CHAPTER ONE, Dublin wins best restaurant AT THE IRISH RESTAURANT AWARDS 2017

OVER fifty RESTAURANTS, HOTEL RESTAURANTS & CHEFS HONOURED AT PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS

Tuesday, 9^th May 2017, Dublin.

The Restaurants Association of Ireland is pleased to announce that the All-Ireland Irish Restaurant Awards took place in the The Clayton Hotel Burlington Road, Dublin last night and named the top restaurants in Ireland for 2017. Over 900 restaurateurs and staff attended the sold out, black tie event which celebrated the hard work and achievements within the industry over the last 12 months.

Chapter One restaurant in Dublin was named as the 2017 All-Ireland Best Restaurant while Danni Barry of Deanes EPIC, Antrim took home the 2017 All-Ireland Best Chef title. Guests were treated to a lavish six course gala dinner prepared by a team of five chefs. The Awards Chef Team is hand-picked by the Restaurants Association each year and is made up of winning chefs from the previous year’s awards with each Chef representing a region of Ireland.

Speaking at the awards, Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland Adrian Cummins commented, “This is the ninth and most successful year of the Irish Restaurant Awards to date. These Awards are the accolades of the Irish restaurant industry – everybody wants to win one. From over 70,000 online nominations cast earlier this year to 2,500 guests attending our regional events, it is clear that the stature, calibre and reputation of the awards is expanding at a considerable rate and it is all in aid of recognising the talent within our sector. All winners and finalists here tonight are very deserving of their awards.”

The full list of regional and All-Ireland winners is as follows;

Best Restaurant – Sponsored by Dalcassian Wines & Spirits and Cielo Wines

• All -Ireland – Chapter One, Dublin
• Dublin – Chapter One, Dublin
• Connaught – Kai Café & Restaurant, Galway
• Leinster – Sha-Roe Bistro, Carlow
• Munster – Wild Honey Inn, Clare
• Ulster – MacNean House & Restaurant, Cavan

Best Chef – Sponsored by Pallas Foods

• All -Ireland – Danni Barry of Deanes EIPIC, Antrim
• Dublin – Ciaran Sweeney of Forest & Marcy, Dublin
• Connaught – Shamzuri Hanifa of The Cottage Restaurant, Leitrim
• Leinster – Gary O’Hanlon of VM Restaurant at Viewmount House, Longford
• Munster – Keith Boyle of The Bay Tree Bistro, Waterford
• Ulster – Danni Barry of Deanes EIPIC, Antrim

Best Restaurant Manager – Tindal Wine Merchants

• All -Ireland – Alain Kerloc’h of OX, Antrim
• Dublin – John Healy of Suesey Street, Dublin

Pub of the Year – Sponsored by Bushmills

• All -Ireland – Morrissey’s, Laois
• Dublin – The Long Hall, Dublin
• Connaught – John Morans Bar, Mayo
• Leinster – Morrissey’s, Laois
• Munster – Davy Macs, Waterford
• Ulster – The Coach House & Olde Bar, Monaghan

Best Hotel Restaurant – Sponsored by Elavon

• All -Ireland – The Dining Room at Gregans Castle Hotel, Clare
• Dublin – The Saddle Room at The Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin
• Connaught – Wildes at the Lodge, Mayo
• Leinster – Ballyfin Demesne, Laois
• Munster – The Dining Room at Gregans Castle Hotel, Clare
• Ulster – St Kyrans Country House Restaurant, Cavan

Best Newcomer – Sponsored by BWG Food Service

• All -Ireland – Forest & Marcy, Dublin
• Dublin – Forest & Marcy, Dublin
• Connaught – Cian’s On Bridge Street, Mayo
• Leinster – Three Old Bar & Restaurant, Louth
• Munster – Holy Smoke, Cork
• Ulster – Bull & Ram, Down

Best Gastro Pub – Sponsored by Coca-Cola HBC

• All -Ireland – Walled City Brewery, Derry
• Dublin – The Exchequer, Dublin
• Connaught – Keenans of Tarmonbarry Gastro Bar, Roscommon
• Leinster – Mary Barry’s Bar, Wexford
• Munster – Morrissey’s Bar and Restaurant, Clare
• Ulster – Walled City Brewery, Derry

