CONNAUGHT RESTAURANTS & CHEFS

HONOURED AT PRESTIGIOUS IRISH RESTAURANT AWARDS 2018

• Wednesday 28th March 2018
• For immediate release

The third of four regional finals in this year’s Irish Restaurant Awards took place in the Kilronan Castle, Roscommon, last night where 76 awards were presented to the country’s leading chefs, restaurants and pubs.

Over 400 people attended the Connaught Regional Final on Tuesday evening where the top establishments in each county were named.

The awards covered a wide range of venues and the winners from each of Connaught’s five counties were selected from the following categories: Best Casual Dining, Best Emerging Irish Cuisine, Best Kids Size Me, Best ‘Free From’, Best World Cuisine, Best Restaurant Manager, Best Wine Experience, Pub of the Year, Best Café, Best Customer Service, Best Gastro Pub, Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant, Best Newcomer, Best Chef and Best Restaurant. There was also a special Regional award for Connaught’s Local Food Hero.

Speaking at the awards, Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) said: “Now in their tenth year, the Irish Restaurant Awards continue to showcase the exquisite and admirable calibre of food available in our restaurants and pubs nationwide. Online nominations have increased from 9,000 in 2013 to over 80,000 this year and with the increase in interest comes an increase in standards, making the judging process more difficult than ever.

“Our small island boasts everything from fine dining to high quality gastropubs, from the exotic taste explosions of world cuisine to the comfort of traditional dishes. We have an appreciation for what we eat, for the journey of our food from farm to fork, and for the dedication of those working in the food industry to serve up Ireland’s finest food.”

Galway winners are as follows:

• Best Casual Dining sponsored by San Pellegrino – Gather Restaurant
• Best Emerging Irish Cuisine sponsored by Odaios Foods – Tartare Cafe + Wine Bar
• Best Kids Size Me sponsored by Dubliner Cheese – Gather Restaurant
• Best ‘Free From’ sponsored by Peroni Nastro Azzurro Gluten Free – TGO Falafel Bar
• Best World Cuisine sponsored by Aryzta – Papa Rich, Street Food Kitchen
• Best Restaurant Manager sponsored AIB Merchant Services – Magaret Bohon of Dela Restaurant
• Best Wine Experience sponsored ClassicDrinks – Aniar Restaurant and Boutique Cookery School
• Pub of the Year sponsored by Bushmills – Tigh Neachtain
• Best Café sponsored by Illy – Le Petit Délice
• Best Customer Service – Powers Thatch, Bar & Restaurant
• Best Gastro Pub sponsored by Coca Cola & Schweppes – O’Dowd’s Seafood Bar and Restaurant
• Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant sponsored by BWG Foodservice – West Restaurant at The Twelve Hotel
• Best Newcomer sponsored by Elavon – The Kasbah Wine Bar
• Best Chef sponsored by Nisbets – Jess Murphy of Kai Café and Restaurant
• Best Restaurant sponsored by Tindal Wine Merchants – Kai Cafe And Restaurant

Leitrim winners are as follows:

• Best Casual Dining sponsored by San Pellegrino – Riverbank Restaurant
• Best Kids Size Me sponsored by Dubliner Cheese – Vittos Restaurant
• Best ‘Free From’ sponsored by Peroni Nastro Azzurro Gluten Free – Sweet Geranium Café
• Best World Cuisine sponsored by Aryzta – Divino Italian Restaurant
• Pub of the Year sponsored by Bushmills – Flynns Bar
• Best Café sponsored by Illy – Lena’s Tea Room
• Best Gastro Pub sponsored by Coca Cola & Schweppes – The Oarsman
• Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant sponsored by BWG Foodservice – The Boardwalk at The Landmark Hotel Carrick-on-Shannon
• Best Newcomer sponsored by Elavon – Buffalo Boy
• Best Chef sponsored by Nisbets – Shamzuri Hanifa of The Cottage Restaurant
• Best Restaurant sponsored by Tindal Wine Merchants – St. George’s Terrace
• Best Restaurant Manager sponsored by AIB Merchant Services – Lee Hanifa of The Cottage Restaurant
• Best Wine Experience sponsored by ClassicDrinks – Cox’s Steakhouse
• Best Customer Service – Luna Restaurant
• Best Emerging Irish Cuisine sponsored by Odaios Foods – St. George’s Terrace Restaurant

Mayo winners are as follows:

