BEST HOTEL RESTAURANT

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

Tuesday, 17th May 2016, Dublin.

The Restaurants Association of Ireland is pleased to announce that Aroma Café was named as Aryzta Food Solutions Best Café in Ulster for 2016 and Harvey’s Restaurant at Harvey’s Point was awarded Elavons Best Hotel Restaurant in Ulster at the All-Ireland Irish Restaurant Awards. The event which took place last night in the The DoubleTree by Hilton, Dublin named the top restaurants in Ireland for 2016.

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. 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 eighth 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 Astoria Wines

All -Ireland –Luna, Dublin
Dublin – Luna, Dublin
Connaught – Loam, Galway
Leinster – The Pigeon House, Wicklow
Munster – 1826 Adare, Limerick
Ulster – Browns Restaurant & Champagne Lounge, Derry
Best Chef – Sponsored by La Rousse Foods

All-Ireland – Enda McEvoy of Loam, Galway
Dublin – John Wyer of Forest Avenue, Dublin
Connaught – Enda McEvoy of Loam, Galway
Leinster – Rob Krawczyk of Brabazon at Tankardstown House, Meath
Munster – David Hurley of The Dining Room at Gregans Castle Hotel, Clare
Ulster – David Gillmore of James Street South, Antrim
Best Restaurant Manager – Sponsored by Tindal Wine Merchants

All-Ireland – Alain Kerloc’h of OX, Antrim
Dublin – Declan Maxwell of Luna
Best Hotel Restaurant – Sponsored by Elavon

All-Ireland – The Dining Room at Gregans Castle Hotel, Clare
Dublin – The Brasserie at The Marker, Dublin
Connaught – The Library Restaurant at Belleek Castle, Mayo
Leinster – The Lady Helen at Mount Juliet, Kilkenny
Munster – The Dining Room at Gregans Castle Hotel, Clare
Ulster – Harvey’s Restaurant at Harvey’s Point, Donegal
Best Casual Dining – Sponsored by San Pellegrino

All-Ireland – ETTO, Dublin
Dublin – ETTO, Dublin
Connaught – The Pantry and Corkscrew, Mayo
Leinster – Foodworks, Kilkenny
Munster – Elbow Lane Brew & Smokehouse, Cork
Ulster – The Ginger Bistro, Antrim
Best Gastro Pub – Sponsored by Bunzl McLaughlin

All-Ireland – The Oarsman, Leitrim
Dublin – Mulligan Grocer, Dublin
Connaught – The Oarsman, Leitrim
Leinster – Left Bank, Kilkenny
Munster – Merry’s Gastro Pub, Waterford
Ulster – Sweet Afton Bar & Kitchen, Antrim
Best Café – Sponsored by Aryzta Food Solutions

All-Ireland – Rua, Mayo
Dublin – The Pepper Pot, Dublin
Connaught – Rua, Mayo
Leinster – Blackberry Café, Kilkenny
Munster – The Granary Café, Waterford
Ulster – Aroma Café, Donegal
 

Best World Cuisine – Sponsored by Keelings Farm Fresh

All-Ireland – Chakra by Jaipur, Wicklow
Dublin – Boqueria, Dublin
Connaught -Miso Sushi, Sligo
Leinster – Chakra by Jaipur, Wicklow
Munster – Iyer’s, Cork
Ulster – DinaDina, Antrim
 

Best Emerging Irish Cuisine – Sponsored by Odaios Foods

All-Ireland – Locks 1 Windsor Terrace, Dublin
Dublin – Locks 1 Windsor Terrace, Dublin
 

Best Customer Service- Sponsored by TheTaste.ie

All-Ireland – Kai Café & Restaurant, Galway
Dublin – Luna, Dublin
Connaught – Kai Café & Restaurant, Galway
Leinster – Chakra by Jaipur, Wicklow
Munster – Inch House Country House & Restaurant, Tipperary
Ulster – The Great Room Restaurant at The Merchant Hotel, Antrim
Best Wine Experience – Sponsored by Classic Drinks and Champagne Pannier

All-Ireland – George V Dining Room at Ashford Castle, Mayo
Dublin – ETTO, Dublin
Connaught – George V Dining Room at Ashford Castle, Mayo
Leinster – Ristorante Rinuccini, Kilkenny
Munster – La Bohème Restaurant & Winebar, Waterford
Ulster – OX Cave, Antrim
Local Food Hero – Sponsored by Rewarding Times

All-Ireland – JP McMahon of Aniar, Galway
Dublin – Pádraic Óg Gallagher of Gallagher’s Boxty House, Dublin
Best Kids Size Me – Sponsored by Heinz & Kids Size Me

All-Ireland – Momo Restaurant, Waterford
Dublin – Jamie’s Italian, Dublin
 

Best Newcomer – Sponsored by BWG Foodservice

All-Ireland – The Bay Tree Bistro, Waterford
Dublin – Craft, Dublin
Connaught – The Idle Wall, Mayo
Leinster – The Lighthouse Seafood Restaurant, Wicklow
Munster – The Bay Tree Bistro, Waterford
Ulster – The Muddler’s Club, Antrim
 

Best Cocktail Experience – Sponsored by Ketel One & Diageo Reserve

All-Ireland – The Exchequer, Dublin
Best Seafood Experience – Sponsored by Pallas Foods                                                     

All-Ireland – O’Grady’s on the Pier, Galway
Best Cookery School – Sponsored by Avonmore

All-Ireland – Tannery Cookery School, Waterford
Best Digital Marketing – Sponsored by Open Table

All-Ireland – Coqbull, Cork
 

Best Private Dining & Club Restaurant – Sponsored by Peroni

All-Ireland – Restaurant FortyOne at Residence, 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.iemailto:info@rai.ie

Website: www.irishrestaurantawards.com

Twitter: @restawards

Facebook: www.facebook.com/IrishRestaurantAwards

Instagram: @irishrestawards

 

Notes for the Editor:

ABOUT THE AWARDS

The 2016 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 2016 Awards process ran from January until May 2016. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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