Michelin-starred restaurants led the honours at the Irish Restaurant Awards on Monday night as Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud was named best restaurant in Ireland, and chef Ahmet Dede of Dede at The Customs House Baltimore received the award for best chef.
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud was established in 1981, and became the first Irish restaurant to hold two Michelin stars in 1996. Located in The Merrion Hotel at 21 Upper Merrion Street, it has retained its two-star status since it was first awarded three decades ago.
Chef Ahmed Dede won the Irish Restaurant Awards’ best restaurant category for the last two years, and this year was honoured as best chef. Dede opened in Baltimore in 2020 during the pandemic, and within a year gained a Michelin star. It added a second star in 2023.
Paul and Máire Flynn of The Tannery Restaurant, Townhouse and Cookery School were presented with an outstanding achievement award. In February, the Flynns announced they will be closing the popular Dungarvan restaurant at the end of 2026 after nearly 30 years in business.
The awards ceremony welcomed 1,000 of the country’s top industry professionals at Dublin’s Clayton Hotel on Burlington Road where funds were raised throughout the evening in support of The Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation.
Dublin-based Comet, an eatery where the food was described by Irish Times’ restaurant critic Corinna Hardgrave as “the work of a skilled mature chef”, took home the award for best newcomer.
Pub of the year went to The Cobblestone, a celebrated traditional music venue in Dublin which was the subject of a Save the Cobblestone campaign in 2021 following a proposal to develop a nine-storey hotel around the Smithfield pub.
The award for best casual restaurant went to Farmgate in Lismore, while the best gastropub award went to Coyne’s Gastropub & Pantry, located in the Connemara Gaeltacht in Galway.
This year’s awards received 150,000 public nominations for restaurants, cafes and hospitality venues across Ireland, which were submitted by the public through The Irish Times website, media partner of the awards.
In advance of the All-Ireland final, regional awards ceremonies took place across the four provinces, with winners recognised across a wide range of categories. Those winners then progressed to the national final.
Speaking at the awards ceremony in Dublin’s Burlington Hotel on Monday night, Seán Collender, president of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, said that the awards were “a celebration of the people who make Ireland’s hospitality industry one of the most vibrant and exciting sectors in the country”.
“Gordon Ramsay recently described Ireland as the sleeping giant of European cuisine,” Collender said. “Well, that giant is awakening and tonight is proof of that. Across every county we are seeing incredible creativity, quality and ambition in our restaurants and hospitality businesses”.
Irish Restaurant Awards 2026: The winnersBest Restaurant
- Leinster: Bramley Abbeyleix
- Connacht: The Cottage Restaurant
- Munster: Homestead Cottage
- Ulster: Noble
- Dublin: Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud
- All Ireland: Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud
Best Chef
Ahmet Dede’s was winner of the best chef award. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni
- Connacht: Dave Mullan, Fish & Bean
- Ulster: Stevie Toman, Ox Restaurant
- Dublin: Mickael Viljanen, Chapter One
- Leinster: John Coffey, Thyme Restaurant
- Munster: Ahmet Dede, Dede at The Customs House Baltimore
- All Ireland: Ahmet Dede, Dede at The Customs House Baltimore
Best Restaurant Manager
- Ulster: Paul Vaughan, James St
- Munster: Elaine Hourigan, 1826 Adare
- Connacht: Lorraine McHugh, The Selkie
- Dublin: Darren Campbell, La Gordita
- Leinster: Carmel Boyle, Ballyfin Demesne
