The Spaniard in Belfast

Not what it used to be, presume it’s been taken over by some generic. Shame, was my favourite pub back in the 2000s

Was in this place a few years ago briefly. Due to being the weekend and a small pub/bar it was hard to get a table. But we luckily managed to get one upstairs. Recently went again for the second time and it was great. Excellent service, recommendations on drinks when one cocktail was unavailable. Highly recommend Cherry Dark n Stormy. Great, intimate place to have conversations with friends and very good atmosphere for speaking with other customers. You never know what random people you will meet. Will be looking for an excuse to go back soon.

Nice atmosphere and great live music sessions.

We'd had this place recommended to us so we called in. Very quirky decor but still a decent atmosphere. The guy behind the bar was friendly but there was another bar staff member who was very surly and definitely gave off a vibe that suggested that they didn't want to be there. It was a bit off-putting so we went elsewhere.

I have been frequenting The Spaniard for years, and specially post coming home front London. I typically associate the bar statf with great service, being punctual & friendly. Unfortunately I had the displeasure of meeting a bartender on the evening of 06/06/2024. Myself & two friends enter at approx 1900hrs. The bar was very quiet, albeit 4 patrons on the bar facing the artwork upon entry. As such, my friend & I sat at the bar immediately to the left of the front entrance I stuck up my right hand to signal the bar tender, as he was well on his way to serving the 4 maximum patrons he was serving. I waved, to which the bar staff replied “don’t worry wave at me mate”, and ignored my call to order: my friend then asked him why he was ignoring us both; the bar staff (male, moustache, long brown/ black/ dark hair; replied that only those in front of him would be served alcohol, despite me & my colleague sitting at the bar, immediately to the left of entry. Said bar staff then threatened to “see” my friend outside. I have frequented the Spaniard for approximately 4 years & never experienced such aggression & substandard behaviour from staff. I hope this is investigated to avoid further clashes.

Thoroughly enjoyed our visit to The Spaniard, exciting decor, classic tunes, friendly staff and cheerful atmosphere.

Always perfect any time of day or night

Quiet little restaurant with an amazing atmosphere. The architecture is beautiful. The food was delicious!

A fantastic place , do friendly.

Best bar of our weekend stay. A true Irish pub, plenty of Guinness and superb staff!

Visited The Spaniard with friends Saturday afternoon for drinks and live music. We were there for opening at 4pm and visited the rest rooms to find the soap’s dispensers empty and the toilets filthy. They clearly hadn’t been cleaned. The prices of drinks was extortionate and with paying top dollar you would expect to receive a clean glass but this was not the case! The only saving grace was the excellent music. I feel the Spaniard has gone down and clearly need to improve their standards. Basic cleanliness would be a start!

Rum cocktails. Great music. Incredible decor. Fab vibes. Saturday night out in Belfast - go!

A top longstanding pub of Belfast - The Spaniard is a comfortable place to be where both staff and patrons are friendly. Was there on a Tuesday where there was live music which is always a bonus. Karl's knowledge of drinks is like no other. He is a pro mixer and an incredibly polite, good fun and friendly bar man. Zara, again like Karl knows her stuff. Watching her make cocktails is a pleasure. She clearly cares about what she does. Her drinks were incredible. Spaniard is a great bar and it is lucky to have both Karl and Zara working with them.

Lovely wee bar, great atmosphere

Nice enough bar but very small indeed - not much privacy if you fancy a chat. Eclectic decoration adds to an air of sophistication (whether deserved or not) 😄

Love to call into the Spaniard on a night out in Belfast. You always end up chatting to people you've never met before over some lush cocktails.

Great cocktail today long island iced tea. Great wee bar . Different. Friendly . Worth a visit

Nice bar to visit and staff very friendly, bar is small downstairs and lots of quirky signage and posters, only thing to mention is that toilets are single and could do with an update as it smells of years of urine.

Too dear, £6.50 for a pint . What?

£6.40 for a pint of Madri..nice wee back room..

A Friend bought me to this place a few years back , we had one drink in it, as I couldn't wait to get out of the place, felt very uncomfortable with all the religious pictures the lights seemed to have what looked like upside down crosses will not go there again

Went for the cocktails. 1190 £ for the cocktail that was awful and the bartender couldn’t light the flaming zombie. Had to borrow another customers lighter unhygienically tried to light it. We group of 5 will not be back.

Filthy tables. Worse pina colada ever. Ran out of pineapple juice. Then ordered french martinis (shudve rem they had no pineapple juice) tasted like a cheap raspberry puree. Couldn't be bothered complaining again. Don't serve cocktails if you don't have ingredients or don't know how to make them.

