Munster Regional Irish Restaurant Awards 2024 winners revealed

The creme de la creme of Munster’s restaurants and gastropubs were announced at the recent Irish Restaurant Awards Munster Regional Final 2024 in the Great Southern Hotel in Kerry.

County winners in Munster were revealed at the event attended by nearly 700 people at a celebration of food and hospitality in Munster.

In total, this year’s Irish Restaurant Awards – the 15th year of the Awards – received over 160,000 public nominations for restaurants, cafés and other food services establishments across the country – the highest number yet.

Once all regional events have been completed and county winners announced, regional and all Ireland winners – including in categories such as Best Restaurant and Best Chef – will be revealed at the All Ireland Awards Gala Dinner at the Clayton Hotel on Burlington Road, Dublin 4 in May.

Ticket and event information will be released later in April.

Speaking at the event, President of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Paul Lenehan, said: “In these challenging times for our industry, it’s more important than ever to celebrate the resilience and innovation of Munster’s food and hospitality sector.

“The Munster Regional Irish Restaurant Awards provide an excellent platform to recognise the hard work and dedication of all of the talented restaurant, café, and food-led hospitality staff in the province.”

This year’s county winners from Cork include:

Local Food Hero - Jack McCarthy, McCarthy’s of Kanturk

Innovator of the Year - Rare 1784

Best Sustainable Practices – Ballymaloe Hotel and Restaurant

Best World Cuisine - Ichigo Ichie

Best Café – Greenwich

Best Customer Service – Da Mirco Osteria Italian Restaurant

Best Wine Experience – Arthur Mayne’s Pharmacy

Best Newcomer – Church Lane

Best Contemporary Irish Cuisine – The Garnish Restaurant at Eccles Hotel & Spa Glengarriff

Best Gastropub – Hamlets Bar + Kitchen Kinsale

Best Casual Dining – Elbow Lane Brew and Smokehouse

Pub of the Year – Levis Corner House

Employee Excellence Award – Gerard Roche, The Cove Restaurant at Fota Island Resort

Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant – Terre Restaurant

Best Restaurant Manager – Helen Noonan, Bastion

Best Chef – Aishling Moore, Goldie

Best Restaurant - Dede at the Custom House Baltimore.