Belfast Zoo: Visitor Caterer Market Engagement

Montfort Catering Consultants is delighted to be working with Belfast City Council on a catering market engagement exercise to find the next catering operator for Belfast Zoo — one of Northern Ireland’s most treasured visitor attractions.

A Belfast icon, ready for its next chapter

Situated on the slopes of Cave Hill with sweeping views across Belfast Lough, Belfast Zoo has been part of the city’s story for 90 years. Spread across 55 acres, the zoo is home to over 100 species, including northern lions, giraffes, gorillas, chimpanzees, penguins and sea lions, many of them endangered, critically endangered or vulnerable in the wild. Every visit is a reminder of why this much-loved visitor attraction continues to draw families and wildlife lovers from across the region and beyond.

The zoo has been investing in its future, with a striking new lion habitat, a renovated and extended reptile house, a spacious picnic area, a changing places facility, an art trail, upgraded accessible parking and improved animal habitats all recently completed. It’s an attraction on the up — and now it’s time for its visitor catering offer to match that ambition.

A rare opportunity for the right catering operator

This is a genuinely exciting opportunity for an experienced catering operator to take the reins of the full visitor food and beverage offering at a flagship zoo and leisure attraction — shaping everything from everyday café and mobile catering to wider event and hospitality services, in one of the UK and Ireland’s most spectacular settings.

Montfort Catering Consultants is proud to be leading the market engagement on behalf of Belfast City Council, drawing on our track record across the UK’s leading museums, galleries, theatres and visitor attractions to identify like-minded, experienced operators who share the zoo’s passion for conservation, community and outstanding guest experience. We’ll be bringing our specialist catering consultancy insight to every stage of the process.

This catering tender opportunity will go live shortly — details on how to express interest will be available soon.

Specialist catering consultancy for zoos, museums and heritage attractions

Projects like Belfast Zoo sit at the heart of what we do. As independent catering consultants working across the cultural and leisure sectors, we help zoos, museums, galleries, theatres, heritage sites and community venues turn everyday catering into a genuine visitor experience — and a stronger source of income. From catering options appraisals and feasibility studies through to operator search, tender management and appointment, our role is to make sure every catering decision is commercially sound and true to the character of the place it serves.

If you’re planning new leisure or attraction-based catering, need support choosing the right future management model, or want help running a catering operator tender for your museum, gallery, theatre, zoo or heritage site, get in touch to see how Montfort Catering Consultants can support you.

Posted on September 11th, 2026