When service ends under Northern Ireland’s own licensing law, how a liquor licence and an entertainment licence are won, what the bill and the team cost, and the nights that fill the city, for anyone running a club, lounge or bar here.
The Cathedral Quarter is Belfast’s creative soul, and home to much of its club life: Kremlin on Donegall Street, Ollie’s on Waring Street, Sixty6 at The National. The Linen Quarter takes the theatre crowd, with drinks before the Grand Opera House and the Observatory at the Grand Central Hotel, Ireland’s tallest bar. To the south, Belfast Empire on Botanic Avenue is one of the country’s premier live music bars, the Parlour Bar is the Queen’s Quarter’s student haunt, and the Lisburn Road mixes bars with boutiques. The crowd isn’t only a weekend one. Thompsons opens every night, and Limelight runs club nights every Wednesday and Thursday. The hours are another matter.
In Belfast, service stops at 11 p.m. unless an order or a police authorisation says otherwise, and the late nights are rationed, so plan yours before you need them. Northern Ireland has its own law, the Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, and Belfast City Council licenses music and dancing separately. Here is what a licensed room needs, from closing time to the door. Liquor licences come from the county court.
These are the hours in the Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. Ordinary hours end at 11 p.m. every night but Christmas Day, when they run from 12:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Dashed hours need a court order or a police authorisation, and none applies on Christmas Day. If entertainment runs past the later hours, the venue falls back to ordinary hours that night.
SIA licences apply in Northern Ireland. A licence costs £204 and lasts three years.
MoreThe £204 fee has applied since 1 April 2026.
Source: GOV.UK (SIA)During permitted hours, a person under 18 may not be in any part of licensed premises that has a bar or is used mainly for selling and drinking alcohol, with some exceptions.
MoreCheck the exceptions in the Order before you admit anyone under 18.
Source: Article 58A liquor licence goes to the person who will own the business, and the court weighs their character, reputation, financial standing, qualifications and experience.
MoreA company must tell the chief clerk and the police district commander within 28 days of a change of directors.
Source: Article 4Theatrical performances, dancing, singing, music and similar entertainment need an entertainment licence from Belfast City Council: annual, for six or seven days a week, or occasional for 14 days. The applicant must be 18 or over.
MoreConditions set the days and hours, the kind of entertainment and the occupancy. Objections go to the council’s Licensing Committee, and appeals to the County Court within 21 days. Outdoor events normally finish at 11 p.m.
Source: Belfast City CouncilIf entertainment carries on past the later hours an order allows, those later hours do not apply that night, and ordinary hours apply instead.
MoreThe entertainment licence stays in force, but the late bar is lost for the night. End the music when the late hours end.
Source: Article 44CBreaching an entertainment licence, especially by allowing overcrowding, can lead to revocation or suspension and a fine of up to £20,000.
MoreThe licence’s conditions include an occupancy figure, so count the door against it.
Source: Belfast City CouncilPermitted hours run from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday and from 12:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. On Christmas Day they run from 12:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
MoreSince 1 October 2021, Good Friday and Easter Sunday follow the ordinary hours, so Christmas Day is the only restricted day.
Source: Article 42Customers may finish their drinks on the premises during the first 60 minutes after permitted hours end.
MoreIt was 30 minutes before 1 October 2021, and regulations can change it back. It does not apply to off-sales.
Source: Article 46The court can add 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on specified days, for a part of the premises adapted and used for entertainment or substantial refreshment, with alcohol ancillary.
MoreHotels, restaurants, indoor arenas and the part of a pub adapted for table meals can qualify. Entertainment means performers actually present, nobody may be admitted in the last 30 minutes, and the court must see no undue inconvenience to neighbours.
Source: Article 44With an additional hours order, the court can give a pub or hotel one more hour, to 2 a.m., on up to 104 days a year.
MoreOn days outside the additional hours order, the late hours need the premises in use for entertainment or substantial refreshment. Regulations can change the 104-day limit.
Source: Article 44AThe local police commander can authorise a pub to sell from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on specified occasions, on a written application at least 7 days before the first.
MoreA pub with an additional hours order gets at most 20 a year, and other pubs at most 104. Display a notice on or near the premises for the 3 weeks before. None applies on Christmas Day.
Source: Article 45In Northern Ireland the county court grants liquor licences, and each one belongs to the owner of the business. Music and dancing need a separate entertainment licence from Belfast City Council. The path runs in this order.
The Order lists the kinds a licence can cover, from a pub to a hotel, restaurant, place of public entertainment or indoor arena. A nightclub is not one of them. For the kinds other than a pub or off-licence, the business must be of that kind and alcohol must be ancillary to it.
Source: Article 5A new pub or off-licence can open only if an existing pub or off-licence licence is given up to the court, and the court must also find the number of such premises nearby inadequate.
