Right, so. Picture the scene: you’re outside CastleCourt in the rain, phone in hand, trying to remember which direction the Cathedral Quarter is. Your mate’s already two pubs ahead. You’ve walked a mile and seen nothing but roadworks. The session is slipping away from you.
This is preventable.
Belfast’s city centre is compact.. you can walk from one end to the other in fifteen minutes if you know where you’re going. The density of good pubs per square mile is genuinely impressive. The problem isn’t finding a pub. The problem is finding the right sequence of pubs that flows in a sensible direction without doubling back on yourself.
We’ve done the legwork so you don’t have to. Four routes through BT1 and BT2, each one flowing logically from south to north or east to west. Every pint priced up. Every route tested. No zig-zagging.
Pick your budget. Follow the route. Try not to get lost after pub four.
1. The Penny Pincher
Total: £31.20 | Average: £5.20 per pint
South to North: Bedford Street → Castle Street → Queen’s Square → Union Street
Proof that you don’t need a second mortgage to enjoy a proper session. Six pubs, all under six quid. Your wallet survives. Your dignity.. that depends entirely on you.
The Bridge House (Wetherspoons) £4.40
We start on Bedford Street because the price is unbeatable and the building has better stories than most. Yes, it’s Spoons. No, we’re not apologising.
Before it started warehousing people looking for a pint under a fiver, this was two separate buildings: a funeral furnisher’s warehouse (1865) where they kept the horse-drawn hearses, and a ‘fancy box manufacturer’ next door (1868). The fancy box building was designed by Sir Charles Lanyon.. Belfast’s most celebrated architect, the man who gave us Belfast Castle, Queen’s University, and the Palm House at Botanic Gardens. All that heritage, and now you can get a curry for £8.49.
The name comes from the Old Dublin Bridge over the Blackstaff river, which once ran through here before the Victorians sensibly put it underground. Toilets are upstairs except for the accessible one at ground level. Won Loo of the Year once, which is apparently a thing.
Hercules Bar £5.00
Walk north to Castle Street. Founded in 1875, this is one of Belfast’s proper old boozers.. no frills, no nonsense, just liquid and conversation. The kind of place where nobody’s going to ask you about mouthfeel.
The name comes from Hercules Street, the original name for Royal Avenue. In the 18th century, this street housed 47 butchers and slaughterhouses.. a local writer described it as “a hive of odoriferous activity.” They concentrated all the flesh markets here to protect the rest of town from the smell. The street’s been cleaned up since, but the Hercules has kept its character. There’s a bookies next door if you fancy a flutter between pints.
Nancy Mulligans £5.50
Continue west along Castle Street. High energy, usually packed. The carpet has witnessed things that would make a priest weep, but the craic is reliable and the pints are sound.
Maddens £5.60
Duck down Berry Street, just off Castle Street. Traditional music most nights, and if you don’t find yourself tapping your foot at some point, you might want to check your pulse. This is the real thing.. not trad music as performance, but trad music as furniture. It’s just there, and it’s brilliant.
McHugh’s Bar £5.80
A short walk down High Street brings you to Queen’s Square. You are now drinking in the oldest building in Belfast, dating back to 1711. It’s pre-Georgian, pre-Victorian, pre-Titanic.. practically prehistoric in Belfast terms.
It’s been a private dwelling, a dockside tavern, and a place where the United Irishmen plotted (and failed). The walls are thick, the history is palpable, and for £5.80, you’re getting a pint in a museum piece without the admission fee. It’s a touch of class on a budget route before the final push.
Sunflower £4.90
Union Street. The finish line, and what a finish.
The security cage on the door is from the Troubles.. originally installed to stop people coming in unannounced. It’s the last one left on any city centre pub in Belfast. They’ve painted it green and hung flowers on it, which tells you everything about how this city processes its history. Little did the men who erected it think it would become a tourist attraction.
The pub itself opened in 2012. Scenes from the film Good Vibrations were shot upstairs, and Terri Hooley himself is still a regular at the bar. We’re here for the Beamish, which is poured to perfection, or the excellent local craft selection. The wood-fired pizzas from The Boxing Hare out the back are excellent. Won Pub of the Year 2015.
2. The Belfast Staples
Total: £36.70 | Average: £6.12 per pint
Linen Quarter to Cathedral Quarter: Bedford Street → Victoria Square → Bridge Street
The control group. Nothing too cheap, nothing too flash. Reliable venues, standard pricing. This is the Goldilocks crawl.. just right.
Pug Uglies £6.30
Bedford Street. The bright orange exterior is impossible to miss. It’s loud, it’s modern, it wakes you up. Used to be Morrison’s before the makeover, and the locals have opinions about that, but the pints are well-kept and the island bar is a good spot to start the night. Dog friendly, if that matters to you.
Fountain Lane £5.70
Been here since 1901, though they’ve polished it up a bit since then. The name comes from the two fountains that once stood on Fountain Street. Historic bones, modern comfort.
The Garrick £6.20
Chichester Street. Named after the 18th-century actor David Garrick, this place has been serving Belfast since the 1870s. The interior is proper Victorian.. dark wood, etched glass, the works. It survived the Blitz, survived the Troubles, survived the smoking ban. It’ll survive whatever you throw at it on a Friday night.
The upstairs function room hosted everyone from trade unionists to wedding receptions. Downstairs, the snug is small enough that you’ll be making friends whether you planned to or not. One of those pubs that makes you wonder why anyone bothers with anywhere else.
