Bennetts

It has a nice relaxed intimate feel inside.
Have never had a meal here. Just t/​buns etc. Tea is a decent size and you get a good lot of milk to accompany which is great. Tray Bakes are lovely and a great size.
They always have meal offers in here. Always seems to be a buzz about this place all times of the day.
They have a selection of seating. Stools, comfy chairs and wooden ones.
Staff are hit and miss both in personality and attentiveness.
I like the magazines and papers you can lift to read.
Makes it have a sort of chilled holiday feel in here.

Despite many options available on the Belmont Road… Bennetts wins when it comes to a fry on Sunday. Unreal sausages and a nice cosy environment to warm and comfort you on your hangover. Make no mistake, choose Bennetts!

Just had a gorgeous meal here, celebrating my mums birthday! This place feels relaxing and very family orientated. Staff are welcoming and very attentive. I enjoyed my meal so much there wasn’t a scrap left. (Flank steak!!) yum!

Despite pretending I am some sort of a health freak, nibbling on nuts and seeds, sometimes you just need a good fry, and you’ll get one here. The café and food is homely, warming and reasonably priced, and variety is provided with frequently interesting specials.
They also do a good line in sweet treats and the place is frequently busy with morning-​coffee ladies putting the world to rights over scones.
It isn’t the most glamorous or hip hostelry on the Belmont, but if you just want an honest feed this is a good option.

Great little place to eat, friendly staff, nice atmosphere, great food at appropriate price. Bottom line you get what you pay for.

Was pretty disappointed with the service. Two servers on and took a while to get our order. The server wasn’t very friendly either.
The choice of food was also disappointing and the prices are ludicrous. They charged us almost £2 for 200ml of coke. This is considerably less than a tin. I could have walked across the road to tesco and bought 2ltrs for this!
Overall this place is far from the premium restaurant I expected. Over priced food and drinks, head on up the road to another restaurant

No wonder Bennetts is a popular spot, it’s bright and welcoming with a sophisticated interior where I would like to spend more time than I ever manage to do. It is an excellent setting for a Sunday brunch, which I had recently. Feeling in need of something substantial I ordered a Monte Christo Sandwich — ham and melted cheese between hot eggy bread slices which kept me going for the rest of the day. Somewhat slow to arrive, it came with salad which unfortunately wasn’t very fresh as it had been sitting around with salad dressing on it for too long. The fresh fruit salad with yogurt that my daughter more sensibly ate looked delicious with forest fruit berries. Had the food been as good as the surroundings I’d probably have given five stars. The evening menu sounds good but the day I went I was disappointed by the food and am a little wary of having anything other than coffee, snacks or a drink here in future.

I’m not gonna lie. I really don’t know much about coffee. Mochas, Americanos, Cappucinos, Frappywhatevas… they’re really all the same to me. That does not mean, however, that I don’t know much about coffee shops. And I can tell you that Bennett’s is just a wee bit more than your average coffee shop.
The lux green leather seats and the sleek interior emphasis Bennett’s chic side. It’s effortlessly cool, hugely inviting, and mighty impressive. Offering a decent range of food (none of which I have tried, to my disgust) as well as hot and cold beverages, the servers will ask if you’re eating, or just in for a ‘wee drink’. My reply has always been the latter, purely because I’ve only had a requirement for a drink… you know how it is — friend invites you for ‘a coffee’, even though the both of you are die-​hard hot chocolate fans.
The hot chocolate is sweet and chocolately without being over-​bearingly so, and comes in a posh tall glass with those tiny marshmallows… hmmm. Hot chocolate instantly tastes better this way, so I reckon.
Bennett’s is always hiving, so do get in and grab a seat before they’re all gone. Try some of the other hot beverages and food… just cos I haven’t.

Bennetts has been around a few years now, and it deserves to be. I really like a good café/​restaurant and it’s even better if it’s in an area that you can combine a nice brunch or lunch with a mooch round some shops.
Bennetts is in just such an area: the Belmont Road has a lovely ‘villagey’ feel selection of shops, other cafes and a even a Tesco metro (although I hear whispers it may be going). Anyway, back to Bennetts. You know an eatery is good if you shamelessly pinch one of their recipes for your own, which is what I did a while ago with their French toast, bacon and maple syrup combo.
The bacon? Crispy of course. The Maple Syrup? Not fake-​y flavoured golden syrup. The bread? Diagonally sliced French baguette (and yes, the diagonal slicing is somehow important). My son and his mate now ask for ‘proper French toast’, laughing hysterically that we ever ate it made any other way.
Bennetts has tea, coffee, smoothies, wine list, newspapers and it opens on Sundays — excuse me while I tick some more boxes on my ‘what makes a good café’ check list.

Bennetts was one of the first of the newish crop of restaurants to open on the Belmont Road and remains a firm favourite for me.
You can sometimes get parked right outside the door, or failing that, use the car park across the road. The lazy girl in me of course prefers the right outside the door option and is usually lucky enough to get it. Lift one of the daily papers as you go in and then take your pick of a banquette seat, table or my choice is to eat at the bar. Depending on the time of day (but only because of the licensing hours!) you can the order tea/​coffee, soft drinks, beer and wine.
For breakfast I ordered toasted soda, bacon and beans. This combo wasn’t listed on the menu and I was delighted to find that this is not the kind of place where they say ‘sorry we can can’t make that if its not on the menu’. My glass of OJ was freshly squeezed and had plenty of ice to cool it down. Oh, and the beans were proper Heinz, not an economy cheapo brand which could ruin a good breakfast. The good old full Ulster was very popular and being served all around me but I have a strange phobia of eggs so didn’t partake. I even find it hard to look at them, yes really. Also pleased to get real butter with my toasted soda and not a pretendy almost-​butter spread.
Some restaurants in Belfast still stick to the bizarre practice of not opening on Sundays but hurrah!, Bennetts does. Take the papers, take the kids, take your granny and enjoy a leisurely brunch. Or go at night which is my next plan as a feel a civic duty to sample the wine list. Will keep you posted.

Bennett’s on the Belmont Road serves a wide range of bistro food. From large Ulster Frys in the morning to a great dish of slow roast Pork Belly for dinner, with a coffee and pastries served throughout the day, this is one of my favourite places to eat in Belfast. Daily specials on the boards — and usually a tempting risotto on offer. Staff are generally good and the best seats are the tourquoise diner-​style booths by the windows. I’m a regular and only wish they did a loyalty card!