New Town Square Cafe & Gin Bar set to open in Belfast city centre

Not only did the team take home both first and second place prizes in the Northern Ireland AeroPress Championships, but with business thriving they also opened up a brand new Gin Bar last year.

Quirky and unique, it is always making waves with new ideas, from the piano outside which is welcome to anyone who can play a tune to being one of the first places throughout Northern Ireland to offer Nitro Brew (cold coffee infused with nitrogen, which is served on tap, just like a Guinness).

Now, the buzzing Botanic Avenue venue is causing quite a stir after posting a short video of the new mini campfire which you can order straight to your table complete with the tools to toast your own marshmallows.

Fans of the vibrant venue will be pleased to hear that the new offering is part of a new menu which launched recently.

We spoke to Peter Ringland, the owner of Town Square, who explained:

“I actually saw S’mores on a friend’s snapchat a few weeks ago when she was in a restaurant in London, and thought they would fit really well with our brand. I put up a Facebook post about our S’mores, which went viral and since then, the demand has been phenomenal!

“I think its important to keep things new and exciting - I come up with crazy ideas all the time based on things I see while travelling or on social media. Then my wife Laura filters out the bad ones, and we roll with the good ones!

“The new menu was created by the Head Chef Kathryn Burns and her kitchen team. We previously had one menu that ran all day so responding to customer feedback, the main change was the creation of a separate dinner menu, which is just that little bit more fancy than our previous offering.

“In tandem, we decided to introduce DJ’s in the cafe on Friday and Saturday nights to create more of an evening experience worthy of table bookings. You can also now book tables via our website.”

Peter’s passion for supporting local businesses and food producers is also evident on the new menu, with standout names including Dan Larkin’s Man Made baked goods which dominate the mouth-watering ‘Odds and Ends’ section of the menu, as well as local delights including Keogh’s Crisps and Pop Notch Popcorn as well as a large selection of local drinks.

“We got a lot of support from local businesses when we were starting out, so we love to support local when we can. It also helps that Dan’s buns are the best in Town.”

Peter added that with business doing so well, there will be some even more exciting developments for Town Square this year.

“Our Master Barista Paul Teague, and a few of the other baristas will be entering the Aeropress Championship and we hope to come home victorious yet again.

“The Gin Bar has got off to a great start, and we stock gins from all over Ireland including the wonderful Shortcross, Copeland and Jawbox from Northern Ireland. We have our next ‘Gin Club’ evening on Friday, May 5. Tickets are £20 and can be bought online via Facebook, Instagram or website!”

He added: “We have also started building the second Town Square Café & Gin Bar, which is going to be situated on Howard Street in Belfast. It is a big project and we aim to open in November.”

Visit Town Square at townsquarebelfast.com to find out more, and follow the team on Twitter at @townSQBelfast and on Facebook.