Val Penny's Hotel and Restaurant Reviews The Traveller's Guide to Hotels and Restaurants around the World

I had never been to any part of the Emerald Isle, so when my friend Ann and I had a chance to visit Belfast, in Northern Ireland, UK we grabbed it with both hands. We went by road in Central Scotland through Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway and on to the village of Cairn Ryan where we got the ferry across to Belfast. The crossing takes two and a half hours, but the ship is big with shops, a small cinema screen and cafes and restaurants to divert you.

Our first stop when we landed in Belfast was to visit the world famous Titanic Museum. It is situated in a lovely building and very well laid out. The Titanic was built in Belfast. The ship was the most celebrated of its day but sank on its maiden voyage at 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912. It sank into the North Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada. The massive ship, which carried 2,200 passengers and crew, had struck an iceberg two and half hours before.  The exhibits include artifacts from the stricken ship, oral and visual displays, a ride showing the construction of the ship and brief biographies of some of the survivors and some who were lost.

We spent easily two hours going around the museum. We could easily have stayed longer but decided we would benefit more from another visit rather than trying to take everything in at one go.

At this point we went to find a cafe for a cold drink. Bistro 401 is the restaurant within the museum. We were very surprised by the variety of freshly prepared food. It all looked delicious and we were sorry that we were not there at a meal time to sample more of the fayre. However, Ann did choose to be tempted by a cream scone and I had a piece of cake. Ann felt the scone was a bit more filling than she expected. My cake was light as air and went down far too well.
The restaurant offers counter service. The staff are very pleasant. The venue is clean and the tables better spaced than in most bistros. I plan to visit the Titanic Museum in Belfast again to explore it further. I enjoyed it very much and highly recommend Bistro 401.

Valerie Penny