Common Market — Restaurant in Belfast

I absolutely love Common Market – it’s my kind of place, with a brilliant vibe, great people, and fantastic food. It’s one of those rare spots Belfast needs more of. That’s exactly why I’m writing this review: because I don’t want to see it slip.

At the minute, the main issue is cleanliness and upkeep. The floors and tables are getting sticky, and the place looks a bit untidy. Ventilation also isn’t pulling smoke out properly, which leaves the air a bit stale. These might sound small, but they make a huge difference to the customer experience.

Some specifics that could make a real impact:

Floors and tables: make sure they’re cleaned properly so customers aren’t sticking to them – might even be worth looking at changing surfaces if the current ones can’t be maintained well.

Tables: whatever’s being used to clean them is leaving them tacky – a change of cleaning method or product would help.

Presentation: hide away storage boxes (like Christmas decorations) and tidy up the fake plants so they look intentional, not thrown together.

Pets: consider a designated area – eating beside a wet dog smell isn’t the best experience.

Sound system: right now, it’s very loud in harsh frequency ranges. It doesn’t need to be nightclub-level volume most of the time; smoothing it out would keep the atmosphere while making it easier to chat.

To be fair, I do see the staff working hard clearing rubbish and cleaning tables – the effort is there. It just feels like the approach needs tightening up.

I’m saying this because I genuinely want Common Market to thrive. It’s a gem, but if the basics slip, people will drift away. Sort out these things and it’s a five-star venue all day long.

I will certainly be back and I will update my review as time goes on But at the moment it is getting a 2 star but can easily...

Just found out from you tube food take away/stall reviewer visiting Belfast that this place existed. Made my way there on a grey though mild Friday afternoon in mid February. There is a good choice of food offerings in kiosk's around a central seating area in this old city centre warehouse. I chose to get a Smash Bros double burger at £9.50, a skin on salted fries at £3.50 and a container of their special spicy sauce at £1. It was all very tasty and ready before my half pint of lager (£2.95) which you must get from the bar at the opposite side of the warehouse. The weather was mild and I sat near a patio heater that kept temperatures pleasant. It's good to see somewhere like this opening up in Belfast as these market's are very much the eating venue of choice for many in London and other large cities in this part of the world. The interior is passable if not exciting and the benches were reasonably clear of the used containers if not the glasses of previous customers not showing signs of having been properly wiped down. I walked past Bunsen in the Cathedral quarter shortly afterwards. I've yet to make it along there. A quick look at their window menu showed me prices in this beautifully fitted out eatery with immaculately clean tables in a well heated smaller space are no dearer than Common Market. I promised myself I'll give it a try before I rush back to it's more recent...

Had a really disappointing experience here on Friday 26th of February which is a shame as its a handy spot. Usually really enjoy the food but some places were closed and huge queues for others. Smash Bros was packed out (I can understand why!) and Lasa was closed - this was at 7pm. We ended up going to a stall called Dog - something?? Must be new as I’d never seen it before. It was mostly small plates and loaded fries. We went for the Goats Cheese fritters, Pork dumplings, Pork Belly Bites & Mac and Cheese spring rolls. It was unfortunately very disappointing and underwhelming. The pork dumplings tasted of nothing and were extremely dry, the dipping sauce that accompanied couldn’t even save them. The Goats Cheese fritters were the nicest but very small - the salad that came with them was delicious but its not a great review if you come away thinking the salad was the nicest part. Mac and cheese spring rolls were okay, the dip again that came with them was very bland. The pork belly bites were nice but wouldn’t run back for them. We had a rum & coke and whiskey & ginger and both were watery and didn’t really taste of alcohol. Maybe it was a bad night, but it put us off going back. I think we’d only return to do Smash Bros again (if we can avoid the massive queue) or try Lasa (again, if its actually open). Disappointing as we were really looking forward to it...