River Room a County winner in Irish Restaurant Awards

Nominations for the awards, which were announced on Tuesday at Belfast’s Merchant Hotel, were made by readers of the Sunday Independent Life Magazine and members of the Restaurants Association of Ireland.

The River Room Restaurant was revealed as the County Antrim winner in the Hotel Restaurant Category and now goes forward with the other County winners to Dublin on May 14 when the Regional and All Ireland winners will be announced.

Speaking at the awards on Tuesday night, Adrian Cummins of the Restaurants Association of Ireland said: “Since their inception, the Irish Restaurant Awards have cast a spotlight on Ireland’s hottest restaurants and chefs. They have become a byword for quality, class and achievement...The awards everyone wants to win.

“As a testament to their success, the entries have doubled since last year, with 5,000 nominations made for Ireland’s favourite Restaurants, Chefs, Gastro Pubs, Hotel Restaurants and Local Food Heroes throughout the Country.

“We celebrate the award winning cuisines and the great restaurateurs and chefs who have brought international recognition and accolades to the Irish restaurant scene. We are the economic engine rooms in every town in Ireland, creating and maintaining much needed local employment.

“Our industry has annual sales in excess of €2 billion and we employ 64,000 people. In fact, we are the largest employer within the Irish Tourism Sector. And tonight, everyone is a winner”.

Nominations for the awards were made by readers of the Sunday Independent Life Magazine and members of the Restaurants Association of Ireland.

All nominees are then assessed by Regional Judging panels, made up of Industry experts across the region. Votes from the Consumer, Members of the Restaurants Association of Ireland and the Regional Judges are independently assessed by KPMG who give the County Winner in each category.