McClurg and Stewart began consulting on the property in 2025 and will formally take over the entire site early next month, with a shared vision to create a restaurant of “national significance” in McClurg’s home city.
The restaurant will also trade as Regency House, with further details of the offer to be released in due course.
The 40-cover space will include an intimate courtyard dining area and a private dining cellar.
Interiors will balance “the grandeur of the building’s original architecture” with a “deeply contemporary sense of warmth, theatre around the open kitchen, and craftsmanship”.
Regency House launched in its current guise in 2022 following an extensive redevelopment project, but the building has never previously housed a public-facing restaurant.
McClurg spent 13 years working alongside Paul Ainsworth in Cornwall, ultimately rising to chef patron of the Michelin-starred Paul Ainsworth at No6, during which time he appeared on Great British Menu.
Stewart likewise built her career at No6, progressing from chef de partie to head pastry chef and sous chef before becoming restaurant director in 2022.
In 2025, the pair returned to Belfast with ambitions to launch of a restaurant of their own.
The reimagined Regency House rooms and suites will remain open to the public, with the restaurant expected to open in July.
“This announcement has been 20 years in the making,” says McClurg. “Dining at Regency House promises to be exciting, energetic and guided by the incredible larder of local produce we have on this beautiful island. Think of an intimate Parisian luxe bistro with a distinctly Northern Irish accent.
“We have spent a huge part of this past year out on the road meeting and building relationships with our fantastic farmers, growers, fishermen and craftspeople. We feel a huge sense of pride and responsibility to showcase their efforts in the best way we know.”