Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is the restaurant to put on your shortlist, and Ahmet Dede is the chef to follow. More than 1,000 chefs, restaurateurs and hospitality staff gathered in Dublin on Monday 18 May as the 17th Irish Restaurant Awards named its national winners. The awards received over 150,000 public nominations through The Irish Times website, and the ceremony at the Clayton Hotel on Burlington Road raised funds for The Jack and Jill Children's Foundation. If you plan to visit any of the winners, reserve early: these tables will fill fast.

Here is the short answer for you: Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is the restaurant to put on your shortlist, and Ahmet Dede is the chef to follow. I’ll tell you straight, those two names alone will direct many weekend plans. The All-Ireland final in Dublin on Monday 18 May did what the regional rounds promised, by turning county winners into national champions and handing out a spread of category prizes that show where Irish dining is strong right now.

The headline winners and what they mean for diners

The ceremony at the Clayton Hotel on Burlington Road named Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud as All-Ireland Best Restaurant. That same night Ahmet Dede of Dede at The Customs House Baltimore was presented with the All-Ireland Best Chef award. Carmel Boyle of Ballyfin Demesne won All-Ireland Best Restaurant Manager. Theresa Donlon of Hester’s Golden Eagle Bar and Restaurant took the All-Ireland Employee Excellence prize. Paul and Máire Flynn of The Tannery Restaurant, Townhouse and Cookery School received the Outstanding Achievement Award. Rare at Blue Haven Hotel won All-Ireland Best Hotel and Guesthouse Restaurant, while The Dough Bros of Galway were named All-Ireland Best Use of Social Media.

Those titles are more than stickers. Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud also took Dublin’s top restaurant award, which clarifies that its recognition was local and national. Bramley Abbeyleix was named Leinster’s restaurant winner, and Homestead Cottage carried Munster’s restaurant category. For you, that means the winners are spread around the island, not concentrated in the capital, so a memorable meal could be a day trip as well as a night out in Dublin.

Regional roll-call: how county winners fed the national list

The Irish Restaurant Awards ran its 17th edition in 2026, with regional finals staged across the four provinces in the weeks before the national ceremony. Connaught held its regional final on 31 March at Knockranny House Hotel, an event that drew more than 600 guests. Ulster ran its regional final on 24 March at the Armagh City Hotel. County winners from those regional rounds progressed to the All-Ireland final in Dublin.

Connaught county winners included Lignum for Galway, The Cottage Restaurant for Leitrim, The Old Stone House Restaurant for Roscommon, Eala Bhán for Sligo, and An Port Mór for Mayo. Connaught’s category awards also recognised individual chefs. Angelo Vagiotis at The Pullman Restaurant in Glenlo Abbey was named Connaught Best Chef for Galway, and Dave Mullan of Fish & Bean received Connaught Best Chef for Sligo.

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The Dough Bros of Galway won Connaught Best Use of Social Media before going on to claim the national social media prize.

Ulster’s county-level winners named at its regional final included The Muddlers Club Restaurant for Antrim, MacNean House & Restaurant for Cavan, Artis by Phelim O’Hagan for Derry, and Noble for Down. Ulster Best Chef winners included Stevie Toman of Ox Restaurant for Antrim and Colin Bradley of The Restaurant at Harvey’s Point for Donegal. But ulster Best Use of Social Media winners included Nova in Antrim and Charlie’s Bar in Fermanagh. These county-level honours aren't window dressing. They created the field that produced the national winners in Dublin.

Category breadth and the charity element

The awards covered a broad set of categories beyond the marquee chef and restaurant prizes. National categories recognised Best Casual Dining, Best World Cuisine, Best Gastro Pub, Best Contemporary Irish Cuisine, Best Hotel and Guesthouse Restaurant, Best Use of Social Media, Employee Excellence, and Best Restaurant Manager. Regional lists, published in advance of the All-Ireland final, supplied the county-level winners who then competed for regional and national titles. That structure rewarded excellence at small and large scales, from a village pub to a city fine dining room.

The Dublin ceremony also had a charity purpose. It raised funds for The Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation during the event, tying the industry celebration to a community cause.

Attendance and public engagement underlined the awards’ reach. The 17th Irish Restaurant Awards received over 150,000 public nominations submitted through The Irish Times website. More than 1,000 chefs, restaurateurs and hospitality staff attended the All-Ireland final in Dublin. Those numbers make the awards a major public vote as well as a trade night.

For readers planning visits, here is the practical rule: book early. Heavily awarded venues such as Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, Dede at The Customs House Baltimore, Ballyfin Demesne, and The Tannery Restaurant will see increased demand. The Dough Bros’ social media win is also a prompt. Their channels will be driving bookings and attention, and that kind of profile fills seats fast.

Full lists of county, regional and All-Ireland winners were published alongside coverage of the ceremony. Consult the Irish Restaurant Awards coverage on RTÉ and The Irish Times websites for the complete, county-by-county lists and category details. Those published lists remain the authoritative reference for planning a visit or a dining itinerary.

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The awards drew more than 150,000 public nominations submitted through The Irish Times website.

This article was created with AI assistance.