunday roast which was delicious. The vegetables were really excellent as wad the meat. Would recommend.

We usually come here for family and couple meals and it has never disappointed. The food was good but the service was shocking, after receiving our food the waitress (with purple hair) didn't visit our table for over an hour. Manager saw this and didn't do anything, such a shame

Normally lovely but the the current staff are awful. Rude slow and disinterested

My favourite Italian in Belfast. It's been going since 2010 dishing up lovely cichetti. Great for a wee treat.

Food was gorgeous. I had the rabbit.

Used to love this Italian for their hand made pasta and selection of pasta dishes / pizza. Hadn't been for a few years and was really surprised to find pizza was no longer an option on the evening menu, yet it was available on the kids menu.

Gorgeous Sunday roasts on sharing boards. We shared the beef and the chicken between 5 of us. We had breads and tapenade to start and finished off with lovely desserts. All 5 of us enjoyed every course. Well done chef.

Went here in recommendation of friends. We ordered a Sunday roast beef board for 2. Service was excellent, all the accompaniments were excellent. The best gravy ever! However, the beef was so tough we couldn’t saw our way through one of the slices………absolutely dreadful beef. We may give Il Pirata one more Sunday visit to see if any improvement. Interestingly we spoke to friends who were there after us on the same day and had the roast beef and reported the same issue. Il Pirata……….you need to revisit your beef offering if you are to get repeat business!

Excellent food genuinely couldn't fault it!

Great place for quirky Italian fare. And a great choice with regular seasonal specials.

Menu is a bit off the beaten track. Staters and desserts were good but found it very hard to choose a main. In the end i went for a mediocre carbonara.

Outstanding food and service to match. Tried and trusted combo of small plates and mains didn't disappoint. The polenta and gnocchi as sides should be mandatory. The cheesey garlic bread deserves much more than the rudimentary name it was given... another level. Really, really, really good. Youngsters loved it too.

Great service, food and atmosphere 👌

First visit and while my food was good, a bit disappointed with the short menu

Best Sunday roast I've had in a long time, great service and selection of drinks.

The food was lovely but very expensive at £17 for a breast of chicken , no veg or potatoes !

If you have a dog - don't even try it, rude and quite unpleasant "we don't serve with dogs". It's good that there is great alternative pizza place just around the corner!

Fantastic authentic Italian food to die for.

Went here with my partner to try, and it was beautiful. We had two pieces of bread for a starter, which alone on the menu was unreal, having so many different options to choose from. The food itself was lovely, very flavourful, it was too flavourful for my taste, but it's not worth giving a lower rate for, since it's a personal preference. The desserts were lovely as well, and the drinks of course! The servers were wonderful and attentive as well, which made the experience lovely. Thank you!

Lovely evening great food and service special mention to Brett for outstanding service

Gorgeous brunch on Saturday with cocktails because why not? Always a warm welcome from Naomi and team and food and cocktails were gorgeous. This place never disappoints

Food was fantastic. We hadn't been for a while after being regular customers for years. Menu has lots of variety, whether you want small or larger meal, and my arancini starter followed by meatball bruschetta was delicious. Will be back soon.

One of the best meals I've had in a long time and the manager was an absolute delight couldnt recommended enough

Average food with very expensive taste

Wow. A fantastic Italian. Every time I go here I'm impressed with the service but most of all the food. I had a tomato based dish (sorry can't remember which!) and it was out of this world. The meatballs starter was seriously tasty too. Goats cheese polenta which we've had before is very good too. My partner had carbonara and was less impressed - she said it was OK but not amazing. However that's her experience and mine was epic so giving this five stars. They do the best 0% beer - Heineken - on draft. Best 0% beer I've ever tasted. They even do gluten free pasta. If you're into Italian food, I don't think you'll be disappointed (although I've never been to Italy so take that with a grain of salt maybe!)

My wife and I tried the sharing Sunday Chicken Roast..it was delicious and even had loads left to take away.The service is second to none and the atmosphere is so relaxed..it's always a lovely experience dining here.

Spacious and with great food, all lovely and the staff are very attentive.

