Graze in Belfast

Well now we had planed a (what we believed to be ) a nice Sunday lunch today at 1.15 following an on line booking however when we arrived the place was closed. No explanation given and no phone call answered. Spoiled a good day out. Thanks Graze

I had heard a lot about Graze, the little, well-established restaurant in Ballyhackamore, Belfast. My aunt is a fan, and lunches there regularly. An old friend was over from Edinburgh, so we decided to reserve a table. Last night (Wednesday, 6th September, 2023) was one of the warmest evenings, and I'm wondering if Graze has air conditioning? There was a large device on the ceiling. At any rate, this little establishment was thriving when we arrived at 7.30pm. We were shown to our two-seater table beside the open-plan kitchen and opted for the Summer Menu. I had Wild Mushroom Tagliatelle as a starter, which was substantial enough as starters go: well presented, interesting, and tasty. My main course comprised sea-bass fillet, lemon & fennel potato gnocchi, crispy prawns, cauliflower Polonaise shellfish cream. This was not a huge portion; it was, however, delicious. My friend had ordered Ballycarry local Dexter beef burgers, tomato chutney, salad, Hegarty's cheddar, beef dripping chips. Unfortunately my pal became ill before the meal arrived, and had to leave the restaurant. "I always knew you were born with hollow legs." Living up to this legend I proceeded to consume my friend's meal of three meaty little burgers, the side salad, and some of the chips. The bill came to a very reasonable £43.95, including a tip and two glasses of Pinot Grigio. I'll be back.

We had a reservation for 8, we were seated and ordered at this time. The starter then took 35 mins to arrive, after no one cleared our plates for over 20 mins. The main then took a further 30 mins after this to arrive. We went for dinner at 8 and were finished after 10!! we ordered a starter and main, we refused dessert as we didn’t want to be there another hour waiting. We asked the staff twice the timings of our meal. The waitress avoided eye contact and said they had a function upstairs which has lead to the wait. The food was ok but not worth the wait! The table next to us actually send their main back. We will not be back!

Had a delicious lunch , the sea bass was cooked to perfection followed by a really tasty apple crumble. Thank you all.

We headed to Graze having been given a voucher by a good friend. I had felt a bit uncomfortable on my last visit, rubbing shoulders with the Great and the Good, but luckily it wasn't bunged upstairs. I'm saying this simply to indicate that my opinion wasn't starting from neutral, it started from negative. Well it's not now. I just can't imagine better food (except my wife's cooking of course). If you want quality, go to Graze.

Had dinner from the pre theatre menu. Arrived at 6:30 and we didn't finish until 9pm, leaving without dessert because that would have taken even longer. Not impressed with the waiting staff who needed some managing - classic avoiding eye contact, one wandering in and out of the dining room to go and chat to their mate who was smoking outside. The food when it did arrive (I only had a main course so was starving) wasn't worth the wait.

Great lunch and Alana made us feel very welcome. Very attentive staff overall. Restaurant nicely positioned in Ballyhackamore

Brilliant lunch with the family for my mum's birthday - really accomodating and great food. Alanna was fantastic and made us feel so at home. Would definitely return!!

Lovely meal with the family and a shout out to Alana who was very attentive. Also great value for money. Well worth a visit if you haven’t been

Heard great things about this place, was very quiet for a Sunday evening, we ordered starters and were very nice but it took over 40 minutes to bring out our mains. Food was over cooked and looked like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for awhile. Definitely won’t be back as there is other nice restaurants close by. Very disappointed as we were really looking forward to giving this place a go

Visited on Thursday 19th May. Had a really superb meal and which made it all the better....it was 50% off on food. They are currently promoting this deal on Wednesday and Thursday. Unbelievable value but more importantly good food. I had cod cubes which where cooked to perfection. My friend had a sirloin steak. Again excellent and for £14. Service was top notch and a great selection of wine. My advice? Visit!! Especially on a promotion evening. Advisable to book though as it was bunged.