- All Ireland: Carmel Boyle, Ballyfin Demesne
Outstanding Achievement Award
- All Ireland: Paul and Máire Flynn, The Tannery Restaurant, Townhouse and Cookery School
Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant
- Dublin: Forbes Street by Gareth Mullins at Anantara The Marker
- Leinster: Lady Helen Restaurant at Mount Juliet Estate
- Connacht: The Lodge at Ashford Castle
- Ulster: Snaffles Restaurant at Castle Leslie Estate
- Munster: Rare at Blue Haven Hotel
- All Ireland: Rare at Blue Haven Hotel
Best Use of Social Media
- Leinster: Arán Artisan Bakery & Bistro
- Ulster: Charlie’s Bar, Enniskillen
- Munster: The Lifeboat Inn
- Dublin: Rosa Madre
- Connacht: The Dough Bros – Galway
- All Ireland: The Dough Bros – Galway
Employee Excellence Award
- Dublin: Ashling Griffin, King Sitric Seafood Bar & Accommodation
- Munster: Ciara O’Shea, Caseys Bar & Restaurant
- Ulster: Lina Krolenko, Sonder
- Leinster: Sophie Hogan, Hogan’s Farm Shop & Cafe
- Connacht: Theresa Donlon, Hester’s Golden Eagle Bar and Restaurant
- All Ireland: Theresa Donlon, Hester’s Golden Eagle Bar and Restaurant
Best Casual Dining
- Ulster: Fisk Seafood Bar
- Leinster: Inside Out Dublin: Vada
- Munster: Farmgate
- All Ireland: Farmgate
Best Gastropub
- Dublin: FX Buckley @ Ryan’s of Parkgate Street
- Ulster: The Dirty Duck Alehouse
- Munster: Merrys Gastro Pub
- Leinster: Left Bank
- Connacht: Coyne’s Gastropub & Pantry
- All Ireland: Coyne’s Gastropub & Pantry
Best Cafe
- Leinster: Grálinn Sunny Row
- Dublin: Two Pups
- Connacht: Baker 51
- Munster: Grumpy Bakers – Cork City
- Ulster: General Merchants
- All Ireland: General Merchants
Best Contemporary Irish Cuisine
- Dublin: Volpe NERA
- Connacht: Blackthorn at The Twelve Hotel
- Ulster: No. 9 Market Square
- Leinster: Bearú
- Munster: Solas Tapas & Wine
- All Ireland: Solas Tapas & Wine
Best Newcomer
Kevin O’Donnell and Laura Chabal of Comet. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
- Ulster: Capparelli at The Mill
- Leinster: Ernie’s @ Shackleton Experience
- Munster: 505
- Connacht: Fawn Food & Wine
- Dublin: Comet
- All Ireland: Comet
Pub of the Year
- Leinster: The Dylan Whisky Bar
- Ulster: Linnet Inn
- Connacht: McDonnells Bar
- Munster: J. & K. Walsh Victorian Spirit Grocer
- Dublin: The Cobblestone
- All Ireland: The Cobblestone
Best Wine Experience
- Ulster: El Tapas Grá
- Leinster: Delgany Wine Cottage
- Munster: MacCurtain Wine Cellar
- Connacht: Daróg Wine Bar
- Dublin: 64 Wine
- All Ireland: 64 Wine
Best Customer Service
- Connacht: Harrisons Bar & Restaurant
- Munster: The Glass Curtain
- Leinster: Reeds Restaurant at Ferrycarrig Hotel
- Dublin: La Maison
- Ulster: Frae
- All Ireland: Frae
Best world Cuisine
- Leinster: Sanjay’s Kitchen
- Connacht: Kombu – Ramen & Bao Bar
- Ulster: Braai Restaurant Donegal
- Dublin: Bigfan
- Munster: Miyazaki
- All Ireland: Miyazaki
Best Sustainable Practices
- Dublin: Fairmental
- Ulster: Killeavy Castle Estate
- Munster: Woodlands House Hotel & Spa
- Leinster: Solas Eco Garden Centre
- Connacht: Kai
- All Ireland: Kai
Innovator of the Year
- Munster: Slow and Steady
- Leinster: The Centre of Food Culture Ireland
- Connacht: Builín Blasta Cafe & Bakery
- Ulster: Waterman House
- Dublin: Mr Fox Whiskey
- All Ireland: Mr Fox Whiskey
Local Food Hero
- Leinster: Kian Louët-Feisser, Carlingford Oyster Company
- Connacht: Cillian Ó Móráin and Naomi Clarkin, Mescan Brewery
- Dublin: Peter Caviston, Cavistons Restaurant and Food Emporium
- Ulster: Jordan Weir, The Dairy – Bistro, Butchers & Farm Shop
- Munster: Eunice Power, Waterford Festival of Food
- All Ireland: Eunice Power, Waterford Festival of Food
Best Cocktail Experience
- All Ireland: Roge Austin, Vintage Cocktail Club
Food Truck of the Year
- All Ireland: Misunderstood Heron
Best Cookery School
- All Ireland: Picado Mexican Pantry
Best Learning and Development
- All Ireland: Tifco Hotel Group