Tuesday, April 16th 2024 – THE Dublin shortlist for the Irish Restaurant Awards 2024 has been announced this evening, featuring the county’s very best culinary and hospitality establishments. 

The shortlist of Dublin food-led establishments features what will be hotly contested categories including Best Restaurant, Best Chef, Best Restaurant Manager, Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant, Employee Excellence Award, Pub of the Year, Best Casual Dining, Best Gastro Pub, Best Contemporary Irish Cuisine, Best Newcomer, Best Wine Experience, Best Customer Service, Best Cafe, Best World Cuisine, Best Sustainable Practices, Innovator of the Year and Local Food Hero. 

Regional events in Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster have already taken place as part of this year’s Irish Restaurant Awards, with county winners now proceeding to the All-Ireland Awards Gala Dinner at the Clayton Hotel on Burlington Road, Dublin 4 on May 20th, along with those on the Dublin shortlist.  

Regional and All-Ireland winners will be announced on May 20th. 

In total, this year’s Irish Restaurant Awards – the 15th year of the Awards – received over 160,000 public nominations for restaurants, cafés and other food services establishments across the country – the highest number yet.  

Nominations were made by the public in January through The Irish Times website, the Irish Restaurant Awards’ media partner. 

Commenting on the publication of this year’s Dublin shortlist for the Irish Restaurant Awards, President of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Paul Lenehan, said: 

“Unfortunately, there is not a day goes by without hearing about a new restaurant closure in our fantastic industry. The severe difficulties Ireland’s food-led hospitality businesses face have never been greater in number or magnitude.  

“However, in many ways, this context of closures and challenges is what makes the Irish Restaurant Awards such a valuable opportunity to celebrate the staff, food produce and all-round hospitality that makes restaurants in Dublin and Ireland so great. 

“I would like to congratulate all of those who have been included in this year’s Dublin region shortlist for the Irish Restaurant Awards. Competition has never been higher and so it is a significant achievement in and of itself. Best of luck to the nominees in next month’s All Ireland awards.” 

Please find below the Dublin shortlist: 

Local Food Hero – Sponsored by Flogas 

• Claire Mac Evilly, Airfield Estate 
• Gerry Godley, Breadman Walking 
• Ian Ussher, Cluck Chicken 
• Jenny McNally, McNally Family Farm 
• Lorraine O’Connor, Muslim Sisters of Eire 
• Olly Nolan, Olly’s Farm  
• Thibault Peigne, Russell Street Bakery 
• William Despard, The Bretzel Bakery & Cafe  
• Aisling Rogerson, The Fumbally 
• Kevin and Rachel Byrne, Zingibeer 

Innovator of the Year – Sponsored by Diageo 

• Amuri 
• Board 
• Gourmet Food Parlour Swords 
• Happy Out × Together Academy 
• Matsukawa 
• Okky
• Sea Shanty 
• The Little Pig Speakeasy 
• The Purty Kitchen 
• UKIYO Restaurant and Late Bar 

Best Sustainable Practices – Sponsored by Familia Torres 

• As One 
• Bread 41  
• BuJo Sandymount 
• Groundstate Coffee  
• Overends Kitchen 
• Sandymount Hotel 
• Tang Dawson Street 
• The Seafood Café by Niall Sabongi 
• Woodruff 
• Wren Urban Nest 

Best World Cuisine – Sponsored by San Pellegrino 

• 3 Leaves Blackrock 
• ANANDA 
• BIGFAN 
• Daata Blackrock 
• Diwali Restaurant Camden Street 
• El Grito Mexican Taqueria 
• Korean Table 
• Pickle Restaurant 
• Rasam Restaurant 
• Shaku Maku 

Best Café – Sponsored by Illy 

• 3fe Five Points 
• Dolce Sicily 
• Fairmental Lab & Deli 
• Happy Out x Together Academy 
• Nelly’s Cafe & Wine Bar  
• Pickles 
• The Fumbally 
• The Morning 
• Tiller + Grain 
• Warehouse Food Market & Café 

Best Customer Service – Sponsored by Restaurant-Insurance.ie Provided by Dolmen 

• Guinea Pig Restaurant 
• Kicky’s  
• La Maison  
• Locks 
• One Pico 
• Rosa Madre 
• Suesey Street 
• The Seafood Café by Niall Sabongi 
• Uno Mas 
• Yew Tree 

Best Wine Experience – Sponsored by Bibendum 

• 64 Wine 
• A Fianco 
• Bar Pez 
• Ely Wine Bar  
• Frank’s 
• Green Man Wines 
• Montys of Kathmandu 
• Note Dublin 
• Row 
• TAPA 

Best Newcomer – Sponsored by Square 

• Allta 
• Bar Pez 
• Cellar 22 
• Hawksmoor Dublin 
• Kicky’s  
• La Gordita 
• Lottie’s  
• TAPA 
• The Dunmore 
• The Seafood Bar 

