THREE local businesses claimed a top prize at the hugely popular and much-anticipated All-Ireland Final of the Irish Restaurant Awards last night (Monday).
Taking place in the Clayton Hotel in Burlington Road in Dublin, over 1,200 leading lights from the hospitality industry on the island of Ireland attended the special awards ceremony.
The Lough Erne Resort’s ‘Catalina Restaurant’ was one of the big winners on the night, after it was named the Ulster winner in the ‘Best Hotel and Guesthouse Restaurant’ category.
At the end of last year, a new head chef was appointed at the Lough Erne Resort, with the hugely talented Stephen Holland taking over from the vastly experienced Noel McMeel.
The ‘Catalina Restaurant’ recently received the ‘Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence for 2023-2024’, with the accolade awarded to the Fermanagh hotel by some of the top food critics in Ireland.
Enniskillen-based restaurant ’28 at the Hollow’ was also one of the big winners on the night, claiming the Ulster award for ‘Best Contemporary Irish Cuisine’ at the Dublin ceremony.
As previously reported by the Herald, ’28 at the Hollow’ was recognised in the ‘Food and Wine Magazine Ireland’, to the delight of hugely talented Lisnaskea chef, Glen Wheeler.
“[We were] incredibly proud to be included in ‘Food and Wine Magazine’ Top 101 Restaurants in Ireland. What an achievement for our small but mighty team,” posted the chef after the news.
The ‘MacNean House and Restaurant’, owned by award-winning chef Neven Maguire and his wife Amelda, also picked up an award when it was named Ulster’s ‘Best Restaurant’ winner.
It’s a back-to-back win for the ‘MacNean House and Restaurant’ which claimed the same category victory at the Irish Restaurant Awards in 2023.
“Neven (Maguire), Amelda (Maguire) all the staff were delighted to receive the award for ‘Best Restaurant in Ulster’,” said a spokesperson for the MacNean House and Restaurant.
“Thank you to our wonderful customers and to our staff who make the customer experience a memorable one.”
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