A lovely lunchtime meal. The fish here is especially superb - really fresh and perfectly cooked. Attentive service and a relaxed atmosphere.

Absolutely Loved this little restaurant, first ever visit with my friend who lives here, on holiday from Scotland and I chose here from a list of options she had given me, so glad we came. Food was amazing, great service from the staff who were warm & helpful, nothing was too much for them. Easter set menu so had 3 courses, started with squid, followed by the fish and finished it all with the meringue, super flavours and excellent presentation. Highly recommend a visit here

We had dinner at this wonderful restaurant. Met by Alanna who was very friendly and looked after us very well throughout the evening!! The menu choice was excellent!! We shared a starter, had a main course each and shared a chocolate fondant desert. Portion sizes were perfect. Everything tasted delicious and presentation was perfect. Thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience and will definitely return!!

Two of us went for lunch in Graze, the second visit for me and it will definitely not be the last.! Such a lovely little restaurant with a very good choice on the menu, but what makes it special is the service, especially from our lovely waitress who I think is called Alana - she was so attentive and nothing too much trouble even though she was really busy. My first visit was with two friends and we just called without booking and although they were closing in half an hour she made sure we were served very quickly with delicious sea bass and didn’t make us feel a nuisance as she was busy getting organised for the evening.

Treated to a birthday meal with my family. We all had different food from the menu and really enjoyed each course. Beautifully presented and each item on the plates cooked perfectly. Cocktails great..can recommend the Long Island tea! Well done Graze…we will return very soon

This was a favourite restaurant of ours pre covid. Unfortunately, since lockdowns, we have gotten out of the way of eating out. However thanks to the generosity of a relative, giving us a gift voucher, we went back to Graze last week. We now remember...

Fabulous meal and excellent service, even better value as visited on a Wednesday evening and availed of the half price menu! So good and will return at earliest opportunity.

Always enjoy our trips to Graze. Excellent food & service. Staff very friendly & welcoming. Great choice of food at reasonable prices, particularly enjoyed the seafood.

This place is the best! The food is consistently excellent, the service is attentive without being over the top (big shout out to Alana :-) ) and the atmosphere is casual and cosy. Always a treat to visit!

I went to graze around a year ago and had a really lovely, memorable meal so booked for Sunday lunch as a treat for our family. Our recent visit was so disappointing. Firstly, at arrival I was so shocked to see their food hygiene rating...

Just enjoyed a lovely lunch at Graze. Quality of food excellent ( we had a chicken and a scallops main course). Presentation of food was beautiful, especially the delicious deserts. Well done to the chef. Excellent service from the friendly waiting staff. We considered our...

My friend and I visited Graze for a Saturday lunch and catch up. As soon as we walked in we were warmly greeted, shown to our table and given our menus. The staff could see that we had plenty to chat about and brought us...

Beautiful meal today with my friend, service from Alana was five star, if only every restaurant had an Alana. Food was amazing and priced so very reasonable. Thank you Graze

Myself & 5 friends had a birthday lunch at Graze today. The food & service were fantastic, we had a really lovely afternoon & I couldn’t recommend the restaurant highly enough. Thank you Graze 😀

We attended Graze for our Stewart & Co Christmas night out. The restaurant was very busy but the staff were attentive & the food was delicious. A special mention for Alana front of house - despite being rushed of her feet she took time to...

We had the early bird meal a couple of weeks ago…Waited 1 hour for starter…I think order was forgotten… Then brought wrong main…All food we ate was good but attitude and service not so good

This would have consistently been 4+/5* but our meal and service was really poor. Maybe because we were upstairs? No water for the table, couldn't find staff to get condiments, missing cutlery... The food - three of us had chocolate 'melting' fondant. All 3 solid...

I never leave a review but had to on this occasion. Was with my boyfriend for my birthday and had such a lovely meal but the real star of the show was Alannah she is such a brilliant host and so warm and welcoming, Every...

