Top Mayo venues announced at Irish Restaurant Awards
CONG and Westport were the major Mayo winners at the the Connaught regional final of the Irish Restaurant Awards in the Benbulben Suite of the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Sligo, last night.
Four venues in the small south Mayo town picked up awards in the various categories, with three Westport venues earning recognition along with one each in Ballina, Ballinrobe and Castlebar.
Two of the restaurants – The Idle Wall in Westport and Café Rua, Castlebar – won on the double, the former being named best newcomer and winning the best chef award for Aine Maguire, while the latter was named best café and best kids size me outlet.
The overall best restaurant in Mayo title went to Sage, Westport, while the best hotel restaurant was won by The Library Restaurant at Belleek Castle, Ballina.
The other Mayo winners were: The Pantry and Corkscrew (Westport) - best casual dining; Pat Cohan's Bar (Cong) - best gastro pub; Ashford Castle (Cong) - best wine experience; The Hungry Monk Café (Cong) - best customer service; Yangs Chinese Restaurant (Ballinrobe) - best world cuisine; and The Lodge at Ashford Castle (Cong) - best emerging Irish cuisine.
At last night's ceremony over 500 restaurant owners and staff celebrated their hard work and achievements, with many well-known restaurateurs of Connaught in attendance to see if they had won one of the prestigious awards.
Speaking at the awards, chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins, said: “The Irish restaurant scene is internationally recognised for its high calibre of restaurateurs and chefs.
“These awards celebrate the people that make the restaurant sector the dynamic and exciting industry it is. They are the people who provide 72,000 jobs to our economy and generate revenue in excess of €2 billion. We’re recognising the talent, hard work and commitment that everyone here gives to the food industry. Everyone is a winner.”
All county winners now compete for the regional and all-Ireland title, which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards in the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, Dublin, on May 16.