Plans revealed for new Belfast rooftop bar

Licensed & Catering News can reveal that Belfast’s newest hotel – the £4m Bullitt Belfast which is currently being developed by the Beannchor Group – will feature a dramatic new 3000 sq ft rooftop bar that includes an open-air terrace with room for 150 people.

Beannchor director, Connall Wolsey, unveiled the new plans when he spoke to this magazine in the middle of August.

The new bar and terrace which, as yet, has no name, will replace eight luxury bedrooms that had been planned for the space.

Connall indicated that having looked again at the rooftop and its views out over the city, they decided that putting a new bar into the space instead was a “no-brainer”. And he added:

“The route we are going down with the new venue is entertainment and cocktail-led. We’re going to be introducing a very different cocktail concept to Belfast, something that hasn’t been done here before.

“This is going to be something really special, and we’re all about doing things that are special,” added Connall.

Named after the Steve McQueen movie of the same name, Bullitt Belfast – which is set to open in October – will offer 58 bedrooms; three bars, including Northern Ireland’s first ski-themed venue; a courtyard garden; a 68-seater restaurant called ‘Taylor and Clay’; an espresso bar and a space for private events.

The eight rooms which had been planned for the rooftop space will now be rolled into phase two of the development, which will shortly go ahead in the adjoining Annsgate House. That element of the project should be open for business early next year.

“We’re very excited about this development,” added Connall. “We have a date of the first week in October for the hand-over. After that, we will have at least 10 days to two weeks of training on-site before opening around the third week of October.”

Up to 100 new jobs are expected to be created when the new hotel opens:

“Our vision for Bullitt is to create a new and exciting hospitality concept,” said Connall. “The hotel will offer so much more than a bed for the night. It will also be a place where people can work, relax and socialise.”

The Beannchor Group is also behind the nearby five-star Merchant Hotel as well as the National Grande Café and Sixty6, The Dirty Onion, Little Wing Pizzeria and more than 40 bars across Northern Ireland.

Our picture shows an artist’s impression of the new Courtyard Garden at the Bullitt Belfast hotel, which is currently under construction.