First Stop: Deane & Decano Photo: © Michael Fisher

It was a hop-on hop-off bus tour with one major difference: this was a dining experience centred on Michael Deane’s four restaurants in Belfast.

Prosecco Photo: © Michael Fisher

It started off at 5pm on Friday evening (11th October) at Deane and Decano, conveniently located at the bottom of my road on the Lisburn Road. A glass or two of prosecco greeted us on arrival and some tasty arancini nibbles along with garlic bread and olive oil. After an hour the diners were then invited to board the bus, taking us along the Lisburn Road via Windsor Park to the Malone Road. Éamonn Ó Catháin provided some music along the way courtesy of his iPad. Coming past a block of modern apartments where once there was a UDR base, it occurred to me that this particular journey would not have been possible twenty years ago.

My only complaint at this stage was that the bus was not the traditional Routemaster red bus shown on the Deane’s publicity material or even one of the new Boris buses built by Wrights. It was one of the buses that usually serves the Belfast City Tours.

Deanes at Queens Photo: © Michael Fisher

Deane’s at Queen’s was the second stop where we were given a master class on how to mix cocktails and given an opportunity to try two types, including a Mojito.

The Dine Around Deanes experience costs £50 and will be repeated on Saturday October 19th and Friday November 8th. More details and booking arrangements here.