Guys working there really knew their cocktails, love watching them. The pub was constantly full with people coming in and out, really relaxed and funky atmosphere. Old man pub meets hipster, nice and authentic, good music and friendly staff! Enjoyed our evening here. The ammeretto sours were delicious!

Called in on a Wednesday night around 6ish, there was a good crowd in. There was no live music but the banter with a group of guys from Liverpool was great craic!! Petite/cosy bar, barman & barlady were very pleasant. Only 1 ladies loo downstairs but there was never a queue for it. 👍

Didn’t have good but great atmosphere and place for drinks.

Another favourite when in Belfast.

I gave this review 4 years ago and after my experience just before Christmas, i have gave it 1 star. We always go there when we are in town. We called in and there was no music, and to cap it all we got a dash of coke from a despenser on 2 Vodka, no fruit slice and few cubes of ice, and was charged just short of £15.00. Still in shock we sat beside this couple who didnt look to happy and when we got chatting, they had the same experience with 2 gins but were asked just short for £17.00. We will never be back, thought i had stopped in London instead of Belfast. The Old review left to let you see the contrast in change. Absolutely fantastic night. Always for years wanted to go and always ended up somewhere else. Great service great bar staff and really good music. 5 stars all day long. Up stairs is the best...

Didn't have food so can't comment on that. Nice bar. Friendly staff.

Small bar. But the staff are amazing, friendly and great banter. Was put of a while ago but give it a second chance and really can't fault the place.

Amazing place with amazing service. This is a must stop in Belfast

Perfect spot for a drink. Can get very busy at times

Great little pub. Good music. Barstaff brilliant (Zara).

Preferred it when it was upstairs but great bar Lads behind the bar were top notch, music was eventually good 👀👀 Best pint of Guinness in Belfast. Like literally night and day better than anywhere

Top notch service levels in here. Lovely wee bar

Small cozy hip bar right in the City Centre. Absolutely love it. The bartenders are extremely friendly.

Love the Spaniard, great decor, drinks, live music and atmosphere.

Good cocktails, nice atmosphere, cosy bar

Such a cool place. GREAT cocktails!!!

A must place to have a drink with friends

Amazing service. The staff made great cocktail recommendations and substitutions. Cocktails were delicious and the atmosphere was really chilled. It wasn't very busy on a Monday evening but the sun was out in the city and the doors were swung open. Felt like I was holiday for just a moment.

They have great rum cocktails, definitely get a dark and stormy when you're here.

One of the best pubs I've ever seen.

Was recommended to go to this pub by a friend. Went in for a pint of Guinness and stayed for 4 hours! Great atmosphere, fantastic music, cool bar staff, best Guinness and good chat, sing with Kenny and his wee dug Charlie 😁 Would highly recommend

The décor and vibes if this establishment are the epitome of what I think of as a nite out in the city with dear friends

Didn't try the food so I rated it 5. Cozy place.

Friendly cosy wee pub full of character and characters

This was one of the most unique spots I have visited. We visited it on a normal Saturday night - where the atmosphere was electric, people were buzzing and little doggies were roaming round the bar. It is a lovely bar with a downstairs and middle floor bar. The place has a religious theme with pictures, statues and decor. It reminds me of a speakeasy bar - snug and welcoming. Pros: - cocktails were amazing - service was fantastic, lovely friendly - seems to be pet friendly - reasonable prices Cons: - toilets are located on 3rd floor - seating and space is limited - need to be there early to avoid refusal - music is loud, not a bar for a first date Overall, it is a fantastic spot to head out in Belfast and plenty of alternatives in the area as its located in the Heart of Belfast.

Different more rock or heavy metal. Worth a look..

This is a quaint and cosy little pub. It has very interesting décor and you often sit looking at it for ages without talking or listening to your wife. The only downside for me was that the Guinness was very poor.

Dark and stormy is lovely in here

Delicious pint if Guinness, 8.5/10

Great friendly service and a huge range of spirits!!!

Didn’t have food. Great selection of rums 🤗

Small bar with good music and atmosphere

Love the Spaniard, the barstaff are amazing and the live music is brilliant. The people who go there are great too. Lovely wee pub all in all. Also the cocktails are phenomenonal.

Great music.nice staff and the locals friendly.

As ever a great night! The bar staff are always excellent but this guy *pictured* so lovely can’t remember his name now 😂 but he and the other bloke last night *saturday* very tolerant and personable with it, considering what they have to deal with to earn a living. Marcin and Willy the doormen also great craic and doing a fantastic job. Couldn’t ask for more from Busy Belfast bar 🙌👌🏻

Great experience. Staff were so friendly and very very dog friendly even allowing him to roam. Bears great.

