Deanes EIPIC

I don't even know where to start here! We've had this booked for 9 months and we've been so looking forward to it! The food was incredible and we also had the wine pairings which were lovely. We finished up with the Incredible Edible Book which Alex Greene brought out to the table and had a bit of a chat with us which was really nice. Service was amazing, the staff were all so friendly and knowledgeable. The evening was totally worth the wait and we will definitely be back!

I have been really looking forward to dining at Eipic for a while now. The Michelin star restraunt is one of those must-do foodie experiences. But, to be perfectly honest, I was disappointed. I'm a fussy eater. There are lots of things I don't like. But I have an agreement with my husband - when we go to a restraunt with a tasting menu I will try everything I am served. In other restraunts this has been challenging, amazing, rewarding, and sometimes completely delightful. Not so in Eipic. I found each course to be resolutely... meh. Everything was a bit bland, lacking the immense flavour or the surprising combination of tastes that I had hoped for. And it was all a bit soft, I mean, the texture of each dish was soft, without crunch or bite. Presentation was impressive. Each course looked stunning. Style over substance perhaps? I wasn't given the menu (which disappointed me a little) so I can't describe each course. But there was a cheesy thing, a tuna thing, a halibut fish course, duck for a main, a chocolate desert and several dishes in between. All beautiful to look at. And all perfectly nice. The service was excellent - except my husband is allergic to lobster and they'd been told about this three times and still served him a little lobster starter! But they were apologetic and corrected it quickly. And everything else was polished and professional. I waited a little while to write this review to, you know, let my opinion settle a little. So, overall, disappointed. Recently enough I've eaten at Ox, A Peculiar Tea, and The Wild Honey in Lisdoonvarna. At each I was wowed, delighted, impressed. I hoped for the same from EIPIC, but something was lacking. It was perfectly nice, nothing to turn to the waiter and say anything other than 'it was lovely' in that polite, NI, don't want to cause offense way. But I wanted a memorable dining experiece and this wasn't it. Also, the most expensive meal I've ever had! I shouldn't be remembering it just for that reason, but it was one of the most exceptional parts of the night. When you pay that much for an experience there is a temptation to claim it was brilliant, in order to justify the investment. But it was just perfectly nice.

UNREAL experience! This was our first Michelean star restaurant and Eipic did not disappoint! The food was delicious, the staff was amazing and the atmosphere was perfect. We did the 3 course lunch menu with the book dessert experience at the end. We truly felt spoiled in our experience and would definitely go again!

Away from town for most of week and great to be back to Back to proper dining. Been a while 11 years since I've been here, and just managed to sneak in to be presented with precise and flavour packed cooking. Knocks spots of hipster cheffing.

Quality. Let's keep this simple. It's a different class of restaurant and the quality and presentation of the food was spectacular. The service was brilliant and insightful. Very relaxed atmosphere. If you enjoy fine dining you'll love it here.

Excellent food. We had the tasting menu and wine pairing which were a bargain at their prices. Service was good with the sommelier as the highlight. We would recommend Eipic.

High quality food, a real treat, thoroughly enjoyed. The mark is set early on with delicious snacks and quality Irish bread. I would recommend going along with the suggested wine pairing which gives you a shot (75ml) of wine with as many or as few courses as you require. Staff are highly trained and really make the extra effort to establish the professional experience.

Our first time at Deans Epic and what a night it was. Fabulous from start to finish a very slick run restaurant with lovely staff who really knew there stuff from the food to the wine pairing. The food was a work of art by the amazing Alex Greene with flavours to die for . Will most definitely be back.

