Three Laois winners feature at Irish Restaurant Awards

Laois restaurants featured strongly at the All-Ireland finals of the Irish Restaurant Awards on Monday night. 

Ballyfin Demesne, Roundwood House and Morrisseys were among the recipients of Awards.

Ballyfin Demesne was the Leinster winner in the Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant section. Sam Moody of Ballyfin Demesne also was the Leinster winner in the Best Chef category. 

Roundwood House was the Leinster winner in the Best Customer Service section, while Morrissey's in Abbeyleix was the Leinster winner in the Pub of the Year section. 

The Awards took place in the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road, where over 1,000 restaurateurs and staff attended the sold out, black tie event which celebrated the achievements and perseverance within the industry over the last 12 months.

Now in its tenth year, the Awards have continued the trend of growing in both attendee numbers and industry esteem. Over 90,000 online nominations were received for Irish restaurants and hospitality businesses this year. Awards were received from 21 categories that included all areas of the sector and keeping with recent movements, the awards introduced their newest category this year, Best ‘Free From’, which received an impressive response from nominees and the general public.

Etto Restaurant took home the coveted All-Ireland Best Restaurant Award 2018! Based in Dublin, Etto are previous winners in the Irish Restaurant Awards Best Casual Dining and Best Wine Experience awards. They offer a daily changing, seasonal menu, served in a relaxed and informal environment and describe their dishes as honest and simple, using ingredients from local producers and suppliers where possible. 

The full list of winners are: 

Best Gastro Pub winners are as follows:
Dublin - The Legal Eagle
Connaught - Cronin's Sheebeen
Leinster - Lennons Gastro Pub
Munster - Moorings
Ulster - The Brewer's House

All-Ireland - The Legal Eagle

Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant winners are as follows:
Dublin - The Marker Hotel
Connaught - Wilde's at The Lodge
Leinster - Ballyfin Demesne
Munster - Park Hotel Kenmare
Ulster - Newforge House

All-Ireland - Park Hotel Kenmare

Best Newcomer winners are as follows:
Dublin - Michael's Mount Merrion
Connaught - Hooked
Leinster - Barrows Keep
Munster - Dooks Fine Foods Fethard
Ulster - Clenaghans

All-Ireland - Clenaghans

Best Cafe winners are as follows:
Dublin - Honey Truffle
Connaught - Pudding Row
Leinster - Strandfield Café
Munster - Maison Gourmet
Ulster - The Jolly Sandwich Bar

All-Ireland - Pudding Row

Best Wine Experience winners are as follows:
Dublin - Piglet Wine Bar
Connaught - Aniar Restaurant and Boutique Cookery School 
Leinster - La Touche Wines 4 U
Munster - The Black Pig
Ulster - Ox Cave

All-Ireland - Piglet Wine Bar

Best World Cuisine winners are as follows:
Dublin - Nightmarket
Connaught - MoMA Restaurant
Leinster - Pink Salt Indian Restaurant 
Munster - Palmento
Ulster - Tuk Tuk Asian Bistro

All-Ireland - Nightmarket

Best Kids Size Me winners are as follows:
Dublin - Michael's Mount Merrion
Connaught - Gather Restaurant 
Leinster - Platform Pizza Bar
Munster - GROW HQ Café and Food Education Centre 
Ulster - Amici 

All-Ireland - Michaels Mount Merrion

Best Local Food Hero winners are as follows:
Dublin - Jenny & Patrick McNally of McNally Family Farm
All-Ireland - Mark Murphy & Mark Doe of The Apprentice Chef Programme

Best Casual Dining winners are as follows:
Dublin - Hey Donna
Connaught - Gather Restaurant 
Leinster - Truffles Restaurant & Wine Bar
Munster - PILGRIM'S
Ulster - Shu Restaurant Belfast

All-Ireland - PILGRIM'S

Best Emerging Irish Cuisine winners are as follows:
Dublin - Craft Restaurant 
Connaught - Tartare Café + Wine Bar
Leinster - Kernel Bar & Kitchen
Munster - SAGE Restaurant
Ulster - 28 Darling St

All-Ireland - Craft Restaurant

Best Restaurant Manager winners are as follows:
Dublin - Talha Pasha of Michael's Mount Merrion
Connaught - Lee Hanifa of The Cottage Restaurant
Leinster - Joanne Harding of the Aldridge Lodge
Munster - Sally O'Brien of Farmgate Restaurant and Country Store 
Ulster - Saul McConnell  of NOBLE. Holywood

All-Ireland - Sally O'Brien of Farmgate Restaurant and Country Store 

Best ‘Free From’ winners are as follows:
Dublin - I Monelli
Connaught - Sweet Beat Café 
Leinster - Zucchini's Restaurant
Munster - Nutrilicious Food Co
Ulster - The Dirty Duck

All-Ireland - Sweet Beat Café 

Best Customer Service winners are as follows:
Dublin - Etto
Connaught - House of Plates
Leinster - Roundwood House
Munster - The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge
Ulster - Harvey's Point

All-Ireland - Harvey's Point

Pub of the Year winners are as follows:
Dublin - Walshs Stoneybatter
Connaught - Flynns Bar
Leinster - Morrisseys
Munster - Murphy's Bar Brandon
Ulster - Tomneys Bar

All-Ireland - Walshs Stoneybatter

Best Chef winners are as follows:
Dublin - Barry Sun Jian of Etto
Connaught - Jess Murphy of Kai Restaurant
Leinster - Sam Moody at Ballyfin Demesne
Munster - Aidan McGrath of Wild Honey Inn
Ulster - Chris McGowan of Wine & Brine

All-Ireland - Jess Murphy of Kai Restaurant

Best Restaurant winners are as follows:
Dublin - Etto
Connaught - Cian's on Bridge Street
Leinster - TwoCooks Restaurant & Wine Bar
Munster - Mews Restaurant 
Ulster - The Muddlers Club

All-Ireland - Etto

National winners are as follows:
Best Private Dining & Club Restaurant - Locks Windsor Terrace
Best Cocktail Experience - The Sidecar at The Westbury 
Best Cookery School - MacNean House & Restaurant
Best Seafood Experience - Klaw Seafood Restaurant
Best Digital Marketing - Kai Restaurant