Hidden Gems or Exposed Glass? A Look into Belfast’s Food Place Promotion.
By Caoimhe McCloskey
Coming from a small town, one of the exciting things about starting university in a new city was the opportunity to experience coffee shops, cafés and other food places that seemed otherworldly and otherwise inaccessible. A quick scroll or search through TikTok or Instagram reveals a whole new avenue now exposed. Three years later, staples and favourites have well and truly been acquired, after some trial and error, of course
Going straight into it, something that needs to be addressed is the concept of hidden gems itself. Inherently, this term can be up for interpretation. Once something is known, it’s no longer hidden and how well-known something is can also be seen as subjective. However, if we’re looking at this in a more black and white way, a hidden gem can be defined by “something, especially a place, that is very good, pleasant or useful that not a lot of people know about.” [1]
That being said, my personal favourite food and coffee spots have been exposed to me via word of mouth rather than through social media. Blue Train, a small coffee shop just off Botanic Avenue and Neighbourhood Cafe in Cathedral Quarter, for example, have been reliable and valued not only for the products they provide but also through how they were exposed through already trusted sources. But while there has been the temptation to try new places through other sources like social media, a question to be asked is how much we can rely on and trust the word of someone we don’t know?
Thanks to social media, there is no longer the reliance on food influencers to promote an establishment, and instead, the establishment itself has taken it upon themselves to promote their brand, using the current trends and marketing trends to influence a form of relatability. Of course, that does not make the food influencers of Belfast and the country suddenly redundant; well-known influencer Holly the Destroyer (@hollythedestroyer6) has built a brand on TikTok on highlighting the so-called “hidden gems’“ of Belfast and the surrounding areas to the “beautiful people” who watch her videos, with notable series being showcasing stalls at the Belfast Christmas markets. Going back to the question on the subjectivity of what is known, a particular video of note of Holly’s from 2025, where the Asian convenience store Eco Fresh, located on Botanic Avenue, was promoted as a hidden gem of Belfast. A hidden gem located on one of the most popular food streets in the city. With a large banner proclaiming its existence. While this example is somewhat outdated, it’s nevertheless an example of just because something is new to you does not make it necessarily new as a whole and can show how out of touch content creators can be at times. Again, if there is a promotion of something new to you to an audience already aware of it.
Furthermore, the interest of a so-called hidden gem can’t help but be stifled when one looks down and sees the paid promotion tag or AD segment, no matter how long or overly passionate a video may be. We know then that the creator has gained something by creating and posting this video. We then question whether we do too. The authenticity and genuineness of what is being promoted can’t help but come into question when payment to promote is expected. Viewers of the content and customers of the establishment no longer know what to believe. Is something worth it if the person who told you so was paid to say it?
With this in mind, apprehension can’t help but be felt also regarding financial input, especially as a student being exposed to influencers
So, what can we take from this?
Ultimately, the best way to figure out if a place is worth the time, expense and enjoyment is to go and experience it yourself. Granted, food influencers are undoubtedly beneficial in providing exposure, but whether the results are positive, negative or anything in between can only be determined through personal excursion.
REFERENCES:
- Cambridge Dictionary. 2025. “Hidden Gem.” @CambridgeWords. October 15, 2025. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/hidden-gem.
- Photo taken from visitbelfast.com
