Mccracken's

Unlike other reviewers I am a big fan of McCrackens it is usually my destination of choice come Saturday night. The bar is never too busy to be served and they have a convenient bottle bar located in the beer garden if you won 't want to wait at the main bar. On a Saturday night there is an expensive door tax although they offer a deal if you say the 'secret word ' at the door staff on entry. This 'secret word ' can be found on 'Club On 's ' Facebook page. The crowd on a Saturday is pretty friendly you won 't get any trouble in McCrackens. They generally have an acoustic guitarist in the beer garden if you can 't stand the tunes inside the live band will play a mix of classic sing alongs, think 'Iris ' by Goo Goo Dolls! On a few occasions the band have taken requests which can lead to an almighty hoedown in the cove like beer garden. As you can imagine with this type of behaviour the staff are extremely tolerant. Drinks prices are what you 'd expect for a City Centre pub/club and dress code is pretty casual although I would recommend wearing smarter shoes to avoid giving the door staff an excuse for turning you away.

Its quite hard for me to review this place. During the day I have enjoyed a couple of nice pints in here with friends and found it a perfectly pleasant wee bar with good enough staff and a nice atmosphere. It has a nice location, just in Joy's Entry in the centre of the city and right near an ATM which is always a bonus. But at night I can't really say what I think about it because I have never been allowed in or have found the alleged £10 door tax just too ridiculous to fathom going in. On the occassions it was free entry I was told my the unfriendly bar staff that the bar was full, despite the predictable group of well dressed girls being allowed in just as I was walking away. I'm not a trendy dresser but I make an effort and I just think they didn't like the look of me despite me not being in anyway too drunk. A bit pretentious is my opinion of this place, but everyone else I've spoken to especially girls seem to enjoy it.

First things first, the bar is named after Mary Ann McCracken, one of Belfast 's most famous daughters, and incidentally sister of Henry Joy (note: Joy 's Entry, this alley was one of the last streets he walked on the way to his death) McCraken 's however celebrates the female of the species as Mary Ann was an extraordinary woman in her own right. She campaigned for the rights of both women and children, she fought against slavery and against the terrible conditions of factory workers. She also ran a shop in Belfast (not very common in her day) and took it upon herself to raise Henry 's illegitimate daughter by herself after his death. She lived a long and interesting life until her death aged 96! But more about the bar, it 's a spacious, inviting and well lit premises with interesting art work on the walls (some by local artist Martin Bradley others of Irish literary figures) The sofas are incredibly comfortable, perfect for sinking in to after a hard days shopping! The middle section of the bar looks interesting as well. It makes it really well laid out and separates the bar well. Their food is top notch, I had lunch here with a friend a few days ago, we ordered ... the beer battered fish with homemade chips mushy peas and the special of homemade lasagne served with side salad and chips. The end bill came to £23.50 (Two meals Two pints) There wasn 't a thing wrong; I really couldn 't fault any of it. The waitress was a lovely local girl who knew lots about the bar, the menu and the drinks list. They serve a range of 'house ' cocktails and special drinks, these all look really tasty! I had to save those for another time. The bar has a motto; 'in touch with old values moving with the times ' which I think sums it up entirely. McCrackens is a great pub steeped in history yet contemporary and modern at the same time.

From the look of their website, you'd think that McCrackens was this really modern, trendy bar full of beautiful, trendy people. It's not. My experience of it is that it's extortionate to get in and it's a bit of sweat box. In fairness, if you're into your hip hop on a night out, you should like it here as the music is pretty good, but I'd give it a miss if I'm honest. There are better clubs with better crowds that aren't tucked away down one of Belfast's entries!

While walking down the ally I thought we'd enter to confront a group of irate soccer fans. That was not the case at all. The atmosphere was warm and inviting. This is s great place to grab a pint and a snack after some Belfast shopping.