A number of local businesses in the hospitality sector were celebrating on Tuesday night as pubs and restaurants were honoured at the Irish Restaurant Awards which took place in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sligo.
The Old Stone House in Ballinlough claimed the Roscommon award for Best Restaurant and the Best Chef gong. The Best Gastro Pub award went to Hester’s Golden Eagle in Castlerea while Best Customer Service was awarded to Regan’s Restaurant, Roscommon.
The event, also known as the ‘Food Oscars’, saw Keenan’s of Tarmonbarry claiming the Best Hotel and Guesthouse Award as well as the Best Restaurant Manager award for Audit Navrish, Rogue & Co, Roscommon town winning the Best Casual Dining Award, and Pub of the Year going to Coffey’s of Lecarrow for the second year running.
The Best Newcomer Award went to My Kitchen by Sham Hanifa in Carrick-on-Shannon, who also took home the Best World Cuisine award.
Among the other awards: Athleague’s Les Petites Tartres was named as Best Café; Kilronan Castle claimed ‘Best Wine Experience; Fusion Roscommon won Best Emerging Irish Cuisine; Bastion K2tchen was awarded the ‘Best Free From’ award and ‘Innovator of the Year’; Benny’s Deli in Castlerea won ‘Best Sustainable Practices’, and the Local Food Hero award went to the Allen Family at Castlemine Farm.
The Roscommon winners now go forward to compete in the regional and All-Ireland finals, the winners of which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards All-Ireland Final on Monday, May 15th in the Clayton Hotel, Dublin.