We went for an evening meal last night. It was my partners birthday. We are never let down. The food was fabulous and there is lots of choice on the menu. There is a great atmosphere and the staff are very professional and knowledgeable. I...

Myself and a friend had lunch at Graze last Thursday the 27th October and it was my first visit. Front of house was only one lady and although busy nothing was any trouble whatsoever in terms of allowing enough time and then chatting about the...

Seated at 5.30pm which is the time we booked for . Starters arrived which were great. Waited for 1 hour for our main course. When it did arrived it was placed at different table of customers before being lifted after a period of time to...

Four of us had a lovely meal in this small restaurant. There are about 10 tables which are fairly close together but not too close to be overheard. We all had three courses and drinks and enjoyed all of the food. Desserts lovely and light...

This was the worst meal ever. Starters were good mains gross the chips were deplorable they definitely needed the oil changed. The waygu burgers poor to awful, fish linguini Fish was a strange colour and taste 1 prawn. They replaced the chips which were nearly...

A group of 6 of us went to Graze on Sunday. I had always heard fantastic reviews and was really looking forward to it. Two of the group had been before and really enjoyed it. For our main meal 2 ordered the chicken and 4...

Had dinner with a friend--early bird special Good service--tasty wine Starter was tasty--crispy beef Waygu beef burger for a main--3 small burgers--average The chips looked like what my mother used to make in a sauce pan with a wire basket--dark brown--limp--and it tasted like the...

We have been to Graze many times before and the food was fantastic and the staff are great and still are but unfortunately when we came for my partners 50th the food (steak) wasn’t up to scratch it was really tuff and we did say...

Just back from another amazing night at Graze, we go quite often as it’s one of our favourite restaurants so I chose to host my 40th birthday in their private facility. Most of the diners had been there before with us but those who hadn’t...

Amazing food, great staff, especially Alana front of house. Alana always makes us feel so welcome, nothing is ever too much trouble. We love how she remembers us and what we like, a very unique quality. Alana is a special member of your team and...

This restaurant is a must……. fabulous food always, the staff are very professional and friendly, Alanna, hostess with the mostess is amazing catering for your every need all I need to say now is get it BOOKED Fiona B

Absolutely fabulous lunch today for a large group of 15! Food was delicious and attention to detail with the service was second to none!!

We went to Graze for father's day meal with 2.5 year old daughter. Every dish for child was served on HOT plate... When we ran out of water, we had to go and ask for top up and more drinks. No one came over to...

Contacted restaurant before writing review with no agenda but expecting a response. No reply. Used to love Graze pre- covid. Came on a Saturday night in early May, service poor but could see at least 8 staff although difficult to get their attention. Seafood pasta...

Our server was Alana, she could not accommodate us enough. Amazing knowledge of menu and wines. We felt so special with her high standard of service. Amazing at her job. The food was amazing. Every element cooked to perfection. 3 courses of the most beautiful...

We booked this restaurant as we were so delighted to stumble across it 7 months ago & loved it so much we had to return with our grand daughter to let her experience the delicious food. Our waitress alana was excellent & nothing was any...

Lovely lunch here for three friends. The food is delicious and a good range. Friendly service. The place is quite small but the tables are reasonably well spaced. Parking available at the back as you can’t park outside on the glider bus Lane.

Such a fantastic meal. We were in celebrating the 6 week countdown to our wedding. Served by Ella and Alana, who were both extremely attentive! Cocktails were top drawer. Get the Scallops as a starter, you won’t be disappointed! Both of us had the Lamb...

I visited this evening with 2 friends at 15.45. We had booked and left credit card details 5 days previously. The person who greeted us could not find our booking but did give us a table, referring to us as a “walk in”when I told...

Another outstanding visit to Graze. The food and service were as always exceptional. The cocktails were some of the best we have ever experienced! Thanks again to Alana Conor and the team. keep up the good work. Already planning our next visit. Larry & Camilla

I was here for the first time after having always wanted to try it. The menu was great with a nice selection of starters and main courses and a couple of daily specials. The food didn’t take long to arrive and was very nicely done....

