The Cloth Ear

Food was inventive and delicious. My colleagues had the squash tangine and the goat stew and I had the vegetable aranccini which was stuffed with cheese and came with a side if cooked vegetables made up of broccoli, carrots and green beans. All were presented well and were flavorful. I left feeling full and certainly satisfied. I will certainly come back.

The best thing about the cloth ear is — you guessed it — the silence! If you want a quiet space during the day to actually have a chat with someone while you drink or eat then this is the place. Food is good too. Check out the kitsch 70s toys in the toilets!

So came here for Sunday lunch. I had the club sandwich which was more like a chicken burger in a brioche bun. Was still lovely. What I would like to say is that there service here is amazing. I have never had a waiter be so attentive and his level of professionalism was more than I could have asked if a tasty Sunday lunch thanks!

Had dinner in the cloth ear and the food was great! I recommend the chicken wings and the hanging dessert, outstanding! The place was packed the night we were in and a bit noisy, and the staff were hassled. But, the food would take me back!

The Cloth Ear is not somewhere I would rush to go to, not that I have anything against it, it’s just that it doesn’t have any stand out features that would draw me to it. Adjoining The Merchant Hotel and in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter you’d think that The Cloth Ear would be more popular than it is. Whilst doing a little tour of the Cathedral Quarter I decided we would pop in the The Cloth Ear to sample their beers. There was a pleasant, laid back Sunday afternoon vibe to the place. There were a mix of diners and drinkers and those who were just recovering from the previous nights frivolities. With no music, The Cloth ear is a nice place to grab a bite or a quick pint but you certainly wouldn’t spend all afternoon there.
They show live sport on their multiple TV’s and have a great selection of draught beers. The décor is rustic and the bar is spacious allowing in loads of natural light.
The food looked great and I’ll definitely be back to sample some. As mentioned The Cloth Ear is the definition of ‘A-​OK’ — nothing earth shatteringly good and nothing offensive.

The Cloth Ear doesn’t really know where to put itself. Part of the fancy Merchant Hotel but just not fancy enough, and part of the Cathedral Quarter cobbles but not quite street enough, it is a tough one. Because of this it doesn’t really specialise in anything.
My mum loves it though, which is why we were there for lunch. The food was just ok. Yet again, my mum loved it, but perhaps we have different standards ;-). We both had the brisket burger and chips. The bun was a bit processed, but again, I’m picky. What I will say is their Espresso Martini is wonderful, really packs a punch and for the area the cocktails are pretty reasonably priced. After one of those I didn’t really care about the burger. ;-)

Great club sandwich with grilled chicken & prosciutto ham. Tasty carrot soup. Bean burger a bit bland but the fries were outstanding. Very good service. Beautiful restrooms

Big and unfriendly, unlike Yeti or BFG.

A great place to come and people watch in the heart of Belfast. A nice atmosphere and great for lunch. Had a lamb burger of the street food menu and was decent. Had the chilli fries as a side which were quote greasy but I wasn’t complaining.
The service was very slow and had to ask to order but was very friendly when we eventually ordered. Note: we did go between lunch and dinner so they were busy preparing for the evening sitting.
The cocktail menu had a good selection and weren’t overly dear. Overall a nice place to go for lunch in a quaint setting.

The Cloth Ear is attached and owned by the Merchant Hotel and tries to position itself as one above the usual Cathedral Quarter crowd.
I’ve never really been all that comfortable with this place — I’ve been on a dead Tuesday evening with my girlfriend and had the privilege of paying over the odds for a mediocre pint of Guinness.
The second time was after a meal out with the family and we were squeezed into a corner while the usual Saturday night 25−35s pushed their way through to the absolutely heaving bar.
It’s not got an awful lot about it — The Duke of York has atmosphere, history and a great range of whiskey. The John Hewitt has a half decent beer list, comfortable surroundings and feels cultured, The Spaniard has a niche, lots of hip music reference and good cocktails. With this level of competition in the area I’m surprised it does as well as it does.

A pretty classy bar in Belfast’s popular Cathedral Quarter. They also serve food but I’ve only ever been here for drinks.
Whilst most of my girl-​friends are pretty laid back and not high maintenance types, it;s nice to get really dressed up sometimes and head to a classy joint like this for some cocktails.
The clientele here are aged 25 and over so at least you know you’re not going to score anyone who’s underage! The atmosphere is pretty laid back, which I like.
It;s a place I’d recommend popping into on a night out for one or two.

I have never eaten here before but I hear good reports about the food. I know they are open for lunches and dinners. I have only been here a couple of times on a friday night with friends. Its a little bit more expensive and a bit higher class… you don’t really find many students in here just people over thirty. As its right beside the Merchant Hotel and possibly under the same ownership they likely cater for a lot of the same customers. Its nice and definitely worth a stop sometime. With its classy surroundings it has a good vibe that you should enjoy.

I have been to the Cloth Ear for food once and I have to say that I was vastly underwhelmed. It was on a lunch for a birthday whilst I was on work experience, and I was hoping that my lunch would be a real treat to my otherwise dour Friday morning.
Unfortunately disappointment soon befell me. We were a group of ten maximum, so we wouldn’t have place too much strain on the kitchen as the place was hardly busy. Unfortunately it took about 45 mins for lunch to arrive, which was good in that we got to go back to work late but it was terrible as I was starving. I ordered the breaded cod and it was only lukewarm at best. The chips were of the same tepid temperature and were not well cooked.
Everyone around me seemed to enjoy it but I was really disappointed. The décor of the place is really pretty in my opinion and I was hoping the food would live up to it. Perhaps in a smaller group with a better dinner menu it would have, but this mediocre experience put me off it.

