The team behind a Belfast cocktail spot has told how they overcame “a lot of adversity” to be named the best bar in Northern Ireland.
Rattlebag, set within the Bullitt Hotel in the city centre, opened just three days before the first Covid lockdown caused the closure of hospitality venues across the north, leaving it empty for months.
Then, not long after restrictions lifted, the venue was forced to shut its doors again – this time for five months – after a fire at the hotel.
“We opened on Friday the thirteenth so that wasn’t a good start,” laughs head bartender and the mind behind the venue’s recipes, Matthew Knight.
“Initially, we thought it would just be a couple of weeks and we’d bounce back but of course it ended up being a good few months and then there was the fire in 2022 which was another knockback.
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Matthew Knight making a cocktail at Rattlebag in Belfast PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN
“There was definitely a lot of adversity in those early days but thankfully we’ve come out the other side since then and managed to create something unique within Belfast’s cocktail scene.”
Offering a modern twist on 12 classic cocktails, Rattlebag has become known for its experimental menu.
“When I come up with a drink it’s usually based on something I’ve found interesting – like our house martini was the result of a hike,” Matthew explains.
“I was walking up Slieve Donard and there’s a massive pine part of the trail and the smell just sat in my memory and when I was trying to come up with drinks, I just thought pine would work really well in a martini.
“So, for me it’s all about taking everyday experiences and tying them into a good drink in whatever way we can.”
Matthew Knight says he is inspired by his surroundings when creating new cocktails
PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN
A prime example of the bar’s quirky concept is their take on the Zombie. Believed to have been invented in 1934 by American adventurer Donn Beach, the cocktail traditionally consists of three different kinds of rum, lime juice, falernum, Angostura bitters, Pernod, grenadine, and “Don’s Mix”, a combination of cinnamon syrup and grapefruit juice.
The Rattlebag version starts with scotch and adds a homemade zombie mix, zombie juice, tiki bitters and pastis.
“You have all those lovely earthy, smoky flavours from the scotch, which plays really well with all the tropical notes you get with tiki cocktails,” Matthew describes.
“It’s actually my favourite on the menu because it kind of sums up what we do here – it’s fun but it also gives people a chance to try really interesting flavour pairings.”
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In addition to creating cocktails with a twist Rattlebag also aim to give customers the opportunity to experience unique flavour combinations
PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN
Matthew’s passion for experimental flavour combinations has clearly inspired the wider team, including bartender Hannah Morro, who gained attention earlier this year for creating a birthday cake flavoured cocktail to mark Rattlebag’s fifth anniversary.
“Before I started working here, I was working in a restaurant where I was watching chefs take one thing and turn it into something else, which really fascinated me,” Hannah explains.
Hannah Marro making a cocktail at Rattlebag in Belfast
PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN
“And since working in Rattlebag it’s something I’ve been able to do myself. Like whenever we started planning the bar’s fifth birthday party I thought why not make a drink that tastes like birthday cake?”
Using Fermanagh’s Boatyard Vodka, Hannah infused it with cake from Dougie’s Goodies bakery.
“I had no idea that it was going to go so well,” she laughs.
“But it really worked and I’m not trying to pat myself on the back or anything but it was one of the best things I think I’ve ever tasted texture and flavour-wise because it’s such an unexpected flavour to get from a cocktail.”
Using Fermanagh’s Boatyard Vodka, Hannah infused it with cake from Dougie’s Goodies bakery PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN
However, manager Chris Wareing says that while Rattlebag has gained a reputation for producing innovative cocktails, the bar’s real success lies in making the complex flavours and textures of different spirits more accessible.
“What Matt and Hannah are really good at is taking these quite serious five-star hotel style cocktails and adding a little note of humour or creativity or nostalgia.
“Some of our best-known drinks, like the Aviation or the bubblegum Corpse Reviver, are examples of taking drinks that people might be a bit intimidated by and making them much more approachable.
Manager Chris Wareing says the bar’s real success lies in making the complex flavours and textures of different spirits more accessible PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN
“And I think we get the biggest kick out of when someone is kind of dragged in and they say ‘I don’t like cocktails, or I don’t like spirits’ and then we make something that makes them go ‘wow’.
“That’s a great feeling because you actually open up a whole new world to them without being too pretentious about it.”
Matthew adds: “A lot of our regulars are people who have just come in and stayed and I think that’s one of our strengthens – a lot of people have said we’re too niche or too hidden away but our concept attracts curious people and they’re the sort of people we love to see coming in.”
Over the past five years, the bar has quietly become a favourite haunt for a few famous faces as well PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN
Given its unique style and aesthetic as well as the staff’s emphasis on quality customer service, it may not come as no surprise that Rattlebag has picked up several significant accolades since it opened its doors in 2020.
Rattlebag has picked up several significant accolades since it opened its doors in 2020
PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN
Most notably in 2024 the venue was included in the Pinnacle Guide, an exclusive new directory of the world’s top cocktail bars curated by the founders of London Cocktail Week and often described as the “Michelin Guide for bars”.
And even more recently it was named The Best Bar in Northern Ireland at the 2025 CLASS Bar Awards which recognises and celebrates the talent, achievements and diversity of the UK bar scene.
“It’s definitely nice to have that recognition, especially because CLASS was peer awarded and then pinnacle was based on several mystery reviews,” says Hannah.
“To receive that kind of praise and validation from other people in the industry is always fantastic.”
Chris explains that delivering “exceptional” hospitality is another essential part of the bar’s ethos PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN
Chris adds, “When Matt and I started we didn’t know each other we were just kind of put together two weeks before we opened, so we were trying to suss each other out and understand each other’s skill sets and how we were going to work as a unit.
“I think very early on we were really explicit about the fact that we didn’t have any focus on awards or prizes or top 50, top 100 or anything like that – our whole philosophy was to create a bar that we would like to go to in the hope that enough people in Belfast would also like it.
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Matthew Knight is Rattlebag’s head bartender and the mind behind their experimental cocktails PICTURE: COLM LENAGHAN
“And I think we’ve done that, because we’ve always been far more focused on getting better and making our product better over everything else – we just want to be the best version of Rattlebag we can be.
“The worst thing that can happen now is people come in here because of the press and the prizes and they don’t get the level of service or hospitality that we aspire to, so I think going forward we just want to focus on maintaining the standard, making sure we keep our spark.”