Source: nidirectSource: Article 7Publish notice in two newspapers circulating near the premises 2 to 6 weeks before the court sittings open, and display one on or near the premises for the 3 weeks before. Serve notice and a plan of the premises on the chief clerk, the police and the council at least 3 weeks ahead. Name any additional hours order you want in the same notices.
Source: Schedule 1The police, the council and anyone who owns property, lives or does business nearby can object at the hearing, giving notice at least 1 week before the sittings.
Source: Schedule 1The county court must refuse unless the applicant is a fit person, the premises are suitable and of the kind applied for, and planning permission is in place or not needed. It weighs the owner’s character, reputation, financial standing, qualifications and experience.
Source: Article 7Source: Article 4Apply to Belfast City Council and allow at least 28 days. Place a notice in one local newspaper within seven days of applying. The council consults the PSNI and the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service.
Source: Belfast City CouncilThe court grants licences for up to five years, and the five-year period in force in 2026 ends on 30 September 2027.
Source: nidirectIssued by the county court
General information, not legal advice. Laws and licence conditions change and vary by venue. Confirm with the county court office or Belfast City Council before acting on it.
Every hour an order adds is another hour for a table to reach its minimum. The bill below shows where VAT sits inside a Belfast price, and where the service charge falls outside it.
| Minimum spend | £1,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Service charge 12.5%, added by the venue | £125.00 |
| VAT 20%, included in the prices | £166.67 |
| Guest pays | £1,125.00 |
| Tip the guest chooses to add | No tax |
UK prices include VAT, so the £1,000 minimum already holds 20% VAT. The bill above shows a discretionary service charge: the guest chooses to add it, so it is outside VAT.
Source: HMRCA compulsory service charge is standard-rated. Bottles and mixers of £800 plus a mandatory 12.5% charge of £100 make £900, VAT of £180 and a total of £1,080. Shown as optional and chosen by the guest, the £100 carries no VAT: £800, £160 VAT and £100 make £1,060.
Source: HMRCA tip the customer freely gives above the total has no VAT. A business must register once taxable turnover passes £90,000.
Source: GOV.UK (HMRC)The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 does not extend to Northern Ireland.
Source: legislation.gov.ukRough estimates for tickets and bottle-service tables, from public listings and venues’ own pages.
£8 to £25
Typically about £12
Generalised, not Belfast data: no Belfast venue’s own ticket price was read, so this follows the general estimates in the other UK guides for a Thursday to Saturday club night. Entry includes VAT; headliner and holiday nights cost more.
£150 to £450
A typical table, about £250
Generalised, not Belfast data: no Belfast venue’s own table minimum was read, so this follows the other UK guides’ estimate for the lowest table. VAT is inside the price; a service charge is extra.
Figures are estimates from the sources and samples listed. They change often and may be wrong. Check with the venue or the relevant authority before relying on them. Venues and events named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Pay is one place Belfast follows the rest of the UK, because the National Living Wage applies here too. The medians below are Northern Ireland’s own, with UK ranges around them.
| Role | Range, low to high | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Bar staff£10.00 to £14.82 | £12.21 | |
| Waiters and waitresses£8.49 to £15.45 | £11.44 | |
| Chefs£12.21 to £19.04 | £14.00 | |
| Security guards£12.22 to £19.20 | £13.95 |
Minimum wage £12.71 an hour, since April 2026Source: GOV.UK
Bar: lowest to highest wage reported. Dot: median. Source: NISRA
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 does not extend to Northern Ireland.
Source: legislation.gov.ukThe National Living Wage applies in Northern Ireland. From April 2026 it is £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18 to 20 and £8.00 under 18.
Source: GOV.UK
St Patrick’s Day and the Battle of the Boyne are bank holidays here, though not in England, and Belfast Pride runs for ten days each July. Staff those weeks first.
A bank holiday, so New Year’s Eve runs into a day off.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
A bank holiday in Northern Ireland, and Belfast City Council lists St Patrick’s Day celebrations among its events.
Official siteBank holidays. Since 2021, Good Friday and Easter Sunday follow the ordinary licensing hours.
Official siteA long weekend.
Official siteA long weekend.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
Over 150 events, with the parade on a Saturday near the end.
Official siteA bank holiday in Northern Ireland that England does not have.
Official siteA late-August long weekend.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
A festival Belfast City Council lists among its events, running across several weeks of the autumn.
Official siteA fixed date, and Belfast City Council lists a Halloween programme among its events.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
Bank holidays. Christmas Day is the one day with shorter hours, 12:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., and no later hours apply.
Official siteA fixed date. Selling after 11 p.m. needs an additional hours order covering the night or a police authorisation.
The Cathedral Quarter is where old warehouses now hold bars, beer gardens and clubs. South of the centre, Botanic Avenue and the Queen’s Quarter lean towards live music and students.