Best Customer Service – Sponsored by Peroni Nastro Azzuro

• All -Ireland – The Maigue Restaurant at Dunraven Arms Hotel, Limerick
• Dublin – Chapter One, Dublin
• Connaught – Library Restaurant at Belleek Castle, Mayo
• Leinster – LENNONS @ VISUAL, Carlow
• Munster – The Maigue Restaurant at Dunraven Arms Hotel, Limerick
• Ulster – MacNean House & Restaurant, Cavan

Best Casual Dining – Sponsored by S. Pellegrino

• All -Ireland – The Muddlers Club, Antrim
• Dublin – Etto, Dublin
• Connaught – Bar One, Mayo
• Leinster – Wild and Native, Wexford
• Munster – Momo Restaurant, Waterford
• Ulster – The Muddlers Club, Antrim

Best Kids Size Me – Sponsored by Heinz Ireland

• All -Ireland – Café Rua, Mayo
• Dublin – Farmhill, Dublin

Best Wine Experience – Sponsored by CLASSICdrinks

• All -Ireland – OX Cave, Antrim
• Dublin – Ely Wine Bar, Dublin
• Connaught – Sheridans Cheesemongers – Wine Bar, Galway
• Leinster – Greenacres, Wexford
• Munster – L’Atitude51 Wine Café, Cork
• Ulster – OX Cave, Antrim

Best World Cuisine – Sponsored by Dubliner Cheese

• All -Ireland – Wa Café, Galway
• Dublin – 777, Dublin

Best Café – Sponsored by Illy Caffe

• All -Ireland – Lost & Found, Derry
• Dublin – Meet Me in the Morning, Dublin

Local Food Hero – Sponsored by Rewarding Times

• All -Ireland – Michael Kelly of GROW HQ, Waterford
• Dublin – Brid & Colm Carter of Honest2Goodness, Dublin

Best Emerging Irish Cuisine – Sponsored by Odaois

• All -Ireland – Forest & Marcy, Dublin
• Dublin – Forest & Marcy, Dublin

Best Digital Marketing – Sponsored by Open Table

• All -Ireland – Two Boys Brew, Dublin

Best Cookery School – Sponsored by Avonmore

• All -Ireland – Riot Rye Bakehouse & Bread School, Tipperary

Best Private Dining & Club Restaurant – Sponsored by Laurent Perrier

• All -Ireland – Pullman Restaurant at Glenlo Abbey Hotel, Galway

Best Seafood Experience – Sponsored by Restaurants Association of Ireland

• All -Ireland – Fish Shop Queen St, Dublin

Best Cocktail Experience– Sponsored by Ketel One Vodka

• All -Ireland – Candlelight Bar at Siam Thai Dundrum, Dublin

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:

ABOUT THE AWARDS

The 2017 Irish Restaurant Awards are brought to you by The Restaurants Association of Ireland. The awards are the largest and most coveted awards in the Irish Restaurant Industry.

The Awards recognise achievement and excellence in the Restaurant and Hospitality Industry throughout the 32 counties on the Island of Ireland. The Awards are made up of 19 different categories and celebrate all aspects of the Industry from Chefs, Restaurants, Restaurant Managers, Cafes and Gastro Pubs to Food Producers and Cookery Schools.

The nomination and awards selection process is independently audited by BDO to ensure that best practices & standards have been adhered to throughout the process.

The 2017 Awards process ran from January until May 2017. It is a detailed and thorough process whereby nominated Restaurants face rigorous scrutiny from the Consumer, Regional Judges, a Mystery Guest Visitor and finally, the National Awards Academy. The Irish Restaurant Awards are the only kind restaurant awards in the country that carry out mystery guest inspections.

There are two phases of voting. Phase one comprises of the public nomination, which went online on www.irishtimes.com/irishrestaurantawards , bringing in over 70,000 online nominations in the weeks of the public nominating.

There are three components to phase two of the process. Each element is independently assessed by BDO.

1. Mystery Guest Visit (55%) This component of the awards is conducted by Customer Perceptions Ltd, specialists in mystery shopping, consumer insights and customer satisfaction surveys. All County Winners and Dublin shortlists will receive a mystery guest visit throughout the month of March, April or May.
2. National Awards Academy (35%) Our National Awards Academy is made up representatives from each of the regional judging panels and will meet in early May to judge the County Winners. The Academy members include food writers, journalists, bloggers, culinary academics and hospitality magazine editors.
3. Menu Judging (10%) All County winners and the Dublin Shortlist in each category are asked to submit a copy of their food menu and wine list for judging.