It's Eel week here in NI and its really exciting to big up a local delicacy. The venue was Deanes Love Fish, part of the flagship Deanes complex on Howard Street. Our eels hail from Mexico, are carried to Irish Waters by the Gulf Stream, then they make there way up the river Bann and into Lough Neagh!!!! What a journey. Also did you know eels can be male or female depending on what's required!!! Eels have been a staple for many folk around Lough Neagh but alas the vast majority of our eels are exported to Denmark and Holland. As a celebration to the humble eel 17 eelivores descended on Deanes Love Fish last night to sample some eel. Now I have had eel Japanese style (sushi and tempura) which was fabulous but have not managed to try the infamous jellied eels of Cockney East End London!!!! On the eel menu there were three dishes. There was eel cakes, eel on toast and eel salad. I had the cakes which were lovely and tried the toast which was also very fine, but the eel salad was the tastiest in the sense that one could really discern the taste of the eel, which was subtly fishy and fleshy. For my main I chose the battered haddock, fat chips, tartare and the best mushy peas I've tasted!! Alas it was just enough for me-couldn't manage a dessert but others did. The venue was superb as was the food and service.

This was a spectacular meal, one of my top. I read that Michael Deane is gunning for a Michelin star with Eipic, and so put it on my list to try. I think it could well qualify. It's not cheap, but I would come back. There's only the tasting menu, but you can choose 4, 5, or 6 courses, and there's also a vegetarian tasting menu. We had one of each, and while the vegetarian one was very good, for the portion sizes I felt it shouldn't have been the same price as the omnivorous one, which had substantially more food. In addition to the courses, there were two amuse bouches, a palate cleanser, and some sweets with coffee/tea. There's an additional optional cheese plate for £10. We got one to share. There was a chocolate truffle in the sweets that might be my favourite chocolate truffle ever. I have no words to describe how it melted in my mouth; it made me wonder how it remained in a solid form on the way to my mouth. One slightly odd thing is that there's a whole row of Michael Deane restaurants together, so you actually enter through Love Fish. The Eipic atmosphere is a little trendier than I was expecting, which is good because we made a booking for the same day and only had jeans. It's kind of a nice date night / business dinner vibe, rather than formal stuffy. And it's just pronounced "epic".

Belfast's newest Michelin star restaurant, and only the second after Ox sets the bar high with food, drink, and ambiance. Getting a table is a tricky affair, but if you are willing to wait a while, you can get one far out. Entering through the attached Dean's Fish restaurant, there's a definite feeling of having arrived when getting to the upscale EIPIC portion through another door. The bar and small tables are great for a pre dinner drink with several cocktails and bubbly drinks available. After moving to the table (they only have about 10 and do only one seating a night per table because of the length of the tasting menu), food begins arriving. There is an option of either a 40 pound menu or 60 pound which are largely the same with a few additions on the 60 pound one. You can also add a wine pairing with glasses or interestingly, shots (about half a glass) with each dish. We opted for the 60 pound menu and did shots until we got to the big full bodied reds toward the end and switched to full glasses. Each wine was carefully selected by the great and personable sommelier who served each and told us about them as well as why they were selected. The Rioja was pure perfection in a glass. The food was stellar from start to finish. Each course built a little upon the previous and got more flavorful and heavier. Everything was quite light though and even after 10 or so courses and cheese, the feeling was more pleasantly filled than overstuffed. The onion and cheddar bites served as an amuse bouche and got the party started. They were nice and crispy with just a hint of an onion and cheddar bite that didn't overwhelm the prosecco or subsequent dishes. The artichoke and black garlic foam was creamy and fragrant without being overpowering again. The bread and butter was out of this world good with a nice crusty crunch and slightly salted butter, all obviously freshly made. The egg yolk with pork cracklings was probably the least favorite dish as it was a bit salty and the large yolk was a bit too much of the eggy texture. The cracklings were delicious though and the tiny mushrooms were playful. The sea bass, dill, and hollandaise was a nice transition from light appetizers into the bigger entree courses. The dill and hollandaise was filling but herby in a fresh and seasonal way. The fish was extremely tasty as well but the sauce and dill really brought out the flavor. The halibut was almost more of a steak as it was served as a standalone filet seared to perfection. The "bone" sauce added a nice heavier flavor to the meaty fish and went very well with the heavier veggies like cauliflower. I need to find their cauliflower supplier as it was the most unique I've seen with color packed red and purple pieces and tiny miniature versions as well. The partridge served as the poultry course and was memorable for the bold move of adding little shavings of crisped black pudding to it. It was also served in a tasty "partridge" sauce with cabbage. The meat was succulent with both a breast and thigh with ample meat. The venison was without a doubt the best course and probably the most traditional. The meat was a succulent rare cut with a beautiful sear and amazing coloring. It tasted even better than it looked and truly melted in the mouth. The pears were a nice citrus compliment to a heavy course and the pureed sauce added some more airy texture. An incredible cheese plate followed with about 8 selections of various soft and hard cheeses including goat, local, and several french varieties. Each was exceptional and while it was hard to choose a favorite, I think I preferred the goat cheese the best for its smooth creaminess. A spiced apple slice with a crispy honeycomb was the first dessert served and the classic apple and honey flavor was off the charts. The chocolate and chestnut cake with toasted milk was next and as a chocolate and ice cream lover, this one hit home with me. The complex flavors of dark chocolate and chestnut were extremely rich and satisfying at this point in the meal. Last was a crispy cracker with raspberry jam and almonds, a great dessert and palate cleanser. If the mark of an exceptional dining experience is not wanting to leave, EIPIC achieved this as we were the last ones still in the restaurant, staying until 1am because the experience was so satisfying. Definitely an amazing treat and worth the splurge for a night to remember.