The city’s creative soul: cobbled streets and old warehouses now home to bars, beer gardens, clubs and restaurants, with The National and the Duke of York.
Over 40 cafés, bars and restaurants, pre-theatre drinks before the Grand Opera House, and the Observatory at the Grand Central Hotel, Ireland’s tallest bar. Great Victoria Street, once the Golden Mile, is being restored.
Belfast Empire on Botanic Avenue, one of the country’s premier live music bars, and The Parlour Bar, the student haunt of the Queen’s Quarter.
High-street and independent boutiques beside bars and restaurants such as The Bowery and the Crafty Vintner Tasting Room.
Most of the rooms below are in the Cathedral Quarter, but the one guests search for most is Limelight, on Ormeau Avenue in the Linen Quarter.
| Rank | Venue | Nights | Music | Published price | Monthly searches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LimelightClubLinen Quarter · 17 Ormeau Avenue, BT2 8HDSource: Search estimatesSource: Limelight | UFO Wednesdays and Babba Thursdays, every week | Not listed | Not listed | 4,900 |
| 2 | KremlinClubCathedral Quarter · 96 Donegall Street, BT1 2GWSource: Search estimatesSource: Kremlin | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | 2,700 |
| 3 | Ollie’sClubCathedral Quarter · 35-39 Waring Street, BT1 2DYSource: Search estimatesSource: The Merchant HotelSource: Ollie’s | Fri from 10 p.m., Sat from 9 p.m., to 3 a.m. | Not listed | Not listed | 1,100 |
| 4 | ThompsonsClubCity centre · 3 Patterson’s Place, BT1 4HWSource: Search estimatesSource: Thompsons | Open every night, Stereo Sessions on Saturdays from 9 p.m. | Not listed | Not listed | 250 |
| 5 | Sixty6 at The NationalClubCathedral Quarter · 62 High Street, BT1 2BESource: Search estimatesSource: The National | Fri and Sat, 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. | Not listed | Not listed | 150 |
Ranked by monthly Google searches in the United Kingdom for each venue’s name with the city, as Ahrefs estimates them, so this measures demand, not size. Only rooms that their own site or socials show open are listed.
Venues named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide. Details come from each venue’s own pages and can change; a venue can ask us to correct or remove its entry.
Visitors who stay overnight spend more per trip in Belfast than anywhere else in Northern Ireland, and they come on top of the people who live here.
These describe Belfast’s residents and its overnight visitors, not any venue’s guests.
Sell tickets, take table bookings with deposits, run the guest list and check guests in at the door, in one place. Built for clubs, lounges and bars.
Ordinary hours run from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 12:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays, and customers then have 60 minutes to finish their drinks. On Christmas Day the hours are 12:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Later hours need a court order or a police authorisation.
A county court order can add 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on set days for a part of the premises used for entertainment or substantial refreshment. Pubs and hotels can then get a further hour, to 2 a.m., on up to 104 days a year. The police can also authorise a pub to sell from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on set occasions.
The county court, under the Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. The court grants licences for up to five years, and the period in force in 2026 ends on 30 September 2027. Belfast City Council licenses music and dancing separately.
Apply to the county court. A new pub or off-licence can open only if an existing pub or off-licence licence is given up, and the court must find the number nearby inadequate. You advertise in two newspapers, display a notice at the premises and serve notice on the police and the council before the court sittings, and they and neighbours can object at the hearing.
For theatrical performances, dancing, singing, music and similar entertainment, yes. Belfast City Council issues annual licences for six or seven days a week and 14-day occasional ones. Allow at least 28 days, and place a notice in one local newspaper within seven days of applying.
An annual indoor licence costs £100 for under 100 people, £150 for 101 to 200, £250 for 201 to 300, £400 for 301 to 500, £750 for 501 to 1,000 and £1,000 above that. The same fees apply to renewal, and a variation costs £80.
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 does not extend to Northern Ireland.
Yes. SIA licences apply in Northern Ireland. A licence costs £204 and lasts three years.
Customers may finish their drinks on the premises during the first 60 minutes after permitted hours end. It was 30 minutes before 1 October 2021, and it does not apply to off-sales.
Yes. Since 1 October 2021, Good Friday and Easter Sunday follow the ordinary hours. Christmas Day is the only restricted day, and no later hours apply on it.
During permitted hours, a person under 18 may not be in any part of licensed premises that has a bar or is used mainly for selling and drinking alcohol, with some exceptions.
NISRA puts Northern Ireland’s median hourly pay for bar staff at £12.21 for April 2025, against a National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour from April 2026 for workers aged 21 and over.
VenueStack publishes this guide for general information. We take care to keep it accurate and list our sources and review dates, but we can’t guarantee it is complete, current or correct, and we aren’t responsible for decisions made on it. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, minimums and wages are estimates from the samples described and don’t represent any particular venue. Venues, events and organisations named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Data gathered in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
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