If there’s one meal that makes you think of Ulster, it’s an Ulster Fry. Here are our top 5 places to get an Ulster Fry in the province.
If you’re planning on cutting down on carbs, I would look away now because the Ulster Fry is an Irish delicacy packed with carbs, fat, and all the good stuff.
This traditional breakfast consists of all the standard trimmings of a normal cooked breakfast: eggs, bacon, and sausages. However, the Ulster Fry has a couple of significant additions. Namely, black pudding, potato bread, and soda bread. Different variations may also include mushrooms, hash browns, fried tomatoes, baked beans, the list goes on. But, as long as the core ingredients are there, you have yourself an Ulster Fry.
Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, we have listed the five best places to get an Ulster Fry in Ulster.
5. Maggie Mays, Belfast – for that traditional touch
Maggie Mays is a popular breakfast spot for Belfast’s students searching for that perfect hangover cure. So much so that their online menu even indicates which items are the best for when you’re feeling a little tender after the night before.
Their all-day breakfast menu caters for several different dietary requirements as they offer a ‘Full Fry’ (the traditional meat option), a ‘Veggie Fry’, a ‘Bumper Fry’ for the hungrier individuals, and they have even recently started serving a ‘Vegan Fry’.
Their options are super affordable with the full, veggie, and vegan fries priced at just £5.75, while the bumper fry is £6.99 – although it does get a double hangover cure rating!
Address: 2 Malone Rd, Belfast, BT9 5BN
Website: maggiemaysbelfastcafe.co.uk
4. The Pit Stop Cafe, Bangor – diner-inspired, Irish-adored
On TripAdvisor, the Ulster Fry offered by The Pit Stop Café in Bangor, Co. Down, has been dubbed the ‘Definitive Ulster Fry’ due to its great quality ingredients.
Situated around the corner from Balloo Industrial Estate, this little café could be easily missed. From the outside, it looks like a typical American 50’s-style diner that you would see on T.V.
Their Ulster Fry is very reasonably priced at around £5 for their set menu option, but you can add additional trimmings at an extra charge per item if you wish.
Address: 39 Balloo Rd, Bangor BT19 7PG
Website: www.facebook.com/PitstopBangor
3. Harlem Café, Belfast – for that stylish breakfast spot
Harlem Café is one of the most eclectic and unique cafés in Belfast and is a must-visit if you’re in the city. As well as its delicious food and daring menu, Harlem boasts an array of antique décor that you won’t find anywhere else in Northern Ireland’s capital city.
They pride themselves on their extensive use of local produce, and their fry consists of two smoked bacon rashers, one pork sausage, a free-range fried egg, Clonakilty Black Pudding, potato bread, pancake, mushrooms, and tomato. They also serve a vegetarian alternative, which includes two veggie sausages, two free-range fried eggs, potato bread, soda bread, pancake, mushrooms, tomato, and beans.
The options here are slightly more expensive with the meat option costing £7.95, while the vegetarian alternative comes in at £7.50.
Address: 34 Bedford St, Belfast BT2 7FF
Website: harlembelfast.com
2. Slim’s Healthy Kitchen, Various locations – perfect for the health-conscious
We couldn’t completely forget about those who are a little bit more health-conscious because, after all, we wouldn’t want anyone missing out on the delights of an Ulster Fry.
Slim’s Healthy Kitchen offers a range of healthier alternatives for our favourite meals, including pizza, pancakes, and of course, a fry.
Their ‘Healthy Breakfast’ consists of poached eggs, Irish thick-cut pork bacon, a choice of beef or turkey sausage, oven-roasted herb tomato, and mushrooms with soda bread. They also offer a vegan option which includes harissa-scrambled tofu, grilled mushrooms, vegan sausages, wilted spinach, oven-roasted vine tomato, rosemary, and rock-salt crushed new potato, with wholemeal toast.
It also falls on the more expensive side with the meat option costing £8, while the vegan option will cost you £9. But if you’re serious about your health foods, it’s definitely worth a try!
Address: Various locations including Lisburn Road and Magherafelt.
Website: meals.slimskitchen.com
1. Barnish Café and Tearoom, Ballycastle – for the hidden gem
Barnish Café and Tea Room has the highest rated Ulster Fry on TripAdvisor with 98% of customer reviews dubbing it as ‘excellent’.
One reviewer said, ‘I come here every time I’m in the area (climbing at Fair Head). The Malteser cheesecake is outrageous and the Ulster fry up [is] excellent. Everything about the Barnish is fantastic, except for the opening hours, which should be a lot longer so we can turn up more often. A seriously great place, well done everyone!’
Located in Ballycastle, it’s the perfect place to stop for some breakfast before heading for a drive along the Causeway Coastal Route.
With a fry consisting of two sausages, two slices of bacon, two slices of potato bread, two slices of soda bread, and one egg, you really do get value for money as the breakfast costs less than £5, making Barnish the cheapest option on the list!
Address: 95 Cushendall Road, Ballycastle BT54 6QY
Website: www.facebook.com/Barnish-Cafe
And that’s it! We hope you give these restaurants a try as they are all great options for the best places to get an Ulster Fry in Ulster.
