The Jailhouse in Belfast

What on earth has happened to the Jailhouse? Previously a friendly bar with good craic. The staff on our previous visit behind the bar were lacking in manners. Was one female bar staff mute? She saw me standing at the bar for several minutes, with no other customers to serve. I had to approach her. At the whole time of serving me, she didn't utter one word to me. No please or thank you, no smile, NADA! You could tell she didn't want to be there Atmosphere in the bar was also lacking. Mark the owner needs to pop in every once and a while before his business goes even more down hill. Such a shame as we didn't hang around long.

Really nice surroundings, great staff.

Have fallen out of love with the inside of the Jailhouse, too dark and toilets up 3 flights of stairs. When I go there now, and I still do, I prefer to sit outside at the back along Joy's Entry where I can watch Belfast go by.

overpriced and waiting 30 mins to get served not a great first impression and don’t think I’ll be back 😬

Top es war grandios so wie man sich eine bar vorstellt.

Went to this amazing place with few friends just for drinks. We got some pints (Estrella) and hot whiskey and everything was really nice. Friendly staff. And the place itself looks fantastic! It's divided for 2 parts - dining area which looks classy and drinking area which looks more rough (in a good way). Great place for couples, great place for drinking with lads

Poor service from the girls at the second bar ... it took us more than half an hour to be served ... they didn't seem to want to serve us ... even when they did serve us they served us with debauchery ... I wouldn't recommend it at all to anyone who wants quality service

Always a good spot for a few drinks a hidden gem 👌

Went to a birthday party where a room was hired at the top. Great atmosphere and the whole thing worked really well.

Ended up here after our works Christmas party and we had a blast.

Came when it was so busy you couldn't sit down but we managed to hole up in a corner of the beer garden. Everyone very friendly despite being rushed off their feet trying to serve at a million miles an hour. Great setting and great drinks.

Went to jailhouse tonight, it is one of our usual hunts, anyway music was great , but defo not enough bar staff on for this time of year, very disappointed. Nice staff but could see they were frustrated with lack of support not sure I’d go back

Had a great time with friends lovely atmosphere staff and food. Would definitely recommend

Nice bar. Quite large, if large group can easily accommodate.

Really great place with great music.

Seven of us called into this bar for drinks (before our reservations at a restaurant) and had been drinking about 2.5/3hrs enjoying the craic when suddenly we were ordered to "leave the table immediately " that we had been sitting at telling us that the table had been reserved. No forewarning or anything, we had just received another round of drinks too, so we said we would not move until we had finished our drinks and why didnt they at least give us 30mins notice. So the staff member went to get the manager who had told him to clear our table and the one next to us, then we see this 'manager' coming stomping down in a rage face like thunder telling us to we had to leave our table right now when we tried to explain that we had not been forewarned therefore we would finish our drinks first, he actually roared "GET THE F*CK OUT OF MY BAR" We were absolutely shocked and disgusted to be treated in this manner. The attitude of this 'manager" was actually very verbally abusive and felt quite threatening to be honest. When another manager called Tiernan heard what had happened he apologised to us for the way we had been treated and said that he would deal with the matter personally. We spent the guts of £300 in there and thats how we were treated. Disgusting behaviour which was completely uncalled for and so unnecessary. It put a dampner on our annual Christmas outing in Belfast...

I would rate this as zero if I could. I understand they are busy due to the Christmas season, but the staffing and management were atrocious. Firstly, the fire alarm went off, which didn't seem to cause even the slightest of concern to staff or patrons. This perhaps should have been a warning to move on. Secondly, glasses were not collected with any sort of haste, so everywhere was cluttered. Considering the drinks prices, one would want sharper service. However, most egregious of all was the management. Apparently tables in the bar (not the restaurant), have a 2hr limit which is not made clear. Since "reserved" cards are entirely absent, a server will just arrive at your table to inform you that this table is in fact booked, and you most vacate it immediately even if you have just purchased a fresh round of drinks. This happened to several tables during our visit, and all were rightly aggrieved. I felt sorry for the servers who had to deliver the news, which seems to be a common occurance judging from other reviews. Not moving fast enough will result in a manager arriving, not to explain that the bar were neglectful in placing a card indicating the reservation time, but to unload attitude and shout at customers to leave. All of this before 5pm. It was one of the most unprofessional customer service interactions I have ever witnessed, and I am genuinely surprised the manager in question has not been given a reprimand. Overall, extremely disappointed with the entire experience, and absolutely will not be back.

