It has been almost two years in the making, but restaurant and bar Willy’s is now cooking up a hearty menu at the Margate House Hotel in Cliftonville.
The restaurant is headed up by Mark O’Brien and serving up ‘comfort food classics.’
The restaurant is based at the townhouse hotel which launched in summer 2023 under founder Will Jenkins.
Willy’s is separate from the hotel and offers up to 50 covers, encompassing 25 in the main diner/café-style restaurant space – including five seats at the open kitchen counter – and a further 25 covers outside on the dog-friendly heated terrace.
The menu is inspired by British comfort food with a hint of Ireland such as Willy’s sausage & mash, Guinness Soda Bread, Irish Colcannon and Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Will said: “At Willy’s, we do comfort food our own way, classic British dishes, reimagined with wit and flair. It’s the kind of spot where good taste doesn’t take itself too seriously.”
Chef Mark brings 15 years experience to the kitchen previously working at notable London restaurants The Dairy & ZRC Birch (both under Robin Gill), before moving on to award-winning Whitstable bistro, Samphire, where he was head chef for two years.
Mark’s focus is on seasonal, British produce, and affordability and value for money.
A separate area, adjacent to the main Willy’s restaurant, can be used for private dinner, birthday party or work events, hosting up to 30 standing, or 16 seated guests. It comes complete with its own kitchen and bar, should you prefer self-catering, or food can be prepared courtesy of the talented chef team at Willy’s.
The bar at Margate House serves a small, well-crafted list of fun cocktails, including house signature ‘Willy’s Cosmo’ – a pomegranate twist on the classic Cosmopolitan.
Willy’s @ Margate House Hotel
6 Dalby Square, Cliftonville
It’s odd how uncomforted Leek and Barley Risotto, Lovage Sauce make me feel
Will is an affable chap without pretensions , we’ve stayed at the hotel many times and must have been one of its first guests, we love the hotels ostentation yet friendly casual atmosphere. Good luck with the restaurant will , it’s been a long time in the making .