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Top Restaurants In Munster Announced

Written By on April 4, 2012 in News

The Munster Regional Final for the Restaurant Awards 2012 sponsored by Santa Rita / Sunday Independent Life Magazine took place in The Imperial Hotel, last night. If you’re looking for the full list of winners in restaurants across Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford, skip to the jump.

Speaking at the awards last night, Adrian Cummins of the Restaurants Association of Ireland said

Since their inception, the Irish Restaurant Awards have cast a spotlight on Ireland’s hottest restaurants and chefs. They have become a byword for quality, class and achievement… The awards everyone wants to win. As a testament to their success, the entries have doubled since last year, with 5,000 nominations made for Ireland’s favourite Restaurants, Chefs, Gastro Pubs, Hotel Restaurants and Local Food Heroes throughout the Country.

We celebrate the award winning cuisines and the great restaurateurs and chefs who have brought international recognition and accolades to the Irish restaurant scene. We are the economic engine rooms in every town in Ireland, creating and maintaining much needed local employment. Our industry has annual sales in excess of €2 billion and we employ 64,000 people. In fact, we are the largest employer within the Irish Tourism Sector. And tonight, everyone is a winner’.

It was great to see over 240 restaurateurs attend the awards in the Ulster region this year., we look forward to seeing all of the Ulster County Winners in Dublin on the 14thMay 2012 where Regional and All Ireland winners will be announced’.

All County winners will 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 14th May 2012.

There are 3 components to phase two of the process. Each element is independently assessed by KPMG.

  • Mystery Guest Visit (35%) This component of the awards is conducted by Prism Consulting headed by Hugo Arnold, independent food writer and consultant. (http://www.hugoarnold.com). All County Winners receive a mystery guest visit throughout the month of April.
  • National Awards Academy (55%) The National Awards Academy is made up representatives from each of the regional judging panels and will meet in May to Judge the County Winners.

Read on for the full list of Munster restaurant award winners. Continue Reading →

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Kilkenny, Campagne Features At Restaurant Awards

Written By on May 26, 2011 in Events & Festivals, News

Irish Restaurant Awards

Campagne - Best Restaurant in Leinster

LAST NIGHT in Dublin saw The Irish Restaurant Awards take place at a packed Burlington Hotel with the creme of Irish restaurants, bars and chefs in the running for awards like Best Chef, Best Restaurant, Best Gastropub and more. The winners were circulated a few hours before the actual awards ceremony took place (kinda takes the element of surprise out of things on the night for those in attendance who were checking their email).

While they didn’t feature this year in the overall awards, congratulations on a local level must go to Campagne being named Best Restaurant in Leinster. Head chef Garrett Byrne was also in the running for Best Chef overall, an award that went to Grenan’s Castle’s Mickael Viljanen.

Will someone please remind me to make a reservation for dinner there!

The Big Winners

  • Best Restaurant 2011 – Chapter One
  • Best Chef 2011 – Mickael Viljanen (Gregan’s Castle)
  • Best Customer Service 2011 – Gregan’s Castle
  • Best Casual Dining 2011 – La Cucinia
  • Best Hotel Restaurant 2011 – Gregan’s Castle
  • Best Wine Experience 2011 – Jacques at Greenacres
  • Best Gastro Pub 2011 – Harry’s Bar
  • Local Food Hero 2011 – Jack McCarthy’s , McCarthy’s of Kanturk

There were over 6,000 nominations made from all over the country, feeding local, regional and overall awards.

Additional Winners

  • Best Seafood Experience 2011 – O’ Grady’s on the Pier, Barna, Co. Galway
  • Best Ethnic Restaurant 2011 – Rasam, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
  • Best Newcomer 2011 – The Fatted Calf, Glasson, Co. Westmeath
  • Best Cocktail Experience 2011 – Saba, Dublin
  • Best Restaurant Design 2011 – Ely Bar and Brasserie, Dublin
  • Best Coffee Experience 2011- Fallon and Byrne, Exchequer St, Dublin
  • Best Practice in Environmental 2011 – Radisson Hotel, Dublin Airport
  • Best Restaurant Website 2011 – Seapoint, Monkstown, Dublin
  • Best Club Restaurant 2011 – Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, Dublin
  • Best Supplier 2011 – Keeling’s
  • Best Cookery School 2011 – The Tannery, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford
  • Best Innovation 2011 – O’ Brien Chop House, Lismore, Co. Waterford
  • Best Food Producer 2011 – Silverhill Foods
  • Most Informative Menu 2011 – Bodega, Co. Waterford

For the full rundown on the awards proper, check out IrishRestaurantAwards.com or follow the Irish Restaurant Awards on Facebook.

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Campagne Cleans Up At Restaurant Awards for Kilkenny

Written By on April 13, 2011 in News

Garrett Byrne

Garrett Byrne - Best Chef (Campagne, Kilkenny)

If there’s one thing I love doing it’s eating out in restaurants. Absolutely mad for it. On a local level, contrary to trying to save a few quid in the week, I still reckon I’m eating out twice a week. Of all the places to eat in Kilkenny, I reckon Campagne is the one place I’ve not tried and after seeing the results of the Leinster awards for the Irish Restaurant Awards 2011, which took place on Monday night, I may get my skates on and sort that one out quickly.

Of the six awards up for grabs for Kilkenny, three went to Campagane and my congratulations to Garrett Byrne, Brid Hannon and co. at the restaurant.

The winners look like this

  • Best Chef: Garrett Byrne (Campagne)
  • Best Casual Dining: The 2 Dames
  • Best Restaurant: Campange
  • Best Customer Service: Campagne
  • Best Gastro Pub: The Hibernian Bar
  • Best Hotel Restaurant: Kilkenny River Court Hotel

If you’re on the hunt for winners locally, you’ll find Campagne at 5 The Arches, Gashouse Lane (top of John Street, turn left and then right, parking available at John’s Green). The Two Dames coffee boutique can be found on John Street, they do fantastic bagels, soups and it’s a great place if you’ve got sweet tooth. You can find them on Facebook here. The Hibernian Bar is part of the Hibernian Hotel, found on the corner of Patrick Street and Ormonde Street. Limited parking (metered) is available on Patrick Street while there’s a multistorey on Ormonde Street. Kilkenny Rivercourt Hotel is located right at John’s Bridge in the heart of Kilkenny. If you’ve got a sunny day in Kilkenny, it’s a great place to head for an outdoor lunch or a pint.

For the food bloggers among you, you’ll also get free wifi in the Hibernian or Rivercourt as well, often a bonus when going to lunch. Congratulations to all the local winners and good look in the regional and national awards!

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