Athlone restaurants have great success at Leinster final of Irish Restaurant Awards

A number of Athlone eateries were successful at the Leinster Final of the Santa Rita/ Life magazine Irish Restaurant Awards on Tuesday evening last, April 30. Thyme Restaurant, Custume Place, Athlone was named the Best Restaurant in Westmeath while four awards for Glasson restaurants showed Glasson to be the centre of fine dining in Westmeath.

The award for Best Restaurant in Westmeath was accepted by proprietors of Thyme Restaurant, John and Tara Coffey at the award ceremony in the Marker Hotel. John is also the chef in Thyme Restaurant and a member of Euro-toques (the European Community of Chefs & Cooks) and is committed to sourcing and supporting local small food producers wherever possible.

Two Athlone restaurants won overall awards for Leinster. The Olive Grove won the Best Kids Size Me award in Leinster while The Sheraton Hotel won the Engaging with The Gathering Award in Leinster.

Glasson eateries The Wineport Lodge, The Fatted Calf and Killinure Restaurant at Glasson Hotel and Golf Club all showed Glasson to be a hotspot for eating out. The Fatted Calf won two awards; Best Gastro Pub in Westmeath and Best Chef in Westmeath for Fergal O’Donnell of The Fatted Calf. The Wineport Lodge won the title of Best Customer Service in Westmeath and Killinure Restaurant at Glasson Hotel and Golf Club won Best Hotel Restaurant.

The only Westmeath winner that was not in the Athlone vicinity was An Tintáin Restaurant in Multyfarnham which was named as best restaurant in Westmeath for Casual Dining.

There are three components to the next stage of the winning process, with each element independently assessed by KPMG:   Mystery Guest Visit (55%), National Awards Academy (35%), Menu Judging (10%). All county winners now compete for the regional and all Ireland titles at the main event, taking place in The Burlington Hotel in Dublin on Monday, June 10.