12 Bradbury Place
Thomas Lavery, the great grandfather of the present owners, came to Belfast from Dromara in County Down where he had owned a bar. Here in 1875 he opened the first Public House of the Lavery Clan in May Street. Over the years he and the family opened other bars like the Bradan Bar, still standing at the Markets, Laverys, corner of Chichester Street/Gt. Victoria Street (where Rumpoles now stands), The old Elbow Room in Dublin Road, Laverys of Mountpottinger, Lisburn Road, Bruce Street and finally the one I’m looking at now, Laverys of Bradbury Place (in the family for over 50 years) and now the only one left with direct family involvement.
It’s an exceptionally busy bar, probably in the top half-dozen busiest bars in the North. Its clientele is mixed, during the day punters of various ages but at night it’s predominantly a student and youngish crowd.
Let’s take a closer look, imitation Victorian-looking old bar with plenty of intimate corners and 5 snugs completely closed in with glass dividers. Reddish colours throughout add to the privacy which the irregular shape of all the bars affords. At the back of the public bar a narrow passage leads you into the back bar ‘The Cobbles’ which also has another entrance leading out into the entry. The charm of Laverys is its unusual shape which is anything but symmetrical.
The Lounge on the first floor has also a Victorian look about it with its matching Victorian pictures.
Laverys is a very busy bar run by probably the most famous “Dynasty” in the Licensed Trade still producing leaders in the trade like John Lavery the Present Managing Director of Guinness, Northern Ireland, and the first Northerner to be appointed a Director of Guinness (Ireland).