The Cloth Ear is the public bar which is part of Belfast's Landmark luxury hotel, The Merchant.

Being a sibling of The Merchant, The Cloth Ear as you expect is a classy affair, with a comfortable, plush interior design based on 1930-1950s musical theatre. Children are welcome, in fact there is a kids' menu and colouring pens and sheets waiting for them.

Even the bathrooms are luxurious!

So what of the food on offer? Well it isn't the usual pub grub you'd be served in any old bar, it keeps to the high standards of The Merchant Hotel. My son ordered cheesy garlic bread for starter, and literally tore through it.

My husband went for the buffalo wings with blue cheese sauce. I had the meat platter. These were very generous in size, and for someone like me they would probably suffice for a light lunch just by themselves.

Our main courses: I had duck confit on a warm salad. The neat was so well cooked it simply slid off the bone.

My husband chose the Beef & Burger. That's a burger topped with pulled beef, caramelised red onion garnish and monogrammed brioche bun. The photo looks good enough to eat.

Little Michael chose the kids' meal fish & chips option. His meal was a fantastic size, considering it was a children's price, and just look at that batter.

After finishing our main courses, we mourned that our eyes had been bigger than our belly when we had order starters, and our downfall was being too full to get dessert! We couldn't have even fitted in a cup of tea!

It really is a pity as I wanted to try their dessert kebab. Hanging kebabs both sweet & savoury are one of the signature dishes of The Cloth Ear. They look delicious.