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Craft Cafe — Cafes in Belfast

Craft Cafe

CafeBelfast, NIR

4.7 out of 5 stars4.7(745 reviews)

Quick info

19 Upper Newtownards Rd, Belfast BT4 3HT, United Kingdom
£

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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

  • Reservations
    Walk-in only
  • Parking
    Free of charge street parking · Parking
  • Good for kids
    Good for kids · High chairs · Kids' menu
  • Dietary
    Vegan options · Vegetarian options

Menu & Prices

3 dishes
  • Irish Stew
  • Lamppost Fry
  • Chicken Caesar Open Sandwich
See full menu & prices →

Reviews

4.7/5
745 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.

5★
612
4★
88
3★
17
2★
12
1★
16

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

Craft Cafe
Outdoor seatingVegetarian optionsVegan options
4.7745
  • 0.3 miOutdoor seatingDelivery

    the ulster fry, great value prices, cash only

  • 0.5 mi

    ulster fry, belly buster fry, veggie fry

  • 0.8 miVegetarian optionsDelivery

    ulster fry, pensioner discount rates, gujon wrap

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