Fabulous food and gorgeous drinks last nite in Graze, lovely atmosphere upstairs, excellent service from Alana and team, would highly recommend.

We had beautiful meat and fish dishes and once again, Graze always delivers- it is always quality food and friendly, personable service by Alana. Deserts were stunning and the Brambles are second to none. Always a lovely atmosphere with exceptional food and service.

I simply could not say anything more to praise this place. 3 finer plates of food I could not have had. I don’t think I have ever been somewhere where I have felt the portion sizes were just right and been matched with the absolutely...

A Saturday night dinner - very impressed. The staff were attentive and very professional, nice ambience in the restaurant and a good range of courses on the menu. The food was perfectly cooked, well presented and delicious. My only criticism would be that there should...

My husband and I went to this restaurant for the first time last night. We can both highly reccomend the food that we ordered. The dishes were well prepared, full of flavour and the presentation was perfect. Staff were genuinely friendly and welcoming and the...

I was quite disappointed with graze in terms of their covid safety measures. Being 7 months pregnant I have been limiting my outings but I thought with the introduction of covid domestic passport along with social distance measures and face coverings a dinner out would...

I booked a meal for myself and my wife for New Years Eve. I booked the before Xmas and received confirmation of my booking. We arrived at Graze 10 minutes before our booked time . Imagine our surprise and shock when we found the place...

Had Sunday lunch here with friends, food was good and staff are friendly and very attentive, definitely a great day out.

We visited for a birthday celebration on Christmas Eve and it couldn't have been better. Not cheap but not outlandish for the sheer quality on offer. Fabulous prawns, venison , sea bream and fillet steaks. Staff attentive and very pleasant. Can't wait to go again.!

Lovely food and service, had an amazing Christmas Dinner with friends, food was great and Services even better, thank you Alana who served us, you really made a difference,I will be definitely back

The restaurant was practically empty when we arrived at 6pm. We were greeted by staff not wearing face coverings even though we as customers were expected to wear coverings and show COVID passports. The service from the beginning was just so slow. We ordered wine...

Fantastic day out. Staff excellent and food 10 out of 10. All Covid issues covered without any issues. Menu choice very good.

Fantastic food let down by shocking service! - drinks arrived after we had finished our starters! - had to request steak knife! - mains dishes sat for 30min! - had to request desert menu and then again ask to order! Restaurant was busy, however waiting...

Family lunch and the food was great. My wife and I had the lobster special and it was very good. The kids enjoyed their meals. Service was good and the restaurant was clean

Visited Graze this evening for the first time, had never really heard about it before except for the friends we were with and their consistent description of how good it is - which is why we came along. Four of us there and had an...

We had a great meal here last weekend. Slightly out of the centre of town (10 mins in a taxi) but well worth the journey for more of a neighbourhood restaurant. Nice restaurant atmosphere, lovely staff and delicious food. Best meal of our stay in...

Dreadful experience We visited Graze as a group of 4 people on Wednesday 15th September 2021 and I must say were entirely happy with our meals. We subsequently paid the bill using 2 £50 vouchers. I had been given these as a gift pre lockdown...

I was dining here on Saturday evening with a group of friends who I had not seen in over a year. I have to say the service and the food are on the same par - Fantastic! For my mains I had the half lobster,...

We revisited restaurant Wednesday night with visiting friend. Evening room start to finish delightful, food and service excellent. Attention from young waiter second to none and charming to ladies of certain age! Couldn’t fault anything and look forward to next excuse for visit.

Class food. Great service from the staff! Seriously good place. Had the duck which was fantastic!! The boss ran the place very well. I'd go back asap

I went to Graze for my birthday dinner and unfortunately had a bad experience. The food was a miss and the service was poor. Both my main and my wife’s were missing elements listed on the menu. The most notable was that my wife’s main...

