Belfast: ‘The quality of hospitality venues is exceptional’

Rachel Snowden and Matthew McAuley are the couple behind Napoleon Coffee in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Rachel has a decade of specialty coffee experience and Matthew has a PhD in physics, which turns out to be a great pairing of skills. After many years of dreaming and planning, they opened the cafe in July 2020, just a few minutes stroll from Belfast City Hall.

*“The day we got the keys to the cafe.” - Rachel Snowden and Matthew McAuley. Photos courtesy of Napoleon Coffee*

Filter: What do you like to do for fun around Belfast?

Most of our time off in Belfast revolves around appreciating live music, food, drink, and art. We plan our travel to other cities around doing exactly those things too.

The city itself is home to around 300,000 people, with just over double that living within the wider metropolitan area. Growing up just outside Belfast and now living in the city, there is plenty going on, you just need to know when and where to look.

The usual post-work pints and dinner would be at Napoleon’s neighbours, Trademarket—an outdoor bar and street food market - home to Pie Queen (sweet treat heaven), Fin (fish & chips, yet a sensational vegan menu), Pi Guy (pizza) and many more.

A great casual mid-week night out is Woodworkers (rotating craft beer gastropub) followed by QFT (independent arthouse cinema).

Filter: Where do you take your out-of-town friends?

When we have friends visit, we always show them around via our top food and drink spots. Belfast is fortunately small enough to comfortably walk everywhere and we live in the city centre ourselves, so we’d start of course with a coffee round the corner at Napoleon. We’re the public part of the gorgeous Ormeau Baths building, formerly a Victorian public bathhouse, which is now primarily a co-working space and start-up hub.

Next stop is walking north for brunch, passing Belfast City Hall. Be sure to take in the beautiful historic buildings on the way, before making it to the cobbled streets of Cathedral Quarter. We’re heading to our friends Ryan and Oisin’s Neighbourhood Cafe for their croissant eggs benedict. After brunch, nip round the corner to pick up a sourdough loaf from Bakari bakery for breakfast the next morning. Walk past St. Anne’s Cathedral, up North Street to our favourite piece of street art, ROA’s Red Squirrel, a treat from the last Hit The North. It would be criminal to not stop off at the Sunflower Bar for a pint, with its famous security cage on the door and “No Topless Sunbathing” sign.

Walking back towards the cathedral, we’d visit The MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre), which has an ever-rotating collection of modern art installations. It’s also a nice spot upstairs to do a bit of work, at the window overlooking the cathedral and the cobbled street below.

*Napoleon and the Ormeau Baths building.*

We’re both vegetarian, so it’s an easy choice for dinner—Jumon is an Asian-fusion vegetarian restaurant and it absolutely never disappoints even our most carnivorous friends. You can get “bigs”, but it’s way better to order loads of “smalls” and share. After dinner, we’d continue the conversation over a pint in the Ulster Sports Club—the front bar for the crisp soundsystem or upstairs in the Out Of Office taproom for craft beer and natural wine.

All great evenings end in Rattlebag, with one of their spirit-forward cocktails. Once a month, Rattlebag also hosts Tokyo Jazz Joints, a vinyl listening event and a favourite of ours. For a late-night bite on the way home, we’d stop off at Pablos and get the frickles.

Filter: What do you like to do to escape the city?

When we have a day entirely to ourselves, more often than not we’d jump in the car and head up the North Coast. Take the coast road from Belfast towards Ballycastle to fully enjoy the rugged, scenic, and winding roads. First stop is always Ursa Minor Bakehouse—Ciara and Dara bake some of the island’s most delicious treats and breads which alone are worth the drive!

If you haven’t been before, be sure to stop off at the Giant’s Causeway and the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge.

They might be a bit cold and windy for most of the year, but wrapping up and walking along some of the beaches is a great way to unwind. Check out Whitepark Bay Beach (which will often have a herd of cows!) or White Rocks Beach, between the nearby town of Portrush and Dunluce Castle.

On days when the sea is best appreciated indoors, Lost & Found in Portstewart is the spot to warm up and grab a coffee. Take a seat beside the panoramic windows and soak up the view, not the rain. Hop back in the car and get over to Bushmills—famous for the world-renowned whiskey distillery—whiskey optional, because you’re there to check out Maegden’s grilled cheese toasties. Emma and Jo gained a cult following serving from a little caravan, before finally moving to a permanent home, complete with cheese deli and well-stocked delicatessen.

Filter: What touristy things in Belfast are worth the hype?

A lot of the best tourist things in Belfast are not only free, but good enough that we would still visit ourselves as locals.

Through Friday-Sunday, the beautiful Victorian St. George’s Market opens with an array of local traders, from craft and antiques, to vegetables and street food. We’d recommend trying the Middle Eastern-inspired wraps from Orla at Nomad Kitchen.

Queen’s University appears in a lot of tourism promotions and for good reason—stop and get a photo outside the Lanyon Building, then walk through the main doors and out into the quad. The University is right next to Belfast Botanic Gardens, home to the Ulster Museum, Tropical Ravine, and Palm House—all free, all worth a visit. When you’re up that way, grab lunch at Stran-wiches on Stranmillis Road, where Andrea and the team produce word play and sandwiches like no other.

If you’re after a souvenir or the perfect gift, the Belfast School of Art Shop (grab a coffee in Hjem next door too) and Born & Bred both provide an artistic and tasteful reminder of your trip.

Filter: Where are your favorite green spaces or hidden gems there?

