Most Ulster families have high tea at about 1800 and many hotels and restaurants offer the same. Dinner is served from about 1900. A useful booklet is Where to Eat in Northern Ireland , available from newsagents and Tourist Information Centres, which lists all the places where food is served, a price indication and brief description of the sort of food. It is advisable to book ahead for the more popular restaurants, especially towards the weekend.
Irish whiskey is often drunk along with a bottle of stout.
Real ale fans can try Hilden produced at Lisburn and obtainable locally. There are summer theatres in Newcastle and Portrush, plus the Riverside Theatre at Coleraine. There is an autumn festival in Co Armagh and Co Londonderry and towns like Newry, Omagh and Enniskillen have first-rate theatre and music. Traditional Irish music in 'singing pubs' provides a good evening's entertainment in many places, particularly Belfast and Derry. Modern shopping centres on the outskirts of towns have late night shopping to 2100 Thursday and Friday.