The Kitchen Bar £5.80
Victoria Square. When the shopping centre was built, the original Victorian pub was demolished, but the business moved into this converted warehouse next door. They managed to bring the soul of the place with them. The Steak and Guinness pie is legendary, and the outdoor heating actually works.
Bittles Bar £6.20
Belfast’s answer to the Flatiron Building, if the Flatiron Building was a pub and considerably smaller. It’s triangular.. the sharp end faces the street like the prow of a ship. If the walls feel like they’re closing in after pint four, that’s the architecture, not the alcohol. Probably.
The Northern Whig £6.50
Bridge Street. We end on a high note in one of the city’s grandest buildings. Originally the headquarters of the ultra-liberal Northern Whig newspaper, it’s now a cavernous bar with towering ceilings and… Soviet statues? Yes, for reasons best known to the interior designer, giant communist statues overlook the bar. It gives the place a unique “Prague meets Belfast” vibe. It’s spacious, the pint is exactly the route average, and it’s the perfect gateway to the Cathedral Quarter if you decide to keep going.
3. The Time Traveller
Total: £39.20 | Average: £6.53 per pint
Golden Mile to Cathedral Quarter: Great Victoria Street → Entries → Cathedral Quarter
Here’s where you’re paying a history tax, and it’s worth every penny. These are the pubs with stories older than most countries. The beer’s good. The atmosphere’s better. Bring your sense of wonder and leave your cynicism at the door.
Fair warning: the Cathedral Quarter’s getting dear. Duke of York and Whites have both crept up in recent months. You’re paying for the postcodes now, not just the pints. Still worth it, but your round’s costing more than it did last year.
Crown Liquor Saloon £6.80
Yes, it’s £6.80. You’re paying for the Victorian tiles and the snugs. But here’s the thing: you’re also paying to drink in the only pub owned by the National Trust.
The tilework was done by Italian craftsmen who came to Belfast to build churches. The owner, Patrick Flanagan, persuaded them to work on the pub after hours. The elaborate mosaics, the stained glass depicting fairies and clowns and pineapples, the carved mahogany.. all of it done by men who spent their days on sacred buildings. The gas lamps are original and still lit. The gun metal plates in the snugs are from the Crimean War, for striking matches. The bell system still works, though they don’t use it for service anymore.
Here’s the best bit: Flanagan was Catholic. His Protestant wife insisted the pub be called the Crown, in honour of the monarchy. Flanagan agreed.. then put the crown mosaic on the floor of the entrance, so every customer would walk on it. Petty? Absolutely. Brilliant? Also yes.
Sir John Betjeman campaigned to save this place from demolition in 1978. Ring the bell in your snug, order a pint, and silently thank him.
Kelly’s Cellars £5.80
Bank Street. Built in 1720. The United Irishmen met here to plan the 1798 rebellion. The rebellion didn’t go well, but the stout’s still excellent, so swings and roundabouts. Low ceilings, open fire, proper trad sessions. This is what people mean when they say “authentic.”
Whites Tavern £6.90
Into the Entries. Claims to be Belfast’s oldest tavern (1630), and nobody’s successfully argued otherwise. The low ceilings are great for atmosphere, less great if you’re over six foot. Named for the wine and spirit merchants who called Winecellar Entry their home.
The Morning Star £6.50
Wedged into Pottinger’s Entry since 1810, making it one of Belfast’s oldest family-owned pubs that hasn’t been turned into a vape shop. Started as a coaching stop, now famous for steaks roughly the size of a steering wheel. Even if you’re not eating, the pint’s solid and the Entry itself is worth the visit.
Duke of York £7.00
The most photographed alleyway in Belfast. You will take a photo. Everyone takes a photo. Resistance is futile.
But here’s what the photos don’t tell you: in the late 1960s, a 17-year-old Gerry Adams worked behind this bar, pulling pints for journalists, trade unionists, writers and republicans who rubbed shoulders here. Thirty years later, Snow Patrol played their first gig in the same room. There’s a PRS Heritage Award plaque on the wall now. From a teenage Adams serving hot Coleraines to Gary Lightbody.. that’s quite a range.
Willie Jack owns the place now, along with The Dark Horse across the street and The Harp Bar. The walls are crammed with mirrors and memorabilia. The craic is reliable. The pint is excellent.. it should be, at seven quid.
John Hewitt £6.20
Donegall Street. Named after the Belfast poet, which is fitting, but here’s what makes it special: it’s run by the Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre. A workers’ cooperative. Every pint you buy puts money into unemployment support, advice services, and community programmes.
That’s not a gimmick.. they’ve been doing this since 1999. The beer’s excellent, the food’s good, and your money goes somewhere useful instead of into a landlord’s pocket. Traditional music sessions, poetry nights, the works. John Hewitt himself would’ve approved. Probably would’ve had opinions about the pricing, mind, but he’d have approved.
4. The High Roller
Total: £41.10 | Average: £6.85 per pint
South to North: Great Victoria Street → Howard Street → High Street → Cathedral Quarter
For when the company card’s behind the bar or you’ve just won a bet. Premium venues, premium pricing. You’re not here because it’s cheap. You’re here because you’ve made choices, and those choices involve altitude, architecture, and adequately garnished drinks.
Robinsons £6.85
Great Victoria Street. Established 1895, and it shows.. this is five different venues under one roof spread across three floors. Saloon, Fibbers, Bistro, Pool Loft, Lounge. You could spend an entire evening here and never visit the same room twice.
The Titanic memorabilia in the Saloon is the real draw. This isn’t t