Belfast’s newest food spot served up a dish smaller than my phone – but with a very high price

Belfast city centre’s latest addition recently opened so I decided to check it out

I love it when a new spot opens in Belfast and it was no different when I discovered that Good Spud was opening on Church Lane. When I heard it was opening, I was absolutely certain it would be a baked potato restaurant, which Belfast surprisingly doesn’t have. However, I was wrong and it was specialising in a different potato offering, which was dirty fries.

It took over the former Ragin Ramen premises before it moved around the corner and I gave it a few weeks to settle in before heading in on my lunch this week.

The offering was simple, with six different types of dirty fries and a build-your-own option on the menu so it didn’t take long to choose.

What I ordered:

I went for the number 3, which was chips topped with chilli beef, freshly grated parmesan, sliced red chilli, crispy onions and a choice of sauce. There was a range of sauces on the list, but I went for the Korean sticky BBQ and I also got a can of Pepsi to wash it down with.

What I liked:

I loved the simplicity of the menu here and I always support a small menu done right because it means they can really nail it. The chips were of the skinny variety and cooked really well and the chilli beef was really lovely here. All of the ingredients do work well separately here, I feel, and I would be intrigued to try the Pablos one if it is anything like the old burger spot.

It also didn’t take very long to bring it out to me but I will say that I was the only person there during a busy lunch period so this was to be expected.

What I didn’t like/would change:

I was actually a little taken aback when I was handed what I’d ordered because of the size, and unfortunately, it wasn’t a good thing on this occasion.

The box was very, very small. I used my phone as a reference, and it was smaller than the box’s length. Given the price I had just paid for this, that needs to change pretty quickly.

Don’t get me wrong this portion size would be great for a lunch spot but it does not line up with premium price point it’s currently at.

How much it cost:

Everything I got here came to £12.95, which is honestly too expensive for the portion size, so that needs to be addressed here. A bigger box so they can add more chips is a pretty simple solution in my opinion, if they do want to continue at that high price point.

I was also charged an extra £1 on top of the £9.95 that the chips cost for sauce, but on the menu it did say choice of sauce, which implies it is included here. With this type of restaurant, every penny counts, and I think tipping the original chips over a tenner might have been a mistake.

All in all, I do think the food here is pretty tasty, and the location, plus the offering, has the potential to be a very popular lunch spot in the city. However, the price point has made that impossible in my opinion because it’s too expensive for a casual lunch.

I can handle something being expensive because I’m definitely not tight, and I rarely call something out for a huge disparity in value, but I fear this one might be a little too far. It’s definitely fixable, and I will go back once those issues have been ironed out because I’m all for a redemption arc.

In the interest of fairness and transparency, we pay for all the meals and drinks we review. This ensures that we are giving accurate and honest representations of the food and service that we receive. So, unless we state otherwise that we were invited down, we have paid for the meal ourselves and visited without the knowledge of the eatery, so you can trust our opinions aren’t skewed by a freebie.

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