• Best Casual Dining sponsored by San Pellegrino – Bar One Mayo
• Best Kids Size Me sponsored by Dubliner Cheese – Café Rua
• Best ‘Free From’ sponsored by Peroni Nastro Azzurro Gluten Free – Leafy Greens Café
• Best World Cuisine sponsored by Aryzta – Love Lee’s Asian Restaurant
• Best Restaurant Manager sponsored by AIB Merchant Services – Eva Ivanova of Sage Restaurant
• Best Wine Experience sponsored by ClassicDrinks – Ashford Castle
• Pub of the Year sponsored by Bushmills – John McHales
• Best Café sponsored by Illy – Heffernan’s Fine Foods
• Best Customer Service – House of Plates
• Best Gastro Pub sponsored by Coca Cola & Schweppes – Cronin’s Sheebeen
• Best Newcomer sponsored by Elavon – Jack Fenn’s Courtyard Cafe at Belleek Castle
• Best Chef sponsored by Nisbets – Philippe Farineau of Ashford Castle
• Best Restaurant sponsored by Tindal Wine Merchants – Cian’s on Bridge Street
• Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant sponsored by BWG Foodservice – Wilde’s at The Lodge
• Best Emerging Irish Cuisine sponsored by Odaios Foods – Wilde’s at The Lodge

Roscommon winners are as follows:

• Best Casual Dining sponsored by San Pellegrino – The Yew Tree Restaurant
• Best Emerging Irish Cuisine sponsored by Odaios Foods – The Yew Tree Restaurant
• Best World Cuisine sponsored by Aryzta – MoMA Restaurant
• Best Restaurant Manager sponsored by AIB Merchant Services – David Keenan of Keenan’s Hotel
• Best Wine Experience sponsored by ClassicDrinks – L’Escale Restaurant at Hodson Bay Hotel
• Pub of the Year sponsored by Bushmills – JJ Harlows Bar
• Best Café sponsored by Illy – Rogue & Co. Café
• Best Customer Service – P.S. Red
• Best Gastro Pub sponsored by Coca Cola & Schweppes – Regan’s Gastro Pub and Restaurant
• Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant sponsored by BWG Foodservice – Abbey Hotel
• Best Chef sponsored by Nisbets – Paul Horohoe of P.S. Red
• Best Restaurant sponsored by Tindal Wine Merchants – P.S. Red
• Best ‘Free From’ sponsored by Peroni Nastro Azzurro Gluten Free – The Old Stonehouse
• Best Kids Size Me sponsored by Dubliner Cheese – Gleesons Townhouse & Restaurant

Sligo winners are as follows:

• Best Casual Dining sponsored by San Pellegrino – Ait Eile Restaurant
• Best Emerging Irish Cuisine sponsored by Odaios Foods – Hargadon Bros
• Best Kids Size Me sponsored by Dubliner Cheese – Shells Seaside Bakery & Café
• Best ‘Free From’ sponsored by Peroni Nastro Azzurro Gluten Free – Sweet Beat Café
• Best World Cuisine sponsored by Aryzta – Miso Sligo
• Best Restaurant Manager sponsored by AIB Merchant Services – Declan Harrison of Harrison’s Restaurant & Bar
• Best Wine Experience sponsored by ClassicDrinks – Coach Lane at Donaghy’s
• Pub of the Year sponsored by Bushmills – The Pilot Bar
• Best Café sponsored by Illy – Pudding Row
• Best Customer Service – Langs Bar and Restaurant
• Best Gastro Pub sponsored by Coca Cola & Schweppes – Austies Bar and Restaurant
• Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant sponsored by BWG Foodservice – Hazelwood Restaurant at Sligo Park Hotel
• Best Newcomer sponsored by Elavon – Hooked
• Best Chef sponsored by Nisbets – Ethna Reynolds of The Nook Café
• Best Restaurant sponsored by Tindal Wine Merchants – Eala Bhán

Best Local Food Hero sponsored by Rewarding Times  – Liam & Justina Gavin of Drumanilra Farm Kitchen

ENDS

For further information contact:

Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive Officer

Restaurants Association of Ireland

Mobile: +353 86 8263311

Telephone: +353 1 6779901

Fax: +353 1 6718414

Email: awards@rai.ie

Website: www.irishrestaurantawards.com

Twitter: @restawards

Facebook: www.facebook.com/IrishRestaurantAwards

Instagram:@irishrestawards

Notes for the Editor:

Judging Process

• Public Nomination – During the initial stage of the Connaught Regional Restaurant Awards members of the public voted to nominate their favourite restaurants, hotels and hospitality personal. These nominations were independently assessed by BDO.

• Judging Panel – Our judging panel, made up of industry experts, food writers, culinary academics and critics, then narrowed down the list of nominations to our final regional winners.