If it’s dry, our go-to is hiring a Belfast Bike and taking a cycle along the Stranmillis Embankment (perhaps a coffee stop at 5A), to get to the Lagan Towpath. The route takes you along the canals surrounded by wetland and woodland, a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of living and working in the city. Somewhere along that path you’ll come across a bridge, beyond which a small path curves back around to our favourite quiet picnic spot under the bridge. Keep an eye out for the wildlife—on a few occasions, we’ve even spotted a grey heron in the marshy grass.

For a social summer evening, the Botanic Gardens is usually filled with people lounging on the main lawn. It turns out the park is filled with edible delights, as we learnt from Claire who runs Feasting On Weeds, foraging walks in and around the city.

Filter: What's another coffee shop around there that you really admire, and what about them stands out to you?

It has to be Mark and Bridgeen at Established, which recently celebrated its 10th birthday. They opened in 2013, when specialty coffee was unknown in Belfast, and have done a wonderful job of cultivating the early community. We both remember attending our first ever coffee cupping there, along with other community events like the NI AeroPress Championships. Many of their early hires went on to start their own ventures, Rachel included. A decade is such a wonderful achievement for any hospitality venue, not only navigating the pandemic, but also recently opening their own roastery. Mark and Bridgeen have had such a pivotal role in the local scene and their dedication has kept the bar high for many other cafes.

Filter: What makes Belfast feel most like home to you?

The fact that Belfast is a small city means you’re almost always going to bump into someone you know. Many of the independent cafes are friends and you’ll often find baristas doing a coffee crawl on their day off. It’s this support and strong sense of community that always makes Belfast feel like an extended network of friends.

Living in the city is vibrant and exciting—everything is on your doorstep and there’s a sense of comfort in knowing that things are never too far away. We do love to travel and will often create our own personal city guide lists when visiting other cities. It’s not until you come back home that you appreciate how much Belfast has to offer—we may be small but the quality of hospitality venues is exceptional and on a similar scale to that of many major cities.

Filter: How did you both end up in the Belfast coffee scene?

We both grew up just outside Belfast and met in secondary school. Rachel had worked previously in a chain coffee shop whilst studying for a psychology degree with the intention of a career in educational psychology or business, but the love for hospitality always remained. Rachel was one of Established Coffee’s first hires when they opened in 2013 and has worked in and managed independent specialty cafes since then. That kickstarted an interest in specialty coffee for both of us. We started attending events, learning about coffee, and seeking out great coffee experiences when traveling.

For many years we’d both dreamed of our own place, codenamed Napoleon, in lieu of “future unnamed cafe.” We had notebooks filled with ideas and sketches of inspiration from other cafes we visited over the years. In 2020 it seemed like that was to be put on indefinite hold, until in August of that year an opportunity came along to take over a cafe space which Rachel had previously managed. From a list of about 200 potential names, the one that really meant something was that codename and within a month of getting the keys, we’d opened the doors of Napoleon. Despite all the uncertainty, it was worth the risk and the doors are still open 3 ½ years later.

Filter: What does your day-to-day look like at Napoleon?

Matthew still works full-time for a biotech startup, but plays an integral part behind the scenes and as the occasional holiday-cover guest shift. Rachel manages the day-to-day, alongside our wonderful team.

One of the most rewarding things is the social aspect—we get to build relationships with so many different people in the city. Napoleon is in the Linen Quarter, one of the main business districts. Despite being busy for grab-and-go, we love the variety of customers and especially the regulars who can order “the usual.” It’s an honor that people make it part of their daily routine. The co-working space in the building is filled with interesting and creative people who are also running their own small businesses too.

We run a multi-roaster setup, with local legend Stephen Houston’s Lucid Coffee on house alongside a rotating national/international guest. The whole team loves selecting and cupping the guest coffees when they arrive and are always ready to make a personal recommendation of beans on the retail shelf.

Filter: Anything you’d like to add?

East Belfast is a short bus ride from the center. Portview Trade Centre is home to Banana Block (regularly hosts events like food workshops and local fashion markets) and Boundary Taproom. Bullhouse Brewery is just a few minutes away. Ten minutes walk further takes you to Assemble Bakery, who share a space on Beersbridge road with First Press Vinyl bread and records! Further east by bus or car, get yourself to 28 Gilnahirk for brunch and their extensive multi-roaster coffee menu.

Once a year, Seedhead Arts curates Hit The North festival, bringing a street party atmosphere to a weekend of live painting from local and international street artists. If you aren’t in town that particular weekend, every Sunday morning they run a guided Street Art Walking Tour.

The Output Belfast music conference runs perhaps our favourite night of the year—a free annual live music event, showcasing musicians from the island to the attending industry professionals and crowds of local music fans across multiple venues.

*Napoleon, which began in August 2020, recently celebrated its 3rd birthday.*

Every first Thursday of the month is Late Night Art—all the independent artist studios open their doors to launch new exhibitions. Check out Golden Thread, Arcade, Catalyst and PS2. A few times a month, Accidental Theatre runs hilarious improv comedy nights.

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Napoleon Coffee is located in the Ormeau Baths building, formerly a Victorian public bathhouse.

Food & Beverage

Trademarket (outdoor bar and street food market)

Pie Queen (sweet treat heaven)

Fin (fish & chips with a sensational vegan menu)

Pi Guy (pizza)

Woodworkers (rotating craft beer gastropub)

Neighbourhood Cafe (croissant eggs benedict)

Bakari

Sunflower Bar

Jumon