
Craft Cafe
About Craft Cafe
Narnia and C.S. Lewis theming runs through Craft Cafe, a café on Upper Newtownards Road in East Belfast, a short walk from CS Lewis Square. Upstairs, a Writers' Room modelled on Lewis's study holds bookshelves and chess boards, and it gives seating to anyone who would rather sit away from the dogs welcomed on the ground floor. Antique crockery and teapots, paintings and florals furnish the rooms, with old-time ragtime music playing. Brunch drives much of the short menu, where the Lamppost Fry sits alongside Irish Stew and scones served with cream and jam, and vegan breakfast, vegan cakes and a choice of plant-based milks run across the offering. Coffee is served throughout. Tables come on a walk-in basis, and the café trades in the daytime, closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Patio and veranda tables suit outdoor dining, high chairs make room for families with young children, and anything on the menu can be taken away to eat off site.
Good to know
- ReservationsWalk-in only
- ParkingFree of charge street parking · Parking
- Good for kidsGood for kids · High chairs · Kids' menu
- DietaryVegan options · Vegetarian options
Reviews
What reviewers say
Reviewers most often mention dog-friendly cafe, scones with cream and jam, vegan breakfast options and avocado and poached egg on sourdough.
What reviewers say
Reviewers most often mention dog-friendly cafe, scones with cream and jam, vegan breakfast options and avocado and poached egg on sourdough.
Customer Review Summary
The Narnia-inspired decor draws the most comment: reviewers describe antique crockery, teapots, paintings and florals, old ragtime music, and an upstairs room with bookshelves and chess boards, several calling it whimsical and homely. Close behind is brunch, with repeated praise for the vegan breakfast, the lamppost fry, avocado and poached egg on sourdough, and scones served with fresh cream and jam that one visitor calls the best bit by a mile. Coffee comes up often as hot and strong, alongside flat whites and a hojicha vanilla and strawberry latte made with handmade syrup. Dog owners single out the ground floor welcome, one noting a puppuccino and biscuits for a fussy eater. Service is not unanimous: one reviewer found it cold, unsmiling and huffy, enough to put them off returning for a cheese and wine evening, and another felt portions could be larger. One group thanks the staff for reorganising the seating area to fit a table of eight.
Customer Review Summary
The Narnia-inspired decor draws the most comment: reviewers describe antique crockery, teapots, paintings and florals, old ragtime music, and an upstairs room with bookshelves and chess boards, several calling it whimsical and homely. Close behind is brunch, with repeated praise for the vegan breakfast, the lamppost fry, avocado and poached egg on sourdough, and scones served with fresh cream and jam that one visitor calls the best bit by a mile. Coffee comes up often as hot and strong, alongside flat whites and a hojicha vanilla and strawberry latte made with handmade syrup. Dog owners single out the ground floor welcome, one noting a puppuccino and biscuits for a fussy eater. Service is not unanimous: one reviewer found it cold, unsmiling and huffy, enough to put them off returning for a cheese and wine evening, and another felt portions could be larger. One group thanks the staff for reorganising the seating area to fit a table of eight.
Featured reviews
- Run4Life
“New ownership. Not the C.S. Lewis/ afternoon tea house theme as many pictures indicate but the cafe has great tea and the staff is amazing.”
- Patrick Haley
“Highly recommend this café. Very accommodating staff - accepted a booking for a table of 8 which involved some reorganisation of the seating area. We then enjoyed a delicious brunch - the granola was rated as "the best we have ever had out" and the staff couldn't have been more helpful. One suggestion might be the addition of pancakes/French toast to the menu for "early" brunch when more savoury options aren't just so appealing but other than that, would highly recommend. Our guests from England were very impressed too!! Many thanks for accommodating us and great food!”
- Tomislav Rendulic
“Amazing, cosy wee cafe with really friendly staff. We came for lunch very late in the day and were still welcomed to eat and drink. Food and coffee were amazing. We got offered to stay as long as we wanted as well which was very kind. We'll definitely be back!”
- Becky Davage
“Such a great little cafe. A friend and I came, for a catch up. I had the vegan aubergine pesto focaccia and she had the burreta tomato sourdough. Omg, honestly the pesto focaccia was amazing, 100% try this. Vegan or not that was amazing, she loved her food too. We had flat whites too, which were lovely. They had vegan biscofe cookies, which were amazing, sometimes biscofe is too much, but these were incredible. Had a nice chat with the staff too, they were really friendly and easy to talk to. Would 100% recommend.”
- Simon Hackett
“Brilliant place. Great food as reasonable price. Super friendly (clearly locals also appreciate). Also had great vegan food for my wife.”
Hours
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Closed
- Wednesday
- Closed
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
Highlights
- Great coffee
- Great dessert
- Great tea selection
- Popular for breakfast
- Popular for lunch
- Popular for solo dining
Amenities
- Wi-Fi
- Free of charge street parking
- Outdoor seating
- Dogs allowed
- Takeaway
- Dine-in
Show more amenities
- Family friendly
- Vegan options
- Bar on site
- Casual
- On-site services
- Coffee
- Dining options· 6
- Breakfast
- Brunch
- Lunch
- Dessert
- Seating
- Table service
- Highlights· 2
- Great dessert
- Great tea selection
- Pet-friendly· 2
- Dogs allowed inside
- Dogs allowed outside
- Offerings· 4
- Free water refills
- Healthy options
- Quick bite
- Vegetarian options
- Popular for· 2
- Solo dining
- Good for working on laptop
- Atmosphere· 3
- Cosy
- Romantic
- Trendy
- Parking· 1
- Parking
- Facilities· 2
- Gender-neutral toilets
- Toilet
- Crowd· 4
- Groups
- LGBTQ+ friendly
- Tourists
- Transgender safe space
- Family-friendly· 3
- Good for kids
- High chairs
- Kids' menu
Location
Cafes near Craft Cafe
- Becky's Cafe4.81010.3 miOutdoor seatingDelivery
the ulster fry, great value prices, cash only
- Truffles Coffee Shop4.73350.5 mi
ulster fry, belly buster fry, veggie fry
- Peppercorn Cafe4.64310.8 miVegetarian optionsDelivery
ulster fry, pensioner discount rates, gujon wrap
| Place | Rating | Distance | Mentioned in reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Craft CafeOutdoor seating · Vegetarian options · Vegan options | 4.7745 | — | dog-friendly cafe, scones with cream and jam, vegan breakfast options |
| Becky's CafeOutdoor seating · Delivery | 4.8101 | 0.3 mi | the ulster fry, great value prices, cash only |
| Truffles Coffee Shop | 4.7335 | 0.5 mi | ulster fry, belly buster fry, veggie fry |
| Peppercorn CafeVegetarian options · Delivery | 4.6431 | 0.8 mi | ulster fry, pensioner discount rates, gujon wrap |
The 3 nearest cafes by distance. Ratings, hours and review terms come from public business profiles.
Similar Cafes nearby
More to explore in Belfast

4.7 · Darcy's BelfastRestaurants
56 places
4.5 · Harp BarBars
11 places