I have been to this restaurant on many occasions in the past and would have to say it would previously have been one of my favourites. We went last night for my boyfriends birthday and had a very disappointing evening. The service was painfully slow....

Excellent food and service. Great choice on the menu and food beautifully presented. Overall a great experience and great value.

We were in Graze lastnight for the first meal after lockdown and have to say I was disappointed. As previously mentioned by another reviewer we were seated upstairs and were the only customers in the place for approx 30mins, which wasn’t too bad except it...

We visited Graze to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary and had a special evening We were shown to our table immediately and asked if we were celebrating our anniversary on the table was a lovely card with best wishes from all at Graze a lovely touch...

Our first meal 'out' since lockdown and what a disappointment! Despite the restaurant being only half full we were instructed that we were to be seated upstairs. When we climbed the staircase, in the dark, we arrived at the upstairs seating area where we were...

We had a lovely meal in Graze. Food was beautiful and well presented. We were disappointed with the service to begin with and had to ask for one of the waitresses to take our order but it improved after that. Our main issue was that...

How lovely to be able to go for a meal out again! And Graze did not disappoint! Our waitress April looked after us very well. Would highly recommend and we will be back.

Wedding anniversary Dinner booked and confirmed for Mon 24 May. When we got there, it was closed with no notice or reason given by Graze. Wonder why they're in business when they treat customers like this. Would have given no stars but needed one to...

I’m really sad to say that our recent experience was awful. We tried the takeaway option for my birthday and the food was stone cold when picked up, half cooked and has to be reheated. Instructions are provided but nothing looked appetising. We had not...

My children ordered us a take away meal for my birthday on the 24th October. What can I say, the food was superb; in fact my husband said it was the nicest meal he’d had in a long time. Easy instructions included for finishing off...

We were very disappointed with our visit to Graze, having had some great meals in the past. Having asthma I phoned before to check how safe it would be and was assured there were screens & staff wore visors. However the place was rammed, just...

Surprisingly, our last visit to Graze was quite some time ago, certainly pre-pandemic, and we were looking forward to returning. This smart little East Belfast restaurant always had a great reputation for seafood, and we were keeping our fingers crossed that this was still the...

Food lovely seem to have a problem with there bar never been in a restaurant that didn't sell whiskey and ran out of prosecco come on graze get a grip your a first class restaurant.

First time I have tried here and while a little expensive, especially for wine, glad I did. Goats cheese starter went down well. I had the artisan breads and tapenade. Black olive tapenade was delicious as was the treacle bread. Just would have liked a...

Sadly not what it once was.... and has slowly been going down hill since the original owner/manager left. Food was good, but sadly not the same atmosphere. Had a very low supply of wine with a number of bottles sold out at only 5pm on...

Visited Graze on Sunday evening 13th September with my Girlfriend. We both had the there course set menu for £25 pp, excellent value. Cocktails and wine also great. We had the parfait & the chilli prawns to start, both excellent. We then had the seafood...

Visited this restaurant never again! Absolute chaos we were in and out for a 2 course meal in one hour. Very little social distancing, staff running around like headless chickens. Waited 20 mins for our second drink and even then we had to ask two...

Graze was one of my favourite restaurants................Food was special & always good. Had a busy day today & we called in on spec @ 6.40 tonight Friday 11th Sept & asked for a table....................No probs as long as they had it back @ 8.30.....great !...

Visited Graze for my Wife's birthday dinner and were really pleased We were made very welcome by Gavin who provided excellent service all night he had an excellent way with him and was very knowledgeable about all the dishes as well as being good craic

I took my great niece and nephew and a friend to Graze on Saturday evening. We had a lovely table upstairs and were presented with menus that could be disposed of once the order had been taken. There was plenty of social distancing, hand sanitiser dotted around the restaurant and all staff wore visors. We felt completely safe.The guy who looked after us couldnt have been nicer and the younger folks with me were delighted he put them at ease and explained everything they asked about on the menu. Food was absolutely delicious. we had soup, squid, crab and cappacio for starters. Everybody loved their starter course. Steak, chicken, sea bass and lobster for main. Again delicious. Desserts were beautiful too. This is very much a quality over quantity restaurant. Do order an extra portion or two - it'll make all the difference to the meal. We had a lovely evening and will absolutely be back. Its not cheap, but worth every penny.

