A popular, casual Chinese restaurant with generous food, strong fish and duck dishes, BYOB value, and important cash-only and occasional service caveats.
Macau delivers solid food quality with diners consistently praising flavour and cooking across distinct dishes, anchored by strong value through generous portions and set menus ideal for groups. Service remains responsive and attentive despite occasional lapses, while the buzzing Ormeau Road setting captures loyal neighborhood appeal. The modest space and variable consistency across contexts keep it just short of the very top tier.
Macau is a bustling, casual Ormeau Road Chinese restaurant that fills quickly and works especially well for sociable dinners. Expect birthday songs, lively tables and the occasional BYOB-fuelled volume spike; one diner captured the appeal as a room where “everyone seemed to be smiling and enjoying themselves.” Reserve ahead, particularly for peak evening service. The cooking leans toward generous, flavour-forward Chinese classics with a particularly strong seafood, duck and hot-pot showing. Monkfish hot pot, chilli prawns, roast duck and steamed fish are the recurring stars, while the broad menu also covers familiar curry, sweet-and-sour, chow mein and fried-rice options. It is not an avant-garde kitchen, but it offers more regional character than a generic takeaway and excellent group-sharing value. Families can find approachable choices such as chicken skewers, sweet-and-sour chicken, chow mein, fried rice, dumplings and spring rolls, alongside clearly marked vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. The lively room and tight seating may not suit very young children or quiet family meals, but the menu is substantially more accessible to children than the specialist dishes might suggest.
Area vibe: Lively, working-class-to-hipster corridor with cafes, pubs, and independent shops.
Safety: Generally safe in evenings with steady footfall around pubs and restaurants; exercise normal urban caution late at night.
What's nearby: Close to Ormeau Park, Belfast city centre a short walk, several pubs, cafés, and transport links on Ormeau Road.
The monkfish hot pot, roast duck, and chilli prawns are the clearest places to start, but the menu has several strong sharing options.
Plan for cash, a busy and sometimes cramped evening, and a booking, with lunch pricing and BYOB changing the value equation.
This is a cheerful, high-energy dining room where birthday celebrations and BYOB can make the atmosphere louder than expected.