We are delighted to launch the Irish Restaurant Awards 2016

Heading into our eighth year, we are pleased to continue our media partnership with The Irish Times. These awards are the largest and most coveted accolades in the Irish Restaurant Industry. They recognise achievement and excellence throughout the Island of Ireland and celebrate all aspects of the industry from Chefs and Restaurant Managers, to Restaurants, Gastro Pubs and Local Food Heroes.

Main Awards & Nominations

Online nominations open from 5pm on Friday, January 8th until 12 noon on Monday, January 25th via www.irishtimes.com/irishrestaurantawards (this link will not be live until the opening of nominations). There are 14 Main Awards in which the public can nominate. Both members and non-members of the RAI are eligible to be nominated. Descriptions of the below categories can be found here

Best Restaurant

Best Chef

Best Newcomer

Best Hotel Restaurant

Best Casual Dining

Best Gastro Pub

Best Wine Experience

Best Customer Service

Best Restaurant Manager

Best World Cuisine

Best Café

Best Emerging Irish Cuisine

Local Food Hero

Kids Size Me

Judging Process  – County Winner Selection

Online Nominations – 25%

Firstly, a Chef / Restaurant / Cafe / Gastro Pub / Restaurant Manager must be nominated online by a member of the public or a member of The Restaurants Association of Ireland. Nominations are then verified by our auditors, BDO.

Regional Judging – 75%

Throughout February our Regional judging panels, made up of industry experts across 5 regions (Connaught, Leinster, Munster, Ulster & Dublin) meet to assess and evaluate the nominees.

Judging Process – Regional and All-Ireland Selection

All county winners and Dublin shortlists go forward to compete for the Regional and All-Ireland titles.  There are 3 elements to this stage in the process:

Mystery Guest Inspection – 55%

All County Winners are visited by independent Mystery Guests carefully selected by Customer Perceptions Ltd., to give an unbiased and independent review of their experience. The Irish Restaurant Awards are the only awards in the Industry where each restaurant receives a visit from an Independent Mystery Guest who assesses the dining experience in terms of food quality, menu, customer service, premises and overall experience.

National Awards Academy – 35%

Our National Awards Academy is made up of judges from each of the five regions and they meet in May to assess and evaluate each of the finalists. The Academy members include food writers, journalists, academics and hospitality magazine editors.

Menu Judging – 10%

Each of the county winners must submit their food menus for judging by Bord Bia.  Menu judging is based on the information provided for customers regarding the restaurants’ support of artisan suppliers and the origins of their meat.

Regional Awards Events & All Ireland Awards Gala

County winners will be announced at our regional events throughout the month of March.  Event details will be sent to all nominees via post following the close of nominations.

Regional and All Ireland Winners are then revealed at the All Ireland Awards Gala Dinner on Monday, May 16th 2016 in the DoubleTree by Hilton Dublin (formerly The Burlington).

For any queries relating to the awards, please contact our office on 00 353 (1) 677 9901 or email awards@rai.ie