My favourite restaurant in Belfast. For lovers of great tastes and Italian food. The Sunday sharing roasts are incredible, and the chichettis, crispy gnocchi & tiramisu are real highlights. Great staff. Never disappoints.

Food was just okay. Simply not very tasty. Focaccia starter was not focaccia as we know it -couldnt taste any rosemary or salt, and wasn't the same texture as we're used to (seemed just like normal sandwich bread?!). Arancini nice and crispy, but again lacked taste. Pasta mains were fine. Lovely soft prawns in the prawn pasta, but again overall lacked taste. I think they missed the truffle off the truffle and parmesan potatoes. Staff were attentive and wine was good. Won't rush back.

When we arrived we hadn't booked a table. Although we arrived at 5.30pm on a Thursday so it wasn't busy. We were met with a rude host telling us we could dine but would have to leave by 7. 30. We made the mistake of just leaving then. The restaurant is quite large with well over 20 tables and there only one table with two people dining at that moment. To say that to a customer was just arrogant and unnecessary. He continued to be very dull and like we were not wanted for the rest of the evening. The food was okay but definitely not worth the pricing. Won't be back.

The food was phenomenal and a really nice change from what's available locally. The initial service from the waitress was amazing, but after we asked to move tables (my father is hearing impaired and we got sat next to a large party that was quite loud) the waiter with the black face mask on nearly ruined the meal (ignoring us (to the point of the busboy serving us (great kid)), refusing to pour wine, essentially throwing wine glasses at us, etc.). We figured asking to move wasn't a big issue, but apparently that was too much to ask of the waiter, who pretty much ignored us after we moved to his section. Overall the food was absolutely brilliant (5 stars), but I wish the service was better (the one waiter really drags the entire staff down which is very unfortunate).

Delicious I ordered lemon chicken. Sides of Parmesan fries were excellent. Nice space and staff attentive. Good atmosphere

Very disappointing. The food was pretty awful, especially considering the price. It’s probably the worst vegan meal I’ve had and my husband’s chicken wasn’t good either. I don’t usually give bad reviews but it was so bad I felt like I should.

Always a treat. Great food and staff. Another high standard Ballyhackamore establishment.

We visited for the sunday roast on mothers day. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Great service and good value for money. Good buzz about the place too

This is one our local restaurants and we have always had lovely meals. We went before going to a concert recently and we were shocked at the decline. The menu seems to be getting shorter and shorter and therefore, very limited. My husband ordered the duck Ragu with gnocchi a dish he has ordered many times before. He said the gnocchi was very wet and loose and the ragu didn’t have much flavour. I ordered the roast hake with Parma ham and caviar. The hake came out fish and one piece of grilled leek. Then a small jug of cream sauce. The Parma ham in very small pieces was in the sauce and the caviar -I’ve no idea where it was! The dish was bland. Just a nicely cooked piece of fish with a cream tasteless sauce. I gave the waiter feedback saying it was fine but bland. He apologised and came back offering free desserts. We selected one which was fine but again flavour limited. We will continue to visit for Sunday roasts but apart from that there are better places to spend your money!!!!

In response to all the reviews commenting that the vegan menu is poor, I think and have thought, for a long time, quite the opposite! Dishes executed extremely well and very complementing in their flavours!

First time visiting, food was amazing and can definitely see why it was recommended to us by colleagues. Food alone carries this establishment.

We ate the lamb with a spoon… say no more. Delicious food and great service, becoming one of our regular spots. Caters well for gluten free! Also the ambience is perfect

Great food and service. Weren't rushed off the table either. Will be back

I came to this restaurant as I saw it on the Michelin Guide 22. I would never mention this restaurant on my own guide. I came for the vegan menu it was quite okay the option. I ordered a bruschetta that I've never seen made in that way and very small. The tagliatelle it was just mixed up stuffs with the past as if I have taken all the ingredients left on my fridge and just add to the pan my husband ordered something that seemed a start plate just a white liquid leek (wouldn't call that as a cream) a few diced polenta on it. Price really high for the quality. Service is low and time to receive the food too long. Would never recommend this place to anyone else.