We were here on a bank holiday Monday so maybe there was a different cook. We also committed the faux pas of ordering two items from their specials menu: linguini with various seafood and marinara and jerk chicken with corn and yogurt. I honestly could have cooked the linguini myself - there was nothing special about the quality of the pasta or the marinara sauce and the seafood did not have much taste. Then there was the jerk chicken... it was a singular small breast of chicken, grilled, a quarter piece of grilled corn, and a yogurt sauce. It honestly looked comical that they bothered to serve it on a big plate instead of a bread plate. This was so pathetic we spent half the meal laughing at the dish and then my partner finished my linguini since there was no way he would feel satiated after the small chicken breast. The service was nice though slightly arrogant. I grabbed my partner's wine glass to taste and the server stated that I grabbed the wrong glass. It was positioned closer to me than my own correct glass was so I assumed they were doing things differently. We noted that this is the kind of restaurant you would see in Washington DC which is quite true. The decor is lovely and we enjoyed the scripts on the wall. Other than that I can not recommend this place without laughing and telling the story of the chicken (which was not even close to jerk chicken). We come from very good restaurants throughout the US and the little restaurants in Dingle were more satisfying than this.

Came for the 30 GBP Friday lunch. It was a good experience with good food and service. The main course fish was prepared well but a bit too salty. The smoked mackerel starter tasted like it could have been fresher and better quality. Overall, good but not great.

We went for the full tasting menu as a treat, and it was a delight! The decor is well thought out, with curtains before the door to exclude draft, good music, and most importantly great service. The waiting staff are well trained and very friendly, in some restaurants like this one you can some times feel a little intimidated, but the staff here made us feel very comfortable. I liked the added touch of providing a stool for my bag! The food itself was exceptional, and I was left feeling very full! The menu was well though out and well executed, the deserts where equally as tasty as the mains. I would highly recommend a trip here. Parking is a real pain, so of you can try and park outside of town or train it in, as it will make things a lot easier.

Recently had the tasting menu here with some old friends on a Saturday evening. Found the food, the service, the wine advice and the overall atmosphere to be excellent. Would highly recommend to anyone visiting Belfast who wants a special dining experience. Not cheap but it is a Michelin Star restaurant and the prices are set out clearly beforehand. And handy for a few options afterwards for post-dinner drinks :)