ARCADIA

378 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 6GL (02890 381779; www.arcadiadeli.co.uk)

There is a rich seam of good food shops clustered about a mile along the Lisburn Road; it's a bit out of the way for most visitors to Central Belfast but a boon for local residents. Arcadia is an independent fine food deli established in 1933. The shop is crammed from floor to ceiling with hundreds of Irish and Continental products including Clandeboye Estate yoghurt, Brownes soups, relishes from the Offbeat Bottling Co, O'Doherty's award-winning oak-smoked black bacon and Tickety Boo banoffee Toffee ice cream, both from Co. Fermanagh; scores of cheeses and Ditty's Irish oatcakes; a small selection of fresh fish at the back of the shop, and Arcadia's homemade fudge and Irish gin and bitter lemon pickle.

AVOCA CAFÉ

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10 Bedford Street, Belfast, BT2 7FB (028 9032 6601; www.avoca.ie)

Based among the jars and books of the food deli on the first floor of the Avoca lifestyle shop there’s a choice between a more pricey restaurant and a cheaper queue-and-eat café that serves mixed salads with wholesome mains such as nut roasts and chick pea rolls. The restaurant, which is invariably busy on shopping days, serves seasonal dishes such as pasta and the likes made with local food.

CLYDESDALE AND MORROW

581 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7GS (02890 662790 ; www.clydesdaleandmorrow.com)

Belfast's only specialist cheese shop opened last year and is a small but beautifully kept temple to Ireland's artisan cheeses. There are tastings from an ever expanding menu of seasonal cheeses on offer and a range of English and Continental cheeses, too.

MERCHANT HOTEL
35-39 Waring Street, Belfast (028 9023 4888; www.themerchanthotel.com)

A French-style gourmet menu using some local produce such as Irish scallops, fillet of Finnebrogue venison and cheeses served in the grand vaulted former banking hall. Great for Sunday lunch, afternoon tea lazing or early evening cocktails from an encyclopedic menu.

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