Selected Highlights
Crown Liquor Saloon
Description
The most famous pub in Belfast. You won't find another place like it.
Step in to discover a traditional pub of unique character, revered for its eclectic range of real ales and its heartily classic pub food, which are served, as they should be, with a generous measure of famous Irish hospitality.
The Crown is both ageless and priceless, a gem of Victoriana and one of the great bars of the world. Formerly known as The Liquor Saloon in Great Victoria Street, it was one of the mightiest Victorian gin palaces which once flourished in the industrial cities of the British Isles. Dating back to 1826, it is now owned by the National Trust and has been sympathetically restored over the years.
The Crown remains a unique visual gem, a veritable masterpiece in bar architecture, which has the distinction of being known to millions the world over. The exterior facade of the bar is a riot of polychromatic tiles which clearly hint at the box of delights to be found within. At first sight the outside is so exotically overwhelming that one has difficulty in registering the fine detail work.
The Crown Bar is so unbelievably rich in colour and design that each time you go in you'll find something new to catch your eye that you may have missed before. Where else would you find a burnished primrose yellow, red and gold ceiling, a floor laid in a myriad of mosaic tiles, brocaded walls, ubiquitous highly patterned times, vigorous wood carving throughout, ornate mirrors, wooden columns with Corinthian capitals and feather motifs in gold with painted and etched glass everywhere you look.
Vivid in amber and carmine painted shells, fairies, pineapples, fleurs-de-lis and clowns, incidentally the colourful decorative windows fronting the the bar were originally intended to shield customers from inquisitive passers-by. The long Balmoral Red granite topped altar bar is divided by columns and faced with gaily coloured tiles and a heated foot rest. Look out for the huge casks with their polished brass taps - now filled with Belfast Lager.
Another great delight in this magical place is the ten differently-shaped cosy and elaborately carved wooden boxes, lettered from A to J. In these snugs you'll find gunmetal plates for striking matches, and an antique bell system, very common in Victorian houses, where servants were employed, which alerted bar staff to your liquid needs. Drinking snugs, according to old records, were not originally built for comfort but to accommodate those people who preferred to drink quietly and unseen.
The Crown is both ageless and priceless, a gem of Victoriana and one of the great bars of the world. Formerly known as The Liquor Saloon in Great Victoria Street, it was one of the mightiest Victorian gin palaces which once flourished in the industrial cities of the British Isles. Dating back to 1826, it is now owned by the National Trust and has been sympathetically restored over the years.
The Crown remains a unique visual gem, a veritable masterpiece in bar architecture, which has the distinction of being known to millions the world over. The exterior facade of the bar is a riot of polychromatic tiles which clearly hint at the box of delights to be found within. At first sight the outside is so exotically overwhelming that one has difficulty in registering the fine detail work.
The Crown Bar is so unbelievably rich in colour and design that each time you go in you'll find something new to catch your eye that you may have missed before. Where else would you find a burnished primrose yellow, red and gold ceiling, a floor laid in a myriad of mosaic tiles, brocaded walls, ubiquitous highly patterned times, vigorous wood carving throughout, ornate mirrors, wooden columns with Corinthian capitals and feather motifs in gold with painted and etched glass everywhere you look.
Vivid in amber and carmine painted shells, fairies, pineapples, fleurs-de-lis and clowns, incidentally the colourful decorative windows fronting the the bar were originally intended to shield customers from inquisitive passers-by. The long Balmoral Red granite topped altar bar is divided by columns and faced with gaily coloured tiles and a heated foot rest. Look out for the huge casks with their polished brass taps - now filled with Belfast Lager.
Another great delight in this magical place is the ten differently-shaped cosy and elaborately carved wooden boxes, lettered from A to J. In these snugs you'll find gunmetal plates for striking matches, and an antique bell system, very common in Victorian houses, where servants were employed, which alerted bar staff to your liquid needs. Drinking snugs, according to old records, were not originally built for comfort but to accommodate those people who preferred to drink quietly and unseen.
Top Reasons To Visit
- Distinctive building
- Intriguing history
- Cosy and elaborately carved wooden snugs
- Vibrant atmosphere
- Great hearty pub food
Contact Details
Gallery
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