REVEALED: Top restaurants in Offaly announced at Irish Restaurant Awards

The Offaly winners have been announced at the Leinster Regional Final of Irish Restaurant Awards. The event took place in the Killashee House Hotel tonight where the top restaurants in each county for 2019 were announced.

All of the Offaly winners now compete for the Regional and All Ireland Titles, which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards. These will be held in the Clayton Hotel, Dublin on Monday, May 13.

Best Restaurant - The Blue Apron

Best Chef - Robert Kelly of William St. Bar & Eatery

Best Newcomer - William St. Bar & Eatery

Best Restaurant Manager – Arif Soysal of Captain House Restaurant

Best Hotel and Guesthouse Restaurant – Slí Dala Restaurant at Kinnitty Castle

Best Customer Service – Captain House Restaurant

Best Gastro Pub - Hennessy’s

Best Cafe - Woodfield Café and Garden Centre

Pub of the Year - Hamilton’s Pub

Best Wine Experience - Townsend House Tapas & Wine Bar

Best World Cuisine - Sanjay's Kitchen

Best “Free From” -  Woodfield Café and Garden Centre

Best Kids Size Me - Sirocco's Italian Restaurant

Best Local Food Hero - Sharon Greene of Wild Irish Foragers & Preservers

Best Emerging Irish Cuisine - Spinners

Best Casual Dining - Lana Restaurant, Asian Street Food

Over 600 restaurant owners and staff celebrated their hard work and achievements at the Awards, which saw many well-known restaurateurs of Leinster turn out to see if they had won one of the prestigious awards.

Speaking at the awards early this evening Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins, said; “Now in their 11th year, the Irish Restaurant Awards continue to showcase the incredible food that is on offer in the cafes, pubs and restaurants of Ireland, as well as recognising the teams behind these establishments and the hard work and dedication that they put in. With well over 90,000 nominations received from the public this year, the standard for the judging process was higher than ever.

"Ireland may be a small country but it boasts everything from fine dining to high quality gastropubs, from the comfort of traditional Irish food to exploring the world though exotic world cuisine, the Irish restaurant industry has much to offer. We have an appreciation for what we eat and where our food comes from, as well as the dedication of those working in the food industry”.

Food outlets were nominated under the categories of Best Customer Service, Best Gastro Pub, Best Casual Dining, Best Hotel Restaurant, Best Chef, Best Restaurant, Best Wine Experience, Best Restaurant Manager, Best Kids Size Me Menu, Local Food Hero, Best Emerging Irish Cuisine and Best Newcomer.