I booked a large table (26 of us) for my husband's birthday and we had absolutely fantastic service, in the lead up and on the night! The waiters and waitresses looking after us were so kind, attentive and were up for a bit of craic with us too. The food was fantastic as always and we were allowed to bring in a birthday cake. We weren't rushed out and really appreciated being so well looked after, thank you!

Visited with a friend for a weekend girls night, very lucky to get a last minute reservation. Cocktails were amazing! The menu was confusing- we dont speak italian and are pescatarian and vegetarian, so googling nearly every word on the menu to see what it meant was really annoying... We had given up googling the menu (malfatti, panelle, baccala, peperonata, trapanese and so on) We ordered “ Bresola with Fig Mostarda, Taleggio, Walnut” amongst other dishes… the bresola turned out to be cured meat.. I realised after i had already taken a bite!! After 8 years of not eating any meat i was eating a cured meat covered in fig molasses **cries** … the King scallops also come with meat on top and in the butter sauce .. on closer inspection of the menu again by candle light it says underneath with “carbonara butter” so disappointing two dishes were ruined for us, granted partly our mistake. There are no symbols on the menu indicating what is vegetarian/ vegan etc and some sort of an explanation even on the back of the menu to say what these things mean would go a long way!! Lovely service all the same. Menu needs work for non italian speakers!!

Lovely meal, great service and cosy atmosphere. Will be back again.

Beautiful atmosphere and lovely wait staff. We had pizza, gnocchi, Parmesan fries for the main and chocolate cannoli with a latte for dessert. Pizza and gnocchi were great, but was a bit disappointed by the cannoli. It was very tiny and looked like it had been frozen, wouldn’t have it again.

So we called in on a Sunday and had the shared roast dinner. It was £48 so £24 per person. The food and service were both top notch. Confident that we will be back another Sunday soon.

Pizza not hot, seabass served cold then guest had to wait while we finished our mains for his. Cocktails are standard at best and considering price you would be hoping for something nice. Carbonara ws very watery. It's a shame as we heard great things. I will say the scallop starter was lovely and tasty. Il pirata were nice enough to reduce our bill however the standard was so poor we probably would not return Waiting staff were pleasant and kind.

Sunday sharing roasts are amazing. The short rib starter is delicious too 😋

Th food was great but the service was exceptional. The wonderful guy that looked after us was called Brett. He could run a waiter school! He was just brilliant in every way. We will be back to Il Pirata very soon and when I book I will be asking if Brett is working. Congratulations on a really lovely experience this evening.

Had dinner with my wife on Friday evening. What a wonderful experience. Food was stunning and service was excellent. The duck ragu was so flavourful. Highly recommended.

I recently visited Il Pirata for dinner and had a great experience. The atmosphere was really warm and inviting with ambient lighting and a cozy atmosphere. The pizza was delicious and reasonably priced. I would highly recommend Il Pirata for anyone looking for a great Italian meal.

As always, a good mix of cichetti and pizzettas to be tried here. Great service and a good buzz, even on a Sunday evening. One minor quibble... the truffled polenta was tasty, but very salty!

We visited Il Pirata for our anniversary meal after seeing that it was Michelin recommended. To be honest, compared to some other places in the Michelin guide we left unsure of why Il Pirata was in there. The food was nice, but nothing overly special. The portions are pretty small - my pizza, which I intended to share with my son looked more like a children’s pizza. My husband ordered the duck after seeing it recommend and although delicious, again it wasn’t a huge portion. That being said it was tasty. We wanted to try more than one dessert each, so ordered more, and it was a good job as again these were very modest portions. However, I certainly feel that with the desserts this was reflected in the price. Fortunately we’d had a later lunch on the day of our visit otherwise I think we may have still been hungry after our visit. The restaurant itself was pretty busy and noisy, with the noise probably enhanced by the lack of soft furnishings. Our waiter was very friendly and polite but absolutely rushed off his feet. Although the food was very tasty and we had a nice time I’m not sure why this restaurant receives all the hype that it does.

Il Pirata never fails to delight. Great service, fabulous food and a really warm and family friendly atmosphere. Highly recommend anyone who has not been to give it a go.

