I ate at OX on a previous trip to Belfast with some friends, enjoyed it, so I wanted to eat there again during my February 2019 visit.  OX is one of only 2 restaurants in the city with a Michelin star and I preferred it to the other one, Eipic, because of its slightly better food and its livelier atmosphere.  Also, Epic isn’t open on a Tuesday, the only night I was available.  OX is located on the banks of the river Lagan, quite close to the city centre.  Close enough for us to walk there in light rain from our hotel in the Cathedral Quarter.  It was good to see that even on a wet Tuesday in February, all of its 40 covers were booked. Good for the business, but also good that Northern Irish diners seem keen to explore high quality, locally sourced, modern and innovative cuisine.

We were seated at a (small) table in their big front window, which was very pleasant, although the wind and rain tried to spoil our views of the river. The dining room has a nice high ceiling, it’s ‘industrial’ almost ‘canteen’ in styling, which adds to the sense of space too. Tables have bare wood, no tablecloths.  Before the rush began I took a photo of the kitchen and spoke with chef/proprietor Stephen.

OX only serves tasting menus, with variations on course numbers; we chose the 6 course one at £60pp, with a £35pp wine flight, which is noticeably better value than one finds in London.

First to the table were a pair of amuses bouche; a thin mini filo tart containing beetroot and a foie gras mousse; and a choux pastry goats cheese gougere. Both were tasty, but in the tart I found the beetroot disguised the foie too much. 5.5/10

We were served a nice light sourdough and butter, both home made according to our waiter (though the menu suggested otherwise!) 7.5/10 and a bottle of carbonated ‘house’ water. I didn’t like the water at all; it was far too fizzy and along with its (lacking) minerality I simply didn’t see it as an appropriate  accompaniment to food. It really was the worst sparkling water I’ve had in a restaurant. 1/10

Our first dish was ‘Celeriac, lovage, chicken skin, truffle’. Baked celeriac topped with broken chicken skin crumb and some strips of black truffle all sat on celeriac and lovage purees.  It was pretty and quite tasty, though very little flavour came from the truffle (maybe a time of year thing?) 5/10

Our next dish appeared to be just a few slices of raw turnip, with black garlic puree, but underneath the turnip were thin slices of venison carpaccio which just melted in the mouth. Raw turnip isn’t a favourite of many, but I liked it and found it reminiscent of eating in Japan. The black garlic puree was divine. But as you see from the photo, it was not a large portion. 8/10

A fish course comprised of poached halibut, a red wine sauce, broccoli and its puree, a gnocco, sea herbs and dulce (a seaweed). The fish was perfectly cooked and I thought all of the accompaniments worked well together. The dulce gave an iodine-rich taste like an oyster.  This was a very nice (but small) dish. 9/10

The main meat course was duck from West of Cork, served with salsify, chicory and kale. It was a great tasting dish, packed with hearty winter ingredients. 9.5/10

I then had an extra course (£9) of 3 Irish cheeses: a blue cow cheese and 2 goat cheeses; one hard and one with a washed rind (with the usual aroma and flavour). They were accompanied by fermented celeriac and grape, which had a great clean taste, and simply terrific unleavened wheat crackers/tuiles.  All in all this was a very pleasing cheese course. 9/10

The next course from the tasting menu was a palate cleanser of a beautifully smooth pear sorbet, a very interesting celery foam, and some chopped hazelnuts (which to be honest I didn’t find necessary). This was a very tasty and innovative palate cleanser. 9/10

Dessert was poached rhubarb, a rhubarb sorbet, a white chocolate parfait cylinder and a biscuit underneath it all. The rhubarb elements were very nice, but after a while I found the parfait too thick, heavy and clawing. 7/10

For most of our meal the service was pretty fast and we had to knock back what remained of our wines when the next course and glass arrived. So got a bit tipsy!  But there was a ridiculous wait for the dessert, which no-one explained, even when I complained twice. It was an hour between finishing our duck to finishing the dessert.  This unexplained delay got me quite irritated and left a sour taste over the whole meal. But at least they had the courtesy to bring us a fresh glass of Muscat, because the original had been served so long ago it was tepid.

We ordered fresh mint tea, something we often do if it’s available, and it came served with some really delightful and ‘different’ petit fours: rosemary chocolates, passionfruit pastilles and a salted caramel and cinnamon biscuit sandwich.  This little delight helped to calm my earlier irritation. 9/10

Overall I found OX Belfast’s tasting menu to be a very seasonal and mostly locally sourced delight. A few average dishes and a few excellent ones. The food is definitely worth the Michelin star.  My biggest disappointment was the bottled water. I also believe it’s essential to keep diners updated if a dish is late coming out. The total bill for 2 people was £223.50, which I was happy with. 8/10