The Connaught regional leg of the Irish Restaurant Awards was held earlier tonight in the Knockranny House Hotel, Mayo, marking the second of four regional nights following last week’s Leinster awards ceremony in Kilkenny.
Over 600 chefs, food lovers, business owners and more made for Mayo with the county represented alongside Galway, Leitrim, Sligo and Roscommon, to find out who would pick up this year’s awards for best restaurant, chef, pub and more. The winners of each of the regional awards go forward to the All-Ireland awards night taking place in Dublin in May where overall provincial winners and national winners will be announced.
This year seems to have been another bumper year for the awards process with over 160,000 nominations from the public submitted through the Irish Times website earlier this year, the largest number of nominations yet according to organisers and well up on last year’s entries.
If you missed the Leinster winners, you can check the overall list here. As for Connaught, here’s the rundown of all the category winners. Some categories, like best cocktail experience and best food truck, will only have national winners announced in May with no county-specific winners.
Local Food Hero – Sponsored by Flo Gas
- Galway: Kenneth Keavey, Green Earth Organics
- Leitrim: Patrick J Rigney, The Shed Distillery
- Roscommon: Mike Waldron, Waldron Family Meats
- Sligo: Lindy O’Hara, Coopershill Venison
- Mayo: Eddie O’Malley, Jack & Eddie’s
Innovator of the Year – Sponsored by Diageo
- Galway: Builín Blasta Cafe & Bakery
- Leitrim: Leitrim Hill Creamery
- Roscommon: Éabha’s Street Kitchen
- Sligo: Stoked
- Mayo: Ryan’s Food Emporium
Best Sustainable Practices – Sponsored by Familia Torres
- Galway: Kai Restaurant
- Leitrim: Riverbank Restaurant
- Roscommon: Bastion K2tchen Castlerea
- Sligo: Honestly Farm Kitchen Strandhill
- Mayo: Foxford Cafe
Best World Cuisine – Sponsored by San Pellegrino
- Galway: Neo
- Leitrim: The Cottage Restaurant
- Roscommon: My Kitchen by Sham Hanifa
- Sligo: Funké – Afro Caribbean Restaurant
- Mayo: Jalan Jalan
Best Café – Sponsored by Illy
- Galway: Wylde
- Leitrim: Tegi’s Tearoom Carrick On Shannon
- Roscommon: Rogue & Co Cafe
- Sligo: Vintage Lane Cafe
- Mayo: Postbox Coffee
Best Customer Service – Sponsored by Restaurant-Insurance.ie Provided by Dolmen
- Galway: Rusheenduff Restaurant at Renvyle House Hotel & Resort
- Leitrim: Dartry Cafe
- Roscommon: Bastion K2tchen Castlerea
- Sligo: Lyons Café and Bakeshop
- Mayo: La Fougère Restaurant Westport at Knockranny
Best Wine Experience – Sponsored by Bibendum
- Galway: Daróg Wine Bar
- Leitrim: The Sandstone Restaurant at Lough Rynn Castle
- Roscommon: The Old Stone House Restaurant Roscommon
- Sligo: Hargadon Bros
- Mayo: The Gallery Cafe, Wine & Tapas Bar
Best Newcomer – Sponsored by Square
- Galway: The Willow Tree Restaurant Clifden
- Leitrim: Morning Glory Cafe
- Roscommon: The Coachman’s Inn
- Sligo: Otto Pizza
- Mayo: The Moy Hotel
Best Contemporary Irish Cuisine – Sponsored by FBD Insurance
- Galway: Owenmore Restaurant at Ballynahinch Castle Hotel
- Leitrim: The Red Bank Restaurant
- Roscommon: Keenan’s Hotel Bar & Restaurant
- Sligo: Fish & Bean
- Mayo: Cronin’s Sheebeen
Best Gastropub – Sponsored by Molson Coors
- Galway: The Huntsman Inn
- Leitrim: The Oarsman
- Roscommon: Hester’s Golden Eagle Bar and Restaurant
- Sligo: Harrisons Bar & Restaurant
- Mayo: Nevin’s Newfield Inn
Best Casual Dining – Sponsored by Musgrave Marketplace
- Galway: POTA
- Leitrim: The Selkie
- Roscommon: Athlone Golf Club Restaurant
- Sligo: Davis’ Restaurant & Yeats Tavern
- Mayo: The Cot and Cobble
Pub of the Year
- Galway: Freeney’s Bar
- Leitrim: Flynn’s Bar
- Roscommon: J Beirne’s
- Sligo: Foleys Bar
- Mayo: Warde’s
Employee Excellence Award – Sponsored by Peninsula
- Galway: Catalina Gabriela Caltun, 56 Central Restaurant Cafe
- Leitrim: Saoirse Supple, Honestly Farm Kitchen
- Roscommon: Lauren Walsh, Regan’s Gastro Pub and Restaurant
- Sligo: Deirdre Quinn, Waterfront House & Restaurant
- Mayo: Niamh Walsh, The Creel Castlebar
Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant – Sponsored by Frylite
- Galway: Pullman Restaurant at Glenlo Abbey Hotel & Estate
- Leitrim: The Sandstone Restaurant at Lough Rynn Castle
- Roscommon: The Douglas Hyde Restaurant at Kilronan Castle
- Sligo: The Coral Restaurant at Diamond Coast Hotel
- Mayo: George V at Ashford Castle
Best Restaurant Manager – Sponsored by Elavon
- Galway: Zsolt Lukács, Daróg Wine Bar
- Leitrim: Gabriel Camburu, Buffalo Boy
- Roscommon: Michele Montis, The Waterfront Restaurant
- Sligo: Angela Davis, Davis’ Restaurant & Yeats Tavern
- Mayo: Fatima Santos, Flannerys Bar & Restaurant
Best Chef – Sponsored by BWG Food Service
- Galway: Danny Africano, Lignum
- Leitrim: Piero Melis, The Courthouse Restaurant
- Roscommon: Martin Duffy, Athlone Springs Hotel
- Sligo: Stéphane Magaud, Montmartre
- Mayo: Kevin Stirzaker, Dining Room
Best Restaurant – Sponsored by San Miguel
- Galway: Blackrock Cottage
- Leitrim: The Red Bank Restaurant
- Roscommon: The Purple Onion Kitchen
- Sligo: Eala Bhán
- Mayo: Poacher Restaurant
Where to next?
Next up, it’s the turn of Munster (Cork, Clare, Kerry, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford) with the Great Southern Hotel in Killarney set to welcome the masses this coming Wednesday 27 March. That’s followed by the Ulster regional awards on Wednesday 10 April at the Armagh City Hotel (Armagh) before the All-Ireland awards are announced on Monday 20 May at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin.
Check irishrestaurantawards.com for more details.