Overpriced and tasteless. Clearly too busy and can’t cope with the pressure. Staff and service excellent but the food was very disappointing.

I took my father and daughter to the restaurant on a Saturday night. After waiting 15 minutes I had to fetch a waitress to take a drinks order. The food was average and the portion size was small. After our main course we waited 30 minutes to have our dirty dishes removed. The staff were preoccupied hanging around the bar having great craic amongst themselves. We decided not to order dessert or coffee at this point as the service was so disappointing. When I conveyed this to our waitress her response was complete and utter disinterest. The service had the feel of the manager’s night off. I have been going here for years and the decline is very evident. What a shame!

Beautiful food and great service. Friendly staff and lovely atmosphere.

Managed to get a spot on the island on a busy Friday night. We had delicious starters followed by fantastic pizzas. Everything was so fresh and tasty. The staff were really helpful, especially as I'm gluten free, and it was very reasonably priced. What more would you want?!

We were a party of 14 in total and met up for Sunday lunch. We had great service from the staff and the food was fabulous. Some of us had the Sunday sharing platters which were quite substantial and others a selection from the menu. We had starters and dessert all of which was delicious. We would definitely return. Thanks

Nice place to eat although my husband wasn't too keen on tomato base of pizza very thick in some places and none in others The only other criticism was it was very draughty were we were sitting But overall the experience was good

Family group of five. Great food and good service. Great range of starters.For Mains-Two had the shared beef platter and others had seafood linguine. Allergy to celery catered for by chef.

Lovely food and friendly staff. Nice atmosphere.

We had called to book for the Sunday carvery, when we arrived we were told they had sold out and that it was a first come, first served basis - understandable, but wish we had been informed during the initial booking of this, as we had explicitly said we wanted to book for the carvery. Should mention at this point we were advised by friends the carvery was very good - hence the initial reason to book. We opted for alternative starters and mains and unfortunately they were just not as good as you would have expected. One of our party order 'lemon and herb chicken' and the plate came swimming in sauce. The others had cod (possibly frozen). All food was ok, but compared to other restaurants in Ballyhackamore there is definitely improvements thats can be made. The service was good, the waitress was friendly.

We went for the Sunday roast and also ordered from the main menu. Small me u but all done well. They made us custom affogatto desserts off menu.

Delicious tapas, reasonably priced wine and innovative cocktails

The story of the heavy door: arrived hungry, needed food to build strength to open it but food on other side of door, helpful staff came to our aid, near took door off hinges on way out [TLDR - spin on user error for attempt at funny review] Great quality food - will be back

Très mauvaise adresse sur palau alors qu’il y a tant de bons restaurants ailleurs. Serveuse désagréable au possible. Le lieu est certes joli mais ce qu’il y a dans l’assiette est très mauvais. Gras et sans saveur et je vous déconseille vivement ce lieu !

The food and ambience in this place were great. The menu is very extensive and every dish we received was beautiful. It is well worth the money and a visit

The roast share platter is UNREALLLLLL, Sundays only.

Portion sizes and the food are brilliant. One of the best places to eat in Ballyhackamore.

Lovely pasta! I enjoyed sitting on the central raised table as a child, its a nice and not very busy restaurant

Visited here for lunch and hadn’t been here since the early days! Straight down to food, for starters we ordered the goats cheese polenta and the braised beef arancini. The polenta had very little goats cheese, overshadowed by more plentiful potato and the arancini was...

Don't be off by the wacky decor which places you in a primary school classroom from the sixties. Attentive service from the French maitre d' and staff. Varied mediterranean menu with smallish but intense flavours. Open spaces where the younger ones were not discouraged from...

The vegan menu is soooo underwhelming. They should do better 😤

Lovely place spacious and wearing well, rustic comfortable and trendy. Menu of comfortable classics Arancini with a beefy slant , cheesey swirl underneath and lightly cured mushrooms , all in all strong ingredients but weak in taste and no crunch to the coating. Cod nice...

During the lockdowns the restaurant offered a cook at home selection which we took and enjoyed, but we were unable to visit for a considerable time. This was our first time back since 2019. We chose starters of chorizo in tomato sauce and poached pears...