Called in with my mum and aunt for mulled wine. Staff great, good atmosphere, drinks fantastic. Will definitely be back for food

Pathetic altogether worst experience ever I won’t be back. Ran out of Guinness ran out of Heverlee beer service terrible more young people washing empty glasses than bar persons serving. What a dump. Stay clear

Dirty plats and glasses on the table, we were there about 40 mins in total, and these were never picked up. Had to move them ourselves. Drinks, nice. Fire alarm was going of for over 10 mins and no one seemed to make an effort to stop it

It's absolutely freezing in here. Might as well be sitting outside!! Everyone wearing their hats and coats 🥶

One of my favourite bars in the centre of Belfast. Good Guinness and excellent cocktails.

Busy Thursday night and 1 bar man run off his feet. Poor management

Lovely wee atmosphere. Drinks selection was also fantastic! Bit of a trek to the toilets lol

Walked into bar for some food and shown to our seats by waitress who said I will bring a menu, bar was not overly busy so we waited patiently after 9 minutes no one had approached us with a menu or to ask for a drink, disappointing so left

Very busy couldn't get in to eat

We stopped by the Jailhouse for a drink while out exploring the city. The service was a lil slow even though there weren't so many people while we were there. I had the Jailhouse Zombie cocktail, highly recommend.

Background music was terrible, very little seating available, the kind of place you go to take photos and post on social media and pretend you are having just the best day!

3 ambientes. Buena comida, buena música y mejor localización, en un imprescindible, el callejón Mc Cracken

Great wee place nice drinks hard to find the toilet if your drunk

Nice place enjoyed couple of beers. Kind and friendly staff

Decent place for a night out, food is pretty good too

Great place for music and pints. Down a quaint little alleyway, this place has all the charm and is very lively at the weekend.

I have had a great day on my own as my mate ricky changed his mind so I have visited on my own.. I have been made to feel so welcome by everyone, I'll be bacj👍👌😍 J Knowles dutton from that there England, Burtonwood, Warrington, and they even mufc on the TV, Thankyou

It was almost closing time when we arrived here, so we didn't stay long. The staff were lovely and the place inviting.

Local descontraído para os amantes da noite. Excelente ambiente, descontraído, música ambiente e boas bebidas! As cervejas são ótimas, mas os shots também! Os clientes são muito animados e privilegia-se a música irlandesa ao vivo numa sala e dj noutra! ☘️ 🍀

I like the bar but our party encountered an odd dining policy on a recent visit. We were seated in the Jailhouse and tried to order bar snacks at around 8pm only to be told that we could only eat next door in Henrys. The two places are essentially the same. The manager refused to let us order for the big table that we had even though 10 m away we could see folks eating. There were no big tables free so we had no choice but to head out for food in small groups to other places, so as to keep our table. The venue thus lost our food order, not a good way to run a pub that's supposed to offer food!

Lovely little bar with a good bit of buzz to it ! Lovely waiters especially Jess she was lovely and a real asset to the team

Brilliant afternoon/evening here with the Cave Men playing, fantastic!

Another great find. Henry's pub and Jailhouse offer pub/sportsbar food with that old, very old feel. It is immaculate in decor and cleanliness while maintaining a medieval feel. Through the back doors, you'll connect to a restaurant known as the public house. A must-see and experience in Belfast. Bathrooms are on 3rd floor but there is an elevator.

Really loved our visit. Food was great. We had 3 for £10 - scampi, chicken goujons and chicken wings with chips which was enough for a lunchtime snack. Local beer was great. Would highly recommend the Jailhouse.