Best Contemporary Irish Cuisine – Sponsored by FBD Insurance 

• Bastible  
• Craft Restaurant 
• Delahunt 
• Forest Avenue Restaurant 
• Locks 
• Mamó Restaurant 
• Margadh Café & Wine Bar  
• Michael’s  
• Orwell Road Restaurant 
• Potager 

Best Gastropub – Sponsored by Molson Coors 

• Davy Byrnes 
• Gleesons of Booterstown 
• L. Mulligan Grocer 
• Matt The Thresher 
• F.X. Buckley at Ryan’s of Parkgate Street 
• Stoop Your Head 
• The Chophouse Sandymount 
• The Legal Eagle 
• The Old Spot 
• The Purty Kitchen 

Best Casual Dining – Sponsored by Musgrave Marketplace 

• Amuri 
• Amy Austin 
• Assassination Custard 
• Big Mike’s  
• Fallon & Byrne Wine Cellar 
• Fish Shop, Benburb Street 
• Grano 
• Lottie’s  
• Osteria Lucio 
• The Seafood Café by Niall Sabongi 

Pub of the Year 

• Anseo 
• The Big Romance 
• Fidelity Bar 
• Grogans 
• John Kavanagh, The Gravediggers 
• M O’Briens 
• Neary’s  
• Peter’s Pub 
• Toners 
• Underdog 

Employee Excellence Award – Sponsored by Peninsula 

• Don Tessele, Big Mike’s  
• Charlotte Arroyo, Dax Restaurant 
• Michael Looney, Gallagher’s Boxty House 
• Nitesh Pandey, Jaipur Dalkey 
• Gerlania Melgaço, Las Tapas De Lola 
• Lisa Freeley, Roly’s Bistro and Cafe 
• Raksuda Barngyim, Saba 
• Carlos Aljiv, The Old Spot 
• Jackie Gough, Trocadero Restaurant Dublin 

Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant – Sponsored by Frylite 

• Forbes Street by Gareth Mullins at Anantara The Marker Dublin 
• Layla’s Rooftop Bar & Restaurant at the Devlin Hotel  
• Morelands Grill at the College Green Hotel  
• Oliveto at Haddington House  
• Seasons Restaurant at the Intercontinental Dublin 
• The Garden Room at the Merrion Hotel 
• The Eddison at the Dylan Hotel  
• The Saddle Room at the Shelbourne 
• Wilde at the Westbury 
• Zampas Bar & Restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel Dublin 

Best Restaurant Manager – Sponsored by Elavon 

• Edilaine Nunes, Alfama Restaurant 
• Keith Hallissey, Big Mike’s  
• Prateek Vikram, China Sichuan Restaurant 
• Jamie McCarthy, Crudo Restaurant 
• Katie Seward, Frank’s  
• Talha Pasha, Kinara Kitchen 
• Cian Waters, La Maison 
• Nisheeth Tak, Rasam Restaurant 
• Elaine Murphy, The Winding Stair 
• Aaron Higgs, Variety Jones  

Best Chef – Sponsored by BWG Food Service 

• Niall Davidson, Allta  
• Mickael Viljanen, Chapter One Restaurant 
• Rahat Waseem, Daata Blackrock 
• Eric Matthews, Kicky’s  
• María Luisa Moraleda, La Gordita  
• Kevin Burke, Library Street 
• Daniel Hannigan, Orwell Road Restaurant 
• Sunil Ghai, Pickle Restaurant 
• Keelan Higgs, Variety Jones 
• Barry Sun, Volpe Nera  

Best Restaurant – Sponsored by San Miguel 

• Chapter One Restaurant 
• China Sichuan Restaurant 
• Dax Restaurant 
• D’Olier Street 
• Glovers Alley by Andy McFadden 
• Liath Restaurant 
• Library Street Restaurant 
• Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud 
• Uno Mas 
• Variety Jones 

All sponsors of the Irish Restaurant Awards 2024  

• Avonmore 
• BDO 
• Bibendum 
• BWG Food Service 
• Cashel Blue 
• Customer Perceptions 
• Diageo 
• Elavon 
• Familia Torres 
• FBD Insurance 
• Flogas 
• Frylite 
• Generation Apprenticeships 
• IMRO 
• Illy 
• Ireland’s Blue Book 
• Irish Times 
• Istil38 
• Mad March Hare Poitin 
• Molson Coors 
• Monin 
• Munch’d by Zoma 
• Musgrave Marketplace 
• Peninsula 
• Restaurant & Hospitality Skillnet 
• Restaurant-Insurance.ie Provided by Dolmen 
• San Miguel 
• San Pellegrino 
• Square 

For more information on the Irish Restaurant Awards 2024 visit: https://irishrestaurantawards.com/faqs/  

For media queries contact adam@rai.ie or (01) 677 9901.