We first found the Cloth Ear on a night out to see some live music at the Black Box. The whole Cathedral Quarter are of Belfast is simply unrecognisable from a few years ago — totally transformed. It is one of the more laid-​back areas of the city centre, which almost has a continental feel (on the right night, in the right weather).
The atmosphere is great — 30s and 40s crowd making it very unlikely you’ll ever see drunk students spinning round celebrating A level results! It is well done, without trying too hard (not at all like some bars which you suspect were ordered from theme-​bars-​are-​us.
It’s genuinely comfortable, with good food that isn’t a ridiculous price. Best for? A great place to start a good night out –enjoy!

I’m a big fan of this place, not as unique as the Spaniard or as ‘authentic’ as White’s Tavern I’ve yet to have had a bad experience in here. The food is great, the coffees are spot on and there always seems to be a good mix of people in here.
There’s ample room in the pace so even when it’s busy you won’t have to wait to long to get served or get a seat. It’s also a fun place to come with a larger group of people as there are curved booth areas at the front and on Sundays they usually have some trad music on.
The interior is far from trad though and I always smile when I see the’stags heads’ on the wall.
Pros: Good drinking establishment.
Cons: Can be pricey.

The Cloth Ear is part of the Merchant Hotel — for my money, also home to the best restaurant in Belfast, The Great Room. This place, however, has a more modest menu with slightly less wince-​inducing prices. When I say that the menu is modest, it’s pretty much bog-​standard pub fare really.
The staff wear the usual Merchant uniforms, very smart. The service can’t be faulted, and the place itself is open and bright with a very, very good drinks selection. There aren’t many places that serve Hendrick’s gin properly.
A confession. I have loved certain science fiction films since I was no age, and have regularly been called a nerd. I don’t care, all that stuff should be taught in schools.
I would just love to have somebody from The Cloth Ear explain to me the reasoning of decking out the gents’ toilets in a Star Wars theme. What in God’s good name were they thinking? Do we really need a life-​size Boba Fett guarding the urinal? Some people have too much time on their hands…
Another confession. Any time I’ve eaten here has been when I haven’t had enough money to go into The Great Room instead.

This is a really nice bar which is part of the Merchant Hotel franchise and with that association expect to add afew pound onto the price of, well. everything in comparison to everywhere else in Belfast. The bar itself has a really upmarket feel to it and is also surprisingly comfortable to be in so you don’t really feel out of place– like you would in upmarket designer shops! The food looked absolutely fab and I was annoyed I’d eaten somewhere else, so will definitely be back for food. But its a really nice place to sit and enjoy a glass of wine (or four). The clientele are more mature so there’s little chance of a brawl which makes anice change!

This place is one of the more chilled out bars in Belfast. As other reviews have noted, it attracts a slightly older crowd, which might explain the relative calm!
I love popping in here for lunch while out shopping. The scampi is to die for and the chicken burger is big enough to feed a family of four (or one really hungry girl. Whatever.)
There are nice touches all over the place — old theatre posters on the wall, theatrical costumes in display cases, the Star Wars art in the boys toilets (haven’t seen it myself obviously…) and the food menus presented in the covers of old kids books.
The service can be mixed. There are two waiters who stick out in my mind and if you go, you’ll be able to pick them out. One is an incredibly surly man — he’s not rude, just not very forthcoming — and the other is one of the nicest waiters I’ve ever been served by, nothing was too much trouble for him and he earns every penny of his tips!
Prices are a little more expensive than average, but I suppose that’s to be expected from a bar attached to the merchant hotel. There’s an osmosis effect and everything that touches the hotel becomes more expensive!

The home of the £700 cocktail! Despite being ridiculously overpriced, the Cloth Ear is alright, although I absolutely fail to see what it has that other bars don’t. Ever heard the Belfast expression ‘She was all fur coat and no knickers’? This describes The Cloth Ear quite adequately. It tries to be upmarket, but to the owners of the Merchant (the hotel attached to The Cloth Ear), I say: charging £10 for a bowl of stew does not make you posh.

Based in the Cathedral Quarter and attached to the Merchant hotel and is the more upmarket way to get a few drinks and a bite to eat on a night out.
The clientelle is a little bit older, I’d say if you’re my age (25) you would be amongst the youngest there. So, if you like the older lady or want a bit of a sugar daddy then this is the place for you to go out on the pull. This is not to say that it has a sleazy atmosphere, far from it. It’s fun and laid back and enjoyable.
The service and staff are standard without being spectacular. The toilets are always clean and are even quite cool, I’m a big fan of the Star Wars figures in the men’s toilets. Boba Fett watching you as you take a leak is always a bizarre experience.
There is a good selection of drinks and beers on offer, with a good vegetarian selection. I can definitely recommened the portabello mushrooms, which I have had on a number of occassions and they’ve never disappointed.
Comfortable without winning any awards, and pretty good night out. The Cloth Ear is definitely worth checking out, even if you are just stopping off for a bite to eat before you head on elsewhere.