The staff were good but just not enough people working which left the service slow as a lot of people were having cocktails and took them a while to get through everyone.

go deep inside you will be surprised...

First time I was there… I’m not surprised it’s quite busy all the time as it’s a lovely bar… all my friends recommended this place and I can see why 😊😊 brilliant music, such a lovely atmosphere and a lovely vibe… one of the places u have to visit

Nice, upscale bar with reasonable prices.

Very busy bar, we popped in on our way out to dinner, we were late for our reservation due to the slow service. It seems everyone wanted cocktails and there were not enough bar staff to make cocktails and serve regular drinks. Limited seating and we ended up stood in the alleyway, won't be retuening as there are many many better bars in the city.

Waited half hour to be served at the bar.

Nice place just stopped in for drink

Superb service, great drinks and fantastic music

Great place with amazing staff and atmosphere

Good food and a really nice ambience particularly for big groups.

We decided to have lunch here on Sunday. The staff are very friendly we ordered a drink which took a while to come, said it was to do with changing Guinness barrel. I ordered the lamb, which I have to say was disappointing. One piece of my lamb was the end part of the roast, which was dry and chewy. I asked for a gravy boat. I got a small clay pot with a very small amount of gravy, which cost an extra £2.50. My partner got the burger, which he enjoyed. The desserts were good.

Just called in this evening after work for a quick pint however it was such a nice place with a great atmosphere we decided to have a few lol

Nice wee drop of Rose on a hot summer's day

Friendly, great food, good beer!

Excellent choice of music, plenty of space, kind people all around and great food! Highly recommended

Interesting asking about atmosphere, for a jail where people had been hanged, good tour though.

Had quick pint here will go back

Love this bar this is out hot spot for work nights out you can sit and relax and just get to know everyone the drinks are amazing and the music is so good 😊

After a long day of sighseeing we stopped by this interesting and cool place in downtown Belfast. Beware the restrooms are on the upper level, so you can get lost at times. Excellent drinks and food selection. They also had live music which made the whole experience much more interesting.

Nous sommes français, et avons été très bien accueillis. C'est un super pub pour une super soirée. À ne pas rater lors d'une visite de Belfast.

Smashing sharing boards at a very reasonable price. Guinness tastes lush too, would be back but only in Belfast for 3 days. Don’t miss out on these charcuterie boards

Not a bad spit. Pretty lively, food looked good though I didn't try any. Music was good and atmosphere was also very good. Recommend to visit.

Staff are friendly and helpful, the seating area is not comfortable, and chairs go too far back, so it makes it difficult to have a conversation sitting there with the loud music. The sun is bloked out by the gazebo thing, but i got pulled a really nice pint, which is always a plus. Toilets are a bit of a hike as its two floors up.

Lovely setting and history. There was an OK beer selection, and the restrooms are about a mile up 4 flights of stairs. Still a good little bar to have a couple of drinks and move on

Nice bar, I liked the outdoor space, very relaxed atmosphere. Drinks expensive!

I'm always surprised when I come here that it isn't busier. I remember it in its original form, this is a total renovation. Actually uses the outside area, one of the Historic Entries, very well. The boss liked the gin list, and I really enjoyed a couple of pints of Staropramen. Nice comfortable surroundings. If you are looking for a quick quiet pint this is the place. The only drawback is the three flights of stairs up to the men's toilets!

The Jailhouse is really nice inside and out. Itt was really clean and tastefully decorated. I had the nicest Guiness with a hint of blackcurrant, it was creamy and moreish, one of the best Guiness ive tried in Belfast.

Great cider and easy to find a table

Bar très sympa, musique d'ambiance pas trop forte. Il y a des serviettes, tampons et déodorant dans les toilettes pour femmes rien que pour ça la note mérite 5⭐ les bars en France devraient s'en inspirer ! Merci

Great bar and some size... I think I got lost a couple of times. 😂

Great pub. Funny staff. On 3 floors so huge. Have Sky and BT. We sat downstairs and heaters were on full blast and it was too hot. A minor grumble only.

