Study: Derry is second best city in Northern Ireland for food lovers

Foodie culture is on the rise, with the pandemic facilitating a 19% rise in dine-in food options, and a collective £990m spent on fueling our obsession for good food.

That’s why MuscleFood has conducted a study to identify the best and worst foodie cities in Nothern Ireland, looking at a number of factors from the number of Michelin star restaurants in the area, to how many Uber Eats restaurants are available, we have created the perfect study to crown the foodie capital.

Belfast and Derry are the best cities for foodies

Not only is Belfast the capital city, but its also the foodie capital of Northern Ireland. The city has taken the top spot thanks to its 18 Michelin Star restaurants and high number of Coffee + Tea shops. Belfast scored 68 out of 100 meaning it was head and shoulders above the rest.

Derry made it into second place thanks to a higher number of healthy restaurants and the number of tea and coffee shops on offer. With a score of 18.7 out of 100 it beat out Lisburn to second place.

Armagh has the most restaurants per capita, with 0.38 restaurants per person this city does have plenty to offer food lovers however ranked lower due to the lack of healthy option on offer.

Newry is the worst city in Northern Ireland for foodies

Despite a great number of Uber Eats options, Newry came bottom of the table due to the smaller number of restaurants per capita and lack of healthy options.

The study found that Derry has 0.1065 restaurants per capita, with six ‘healthy restaurants’ and two Michelin star guide restaurants. The average weekly spend in Derry on food and non-alcoholic drinks is £65.10.

The full study can be found here