Housed in the Victorian splendour of Belfast’s five-star Merchant Hotel, The Cocktail Bar marries the splendour of its surroundings with a menu underpinned by simplicity and sustainability. 

Dating back to 1860, the building was originally the headquarters for the Ulster Bank – now a Grade A listed Victorian hotel with almost all original features still intact. First opened in 2006, a recent refurbishment has added even more “maximalism” within the space – replacing carpets with salvaged parquet flooring and adding grand chandeliers – two of the three made by Baccarat. 

During the day, when the sun shines, the light streams through the huge windows overlooking the busy street below – and the bar is full of thoughtful touches, including digital and physical newspapers, plus a selection of reading glasses for those who may have forgotten theirs. 

Against this opulent setting – the cocktail menu communicates an ethos of simplicity. Designed to foster confidence in their guests – the menus are simply worded and include imagery to encourage people to experiment – even if they don’t recognise the cocktail names or descriptions. Sustainability is paramount too – so garnishes, if any, are edible and a by-product of other ingredient prep used within the menu. Whilst simplicity is shown to guests – behind the scenes it’s really anything but and it takes around 30 hours per week to prepare ingredients. Cordials, shrubs and freshly pressed juices (around 600kgs per week), sherbets, ginger beer and three different orgeats are all made in house and each item has its own recipe and ingredients are individually weighed out and tasted to ensure consistency.

As well as the carefully created menu drinks – the team has access to each of the cocktail menus since the bar first opened and can happily recreate those drinks if the ingredients are available. Where appropriate – they are proud to pour Irish spirits and feature drinks made with poitín as well as championing local Irish distilleries for their gin, vodka and whiskey. 

Their environmental endeavours are ambitious – the hotel is working towards ‘zero waste to landfill’ by converting food waste into refuse derived fuel at an anaerobic treatment plant in Belfast which in turn contributes towards Northern Ireland’s renewable energy targets. However sustainability isn’t just about the environment – taking care of their people is important here too. 

Longevity of service is one way of showcasing this – with some members of staff being there since day one (18 years ago). There is visible and tangible career progression available for their team and success stories include bar backs becoming supervisors within just a 12 month period. Their training programme not only focuses on professional standard accolades such as WSET but also their own ‘Train the Trainer’ course – designed to improve confidence, whilst empowering and elevating other team mates. Wellbeing is considered – and staff have access to a programme called Safe Space, providing confidential therapy support. There’s also free and discounted gym membership options to make sure everyone behind the scenes is top of their game.