Nice place, great food and drinks.

Love this bar , staff are very nice and friendly

We attended here whilst visiting Belfast for a few drinks in the evening. The staff were very friendly and professional. There was a good selection of drinks on offer and reasonable prices. There was a dj playing great music and the atmosphere was great. This place provides a chilled out fun vibe and we will surely return when we next visit the city.

A real gem off a bar restaurant down an entry...it even has outside seating. Very touristy with its themed decorations outside it..amazing at Halloween and Christmas definitely worth a go, it also serves a great pint of Aspall cider..Yes!!!

Very friendly and attentive staff. Well stocked bar and very clean premises, toilets very clean but a little bit of a jont to get to them. Only 2 non alcoholic beers, Peroni or Heineken. Not a fan of either, Guinness Zero pump broken which is a real shame, suggested Guinness Zero in cans. Great night with football on tv in one side and live band in the other. Keep up the good work

Pub muy propio. Genial para tomar una buena guinness y comer el típico irish stew.

Beautiful food today, service very good. Background music though was way too loud, just my impression. Definitely will be back though.

I really loved the bar, but they need to pay a bit more attention to the quality and presentation of their drinks. In a city where some places go the extra mile I didn't find this as good as some of the others I visited, which is a real shame as it's a fab place!

Was quite enough on a Friday night, good selection of drinks and a good atmosphere

Lovely pub, live music every day. Guiness pour was nice and a wide selction of other draughts.

Had a lovely Sunday afternoon here with live music

A popular bar frequented mainly by locals. A nice relaxing atmosphere to enjoy a nice pint. Can be hard to find a seat, friendly and efficient staff.

Shocking.. booked at table for 5.45 told kitchen closes at 6.. missed the food by 6.04.. by 6.07 they were closing the bar tab. Been to plenty of bars in Belfast, no other word than a desperate place the Jail house Crooks...

Great,watched rugby there,Great atmosphere

Fantastic bar, great atmosphere great staff

Nice pub, good environment. The cheese platter and bottle of wine was excellent value at £22.95. Would go again just for that!!

Great atmosphere and lovely interior. Very chill bar in the heart of the city centre with good prices. Would definitely come back!

Called in for lunch and weren't disappointed. My wife had the Chicken Burger and I had the Fish & Chips. I think you can always tell how good a place is by the fish and chips and it was superb. The mushy peas were done with spring onions which was a nice take on the usual. We just had cappuccinos to warm ourselves up. I would review the idea of putting a paper sheet under the food. It adds nothing to the experience because you are constantly trying to avoid eating it with each mouthful. Staff were really friendly. Heartily recommended.

Well located, quality pub catering well to dietary restricted customers. Thought the barstaff could've been slightly friendlier but they were efficient and serve decent cocktails.

Nice guiness draught. Football on. Nice area.

Awesome bar. Fast and friendly staff. Music was banging. Bathroom’s definitely needed some attention though

Had a really enjoyable meal and drinks here on New Years Day. Ox cheek main course superb, Malbec delicious. Nuno very courteous. Whole experience excellent - WE WILL BE BACK!

We celebrate New Year eve in Jailhouse. Great music and fab atmosphere 👌

Lovely place , but it was baltic when we visited, high ceilings make it hard to heat. Not for a winters day.

Brilliant atmosphere, staff were great. Great music xx

A beautiful hidden gem that, alongside Henry's bar, decorates Joy's Entry seasonally and (at the time of this review) playing tasteful Christmas tunes that are difficult not to sing along to. Spacious outside covered area just sets this place off. More effective patio heaters rather than the current decorative ones would be welcome.

Called in yesterday waited 20 mins to be seated while there was a number of empty tables available, The staff weren't helpful at all , brought our orders to the wrong table twice , Charged £9:50 for a hot whisky very expensive when I asked why was it so dear the barman replied because its got a slice of lemon and water ! Personally I struggle to give this 1 star .

Good we bar but can be drafty with the doors always open