Lovely food, very friendly attentive and proactive staff. A very pleasurable visit. Food well presented, tasty.

Graze had good service from the start (including answering an enquiry I had after I had made the booking) and nothing seemed to be a problem on the night, despite a busy evening for the staff. Alana (who I assume has a managerial role) was lovely and looked after us so well, ensuring we had everything we wanted. The food was excellent, loved to see quite a few fish and seafood dishes on the menu. The Lough Neagh eel starter and lobster risotto were especially delicious. Will definitely return.

Having just visited this restaurant today - I must let all potential customers know that there has been no attempt made to place the tables so that customers are socially distanced, nor were any of the staff wearing masks. Having been a customer of this restaurant on many occasions I was surprised to see that all the normal tables were in operation. Having ordered our drinks my family discussed the situation and decided we were extremely unhappy, I explained to the waitress and left.With no ventilation this is a cluster of Covid waiting to happen - beware

I judge restaurants by how often I go back to them. I’ve lost count with this one, but am glad this one is back and today on day one after lockdown, I can tell you graze is very much alive and well. First mention is the staff, they are on top of their game. Nothing is a problem - they are professional, down to earth, and above all good at what they do. The cooking is superb. Today lunch was a crab linguine to cry about and shelled prawns that have been on the menu forever and why we are here. Wine list is very good. Have to recommend this place, the litmus test is always if you go back twice. For me I guess that today is maybe visit something in two digits, it has always been consistent - so a joy to see graze back on their feetLoved it.

We had a large group celebration here and were blown away by the food and excellent customer service. Every member of staff has been trained to deliver sheer excellence. Highly recommend!

Menu sounds terrific but tastes bland! New owners have certainly let this previously owned super restaurant down! My partner and I arrived, staff initially welcoming but then very blasé. An engagement party was in so obviously they were deemed more important due to flowing champagne. My partners crab starter lacked seasoning and crab flavour, my beef strips unrecognisable and rubber bands would have had more flavour. My haddock main had no taste, it could have been anything, whilst my partners venison again lacked any flavour and was dry and tough. The potatoes on both dishes was the only element we enjoyed. This was an anniversary night, but we were hugely disappointed. We will not be back and would definitely not recommend. Lots of better restaurants nearby. £80 wasted!

Return visit on a very busy Saturday night. Starters & main courses were very nice but dessert menu needs urgent attention. Their reinterpretation of classics such as the creme brûlée and the lemon meringue leave a lot to be desired and failed to impress on presentation or taste. Go back to basics and deliver the real product!

Visited for the first time last night. Food was very good but service was very poor. When we tried to get attention the staffs’ reaction was very offhand and almost that we shouldn’t question anything because they were busy. Whilst I enjoyed the food I would think again before another visit as it was expensive and for that money I think you should be treated better.

As regular patrons of graze, we have noticed how the prices have been creeping up of late.We visited today Sunday 1/03/20 for lunch.There were 4 of us and we all had starters followed by mains, 2 bottles of wine, 4 cocktails and 2 desserts.The total bill came to just shy of £250 including a 10% service charge added by the restaurant.We had no complaints with the quality of the food or service but noticed how the portions are also moving in inverse correlation to the prices.Ultimately this restaurant is a 20x50ft shop unit laid out as an upmarket bistro and while it has been a favourite of our family over the years, we now feel it has come to represent bad value.This is unfortunate as we now feel we will be forced to look elsewhere to replace what had become a favourite haunt of ours.