Full Results of the Irish Restaurant Awards Connaught Finals

The Connaught Regional Final of the Santa Rita/ LIFE Magazine Irish Restaurant Awards took place in The House Hotel, Galway, last night and named the top restaurants in the West for 2013.

Over 250 restaurant owners and staff celebrated their hard work and achievements at the Awards, which saw many well-known restaurateurs of Connaught turn out to see if they had won one of the prestigious awards.

Speaking at the awards last night, Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland Adrian Cummins said; “In their fifth year now, the Irish Restaurant Awards continue to go from strength to strength. Each year, the awards cast a spotlight on the brightest and best players on the Irish restaurant scene. The Irish Restaurant Awards are the awards everyone wants to win. This year the nominations went online for the first time and we got a spectacular response from the public- nominations doubled and we received 10,000 votes for Ireland’s favourite restaurants, chefs, gastro pubs, hotel restaurants and customer service experience."

“We celebrate the award winning cuisines and the great restaurateurs and chefs who are constantly bringing international recognition and accolades to the Irish restaurant scene. Restaurateurs are entrepreneurs, and that is reflected in the fact that the restaurant sector is the biggest employer within the hospitality industry. We provide employment to 64,000 people and the industry has annual sales in excess of €2 billion; tonight, everyone is a winner.”

Michelin- Star restaurant Aniar took home the prize for best restaurant in Co. Galway, adding to its already-full mantelpiece of accolades.

Food outlets were nominated under the categories of Best Customer Service, Best Gastro Pub, Best Casual Dining, Best Hotel Restaurant, Best Chef, Best Restaurant, Best Wine Experience, Best Kids Size Me, sponsored by Heinz, Engaging With The Gathering, sponsored by Tourism Ireland and Best Just Ask! Menu, sponsored by Bord Bia.

All County winners now compete for the Regional and All Ireland Title which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin on Wednesday 10th June, 2013.

There are 3 components to phase two of the process and each element is independently assessed by KPMG. They are:

1. Mystery Guest Visit (55%) This component of the awards is conducted by Prism Consulting headed by Hugo Arnold, independent food writer and consultant. All County Winners receive a mystery guest visit throughout the month of April and 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 May to Judge the County Winners.
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.

Voting in the Industry categories commenced on April 4th. Voting in these categories is exclusive to Restaurants Association of Ireland members only, with members competing for: Best Club Restaurant, Best Seafood Experience, Best World Cuisine, Best Newcomer, Best Café, Most Innovative Restaurant, Best Restaurant Design, Best Cocktail Experience, Best Restaurant Manager, Best Cookery School, Best Supplier & Best Digital Marketing.

The winners of the Industry Categories will be announced at the All-Ireland event on 10th June, 2013. Tickets are priced at €130 for the All-Ireland Event and can be bought directly from Sinead at the Restaurants Association of Ireland on (01) 677 9901 or sinead@rai.ie.

And the Connaught Regional Awards went to:

Best Customer Service

Sligo- Source Sligo
Roscommon- The Abbey Hotel
Leitrim- The Courthouse Restaurant
Mayo- Market Kitchen
Galway- Renvyle House Hotel

Best Gastro Pub – Sponsored by Faustino
Sligo- Hargadons
Roscommon- The Purple Onion
Leitrim- The Oarsman
Mayo- Bar One
Galway- Eat @ Massimo

Best Casual Dining – Sponsored by Joseph Drouhin
Sligo- Source Sligo
Roscommon- Bruno’s Restaurant
Leitrim- The Riverbank Restaurant
Mayo- Café Rua
Galway- Il Vicolo

Best Hotel Restaurant – Sponsored by Pallas Foods
Sligo- Coopershill Country House Hotel
Roscommon- Douglas Hyde @ Kilronan Castle
Leitrim- Sandstone Restaurant @ Lough Rynn Castle
Mayo- Kitchen Restaurant @ Mount Falcon Hotel
Galway- Upstairs @ West Restaurant, The Twelve Hotel

Best Chef – Sponsored by Tipperary Water
Sligo- Seamus Thompson, Eala Bhán
Roscommon- Aidan Murray, The Yew Tree
Leitrim- Shamzuri Hanifa, The Cottage
Mayo- Philippe Farineau, Mount Falcon
Galway- Enda McEvoy

Best Restaurant – Sponsored by Santa Rita
Sligo- Eala Bhán
Roscommon- The Yew Tree
Leitrim- The Cottage Restaurant
Mayo- An Port Mór
Galway- Aniar

Best Wine Experience - Sponsored by Thomas Barton
The Twelve Hotel, Galway
Best Kids Size Me - Sponsored by Heinz
Sol Rio, Mayo

Engaging with The Gathering Award – Sponsored by Tourism Ireland

Wilde’s @ Lisloughrey Lodge, Mayo

Just Ask! Award – Sponsored by Bord Bia
Oscar’s Seafood Bistro, Galway



For More information see http://www.irishrestaurantawards.com and follow the #FoodOscars hashtag on Twitter.

Zack