I feel insulted with the virgen maria as decoration, I am Spanish

Its an ok place , live music Saturday. An old fashioned pub ,dark and dingy

You can tell from the other reviews that people want to keep this place to themselves. I'm not surprised at all. Incredible bar, high quality and reasonably priced cocktails upstairs. Music was fantastic. Everything from the crew, artwork on the walls to the ingredients behind the bar everything has been carefully curated. It's a gem of a wee place and I'll be in a rush to go back while I'm here.

Great vibes, nice tunes. Was recommended to come here. Happy I did.

Great chilled place with lovely low key live music upstairs. Not much choice of beers, more of a cocktail place.

First time in this little bay in Belfast but won't be our last, lovely atmosphere and staff

Great mixed drinks and good atmosphere

Small but quirky, great atmosphere and good beer 👍 music entertainment was grand

Awesome Bar. Would go there again.

Great staff, customers, drink and craic!

Great atmosphere and friendly staff Fantastic background sound track Great pint of Guinness

Rarísimo lugar en Belfast, pero muy interesante. ¡Eso sí, de español sólo tiene el nombre! Wifi gratis...

Great place to spend a few hours with friends and pints.

Nice location and staff. Pretty good selection of craft beers. Good atmosphere.

THE BEST margaritas in Belfast made by the best barman. Do you want a margarita or a Margarita?? He'll know!! 😉

Awesome pub excellent beer and friendly staff

Compact and bijou, great cocktails and atmosphere always worth a visit

This wee place was stunning,cracker atmosphere,

Great little pub.... very friendly staff

Small, cramped, old and worn. And fantastic due to all of the above. Upstairs has a great DJ at weekends; Manchester-scene tunes. Watch out for the steep stairs and dodgy loos, but great venue for a dark corner and a lively pint. Not a youngster in sight; great!

Stumbled upon this bar when walking along the street, heard the music from outside and could hear the atmosphere, very small, busy place with a different feel upstairs from downstairs. We went upstairs to find the rugby was on TV (bonus). The place was very busy but people so friendly and we found a couple of stools to sit on, everyone was chatty. There was a spot of bother in the bar with an unwanted customer and the staff dealt with this swiftly and efficiently. Small, friendly, cosy but a good laugh. No frills, good beers and music!

Worth the visit for the quirk decor

De español tiene lo que yo de monja, pero el sitio está muy muy chulo y ponen buena música.

The best Dark 'n' Stormy cocktail around.

I generally just give positive reviews but brought dog as its meant to be dog friendly, we sat outside as we had two dogs for the evening. Our bog has been inside on 3 occasions in the past. Bouncer came over after we spent over 300 pounds in the group to complain about our dog barking. In fairness he had done on a few occasions. Attitude stunk we were on the public street at all times. I have rarely meet such ignorance and rudeness, we were outside on main street at all times. So there should have been no issue. 300 pounds and thats the service. Disregard the dog friendly element inside we were on the main street, the bouncer just seemed to want a fight. No need for this after several visits in the past.

Great pints, great atmosphere 👍

Absolutely fantastic little pub. Upstairs is a little bit quirky but totally fabulous....check out the toilets and the art work!! 😱 The DJ is amazing....doesn't play any requests (didn't stop us asking though 😂) and has the most mismatched, eclectic and totally brilliant play list ever!!!! Don't walk past this pub....get yourself through the door and up the stairs for the best night!!

Met my wife here. Glorious bar.

Cool spot with a great vibe and nice staff. No food or off menu cocktails though

Not to be missed while in Belfast, make sure you say Hi to Kevin and Charlie!

Best Dark and Stormys in Town yum yum 😋

Might not be some people's taste but we loved it. Small, cosy bar with some interesting characters. Over 80 different rums. Guinness was good. Rock and Metal music playing. My type of pub.

As always packed to the walls but a lovely atmosphere.

Great little pub, with rock music played

Nice if small local bar, a few good beers for drinks.

Tremendous wee pub, lovely pint of Guinness.

Strange place but good atmosphere

Friday night, after the gay bar, we wanted a last drink on the way back to the hotel. This place was heaving, crammed with tourists but also plenty of locals, had THE BEST music soundtrack and the coolest staff and decor. Truly original and not to be missed. Also a happy moment of respite for anyone who's heard 'galway bay' on fiddle and voice done too many times this week already. This is a fresh vibe. Queer friendly too.

Don't go here if you don't like decent beer and friendly service. A very quirky place that is warm and welcoming. Don't be fooled by the small space downstairs. Plenty more room and bar service on the first floor. Loved this place.

Host was the nicest warmest person made us very welcome lovely cosy pub good local atmosphere even on a rainy day

Now if Belfast had a bar to describe as an classy dive bar this would be it. Loved the rock music, and it was packed!