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James St., Belfast,

James St.

4.5
4.5
367 Reviews
£26 to £40
Steakhouse

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 3 times today
  • Charming
  • Hot spot
  • Good for business meals
James St is a casual and contemporary, brick-walled restaurant specialising in chargrilled and aged steaks. The charcoal grill plays centre stage, cooking not just some of the best steaks and prime cuts Northern Ireland has to offer but also fresh whole fish, pork and vegetables.

With a larger, more established bar area, a large range of wines are available alongside a considered spirit list and an extensive whisky offering. Locally produced beer, cider and gins take pride of place on the drinks menu.

Owned by Niall McKenna since 2003 the revamped James St. will offer locals and tourists a great dining experience in a Belfast city centre.

The restaurant team is headed up by Ryan Stringer as Executive Head Chef & Paul Vaughan as Operations Manager

Bookings may be seated on stools at the bar.

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    £26 to £40
  • Cuisines
    Steakhouse, European, Irish
  • Hours of operation
    Mon, Wed, Thu 5:00 pm–9:30 pm Fri, Sat 1:00 pm–9:30 pm Sun 1:00 pm–8:00 pm
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    There is pay and display on street parking located outside the restaurant. The nearest secure parking would be at the Europa Bus station car park.
  • Payment options
    AMEX, JCB, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Ryan Stringer

What 367 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.5
4.5 based on recent ratings
  • 4.5Food
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.1Ambience
  • 4Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Northern Ireland

    Good for business meals

  • Northern Ireland

    Healthy

  • Northern Ireland

    Hot spot

  • Northern Ireland

    Great for fine wines

  • Northern Ireland

    Vegetarian-friendly

  • Belfast/Antrim

    Good for business meals

  • Belfast/Antrim

    Healthy

  • Belfast/Antrim

    Hot spot

  • Belfast/Antrim

    Great for fine wines

  • Belfast/Antrim

    Vegetarian-friendly

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
James St. offers a delightful dining experience with "wonderful service" and "excellent food." The crab pasta is a must-try, and the steaks are often praised as "the best I've ever had." While the atmosphere can sometimes be noisy, the inviting ambiance and attentive staff make it a popular choice.

367 Reviews
  1. RebeccaC

    N. Ireland3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 1, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Staff were very friendly and went above and beyond. Food and drinks were delicious

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  2. Louise

    N. Ireland5 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on February 27, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Ate from the pre-theatre menu. Sirloin steak was tender and well seasoned, with no extra supplement payable! Cod was quite a substantial portion and the dark chocolate & blood orange dessert did not disappoint. Very “morish!” Service was great. Good evening and will be back.

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  3. Jane

    N. Ireland1 review

    1.0

    Dined on February 14, 2025

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    The whole experience and booking was horrendous. Didn't actually eat at James St South. In using OpenTable to make the booking for a Valentine's dinner, we were deemed to be in excess to what the "restaurant" could accommodate at a normal low-level dining room table and were offered stool seats at the bar counter. It was like a diner, no leg room and perched in front of the fully functioning bar!! Very romantic? I don't think so. We left the "restaurant" and will not be back to James St South.

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  4. Grace

    N. Ireland1 review

    1.0

    Dined on February 14, 2025

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 2
    Disappointing and Unsafe Experience Our Valentine’s dinner at was a disaster. Despite informing our server that I was dairy-free, my meal still contained dairy, which I only realized because my partner had ordered the same dish. As I’m breastfeeding a baby with a severe dairy allergy, this could have been dangerous. To make things worse, I ordered a non-alcoholic beer after my first drink, but the restaurant mistakenly gave me alcohol—something the staff knew about but failed to tell me when I directly asked. This affected our ability to drive home and meant I couldn’t safely breastfeed that night. Add to this an awkward table-for-eight seating, overpriced food (£30 for a sirloin with just a spoon of spinach), and poor service, and it was a truly disappointing experience. We won’t be returning.

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  5. Oisin

    Dublin3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on February 2, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Booked on short notice but definitely found a top class restaurant. Both of us had steak, I had the sirloin special and can confidently say it was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. Service was top class the only reason I’ve docked a star was due to having a significant wait after ordering until we got our food. Based on the quality of food we had we quickly forgot the wait! Would 10/10 recommend to anyone when in Belfast. On the expensive side but it was definitely worth it.

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  6. Michael

    N. Ireland1 review

    2.0

    Dined on January 31, 2025

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 2
    This restaurant came highly recommended. Be careful everything is not as good as the reviews we read. My steak was undercooked and my wife’s was burnt to a cinder. My wife sent her steak back and version 2 was not much better. Restaurant was very busy; seems to be the place to be but there are much better restaurants very close by; try Deanes . Very disappointed in the whole experience

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  7. Kathie

    Raleigh7 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on December 29, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    A true gem! Tucked away and near the City Center with an upbeat vibe and food that was spectacular. Particularly tasty was our scallop starter. The steaks were grilled to perfection. And our server was so attentive and personable that it made for a wonderful all round dining experience!

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  8. Phil

    Yorkshire1 review

    5.0

    Dined on December 27, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    Overall we really enjoyed our experience at the restaurant. The staff were pleasant and attentive without being overly present. The food was excellent and the service great. It was a little cool in the restaurant and I did notice other customers putting their coats on during their dining.

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  9. George

    N. Ireland2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on December 21, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Absolutely amazing service / Food was great quality

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  10. Brian

    N. Ireland1 review

    5.0

    Dined on December 4, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    This was the first time we had visited James st and the experience was fantastic. Food was amazing and service was second to none thanks for the great experience.

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FAQs

James St. is rated 4.5 stars by 367 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 3 times today
Google Map for James St.

19-21 James Street South, Belfast, BT2 7GA

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    £26 to £40
  • Cuisines
    Steakhouse, European, Irish
  • Hours of operation
    Mon, Wed, Thu 5:00 pm–9:30 pm Fri, Sat 1:00 pm–9:30 pm Sun 1:00 pm–8:00 pm
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    There is pay and display on street parking located outside the restaurant. The nearest secure parking would be at the Europa Bus station car park.
  • Payment options
    AMEX, JCB, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Ryan Stringer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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