Top contenders for Ireland’s best restaurant unveiled by Deliveroo

Jan 15, 2024

The glitz and glamour of awards and gala season is almost here, and today, Deliveroo announces the return of its very own Restaurant Awards, which celebrate the best and most loved restaurants across Ireland and the UK.

The highly-anticipated awards recognise Deliveroo’s most popular local partners, from independent burger joints to neighbourhood sushi restaurants and all the dishes and flavours in between. This year sees thirty two restaurants across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland shortlisted for accolades, including cuisine awards, such as Best Chinese to Best Pizza and the coveted Independent Restaurant of the Year award.

From today until 21st January at 23.59, local food lovers can cast their votes to back their best-loved restaurants. Those that participate are automatically entered into a draw to win €500 in-app credit.

See below the shortlisted restaurants across Ireland in with a chance of award victory.

Ireland – Regional Cuisine Awards

Best Chinese

Charlie’s Three Oriental Food Bar, Dublin
Xian Street Food, Dublin
Orchid, Dublin

Best Pizza

Sano, Dublin
PI, Dublin
Oak Fire, Dublin

Best Sushi

Kamakura, Belfast
Musashi, Dublin
Aoki Sushi, Dublin

Best Mexican

Tolteca, Dublin
Salsa, Dublin
Burritos and Blues, Cork

Best Burger & American

Dash Ireland, Dublin
Rocket’s, Dublin
4Friends Burgers, Dublin

Best Thai

Full Moon Thai, Dublin
Red Torch Ginger, Dublin
Koto, Cork

Best Chicken

Mad Egg, Dublin
Camden Rotisserie, Dublin
Wing It, Belfast

Best Lebanese

The Shawarma Company, Dublin
Reyna, Dublin
Zaytoon, Dublin

Breakfast & Coffee

Meltdown, Dublin
Doughboys, Dublin
Maggie Mays, Belfast

Best Salads

Slim’s Healthy Kitchen, Belfast
Nutbutter, Dublin
Sprout & Co, Dublin

Independent Restaurant of the Year

25 restaurants across the UK and Ireland are up for this year’s Independent Restaurant of the Year Award, with 5 of those in the running from Ireland.

Mad Egg, Dublin

Ireland's first free-range fried chicken joint. Mad Egg only uses free-range birds hatched locally on a family-run farm. They tea brine chicken for 48 hours to make it super tender and juicy. They then double dredge the Birds in spiked buttermilk and coat in their-house seasoned mix for that signature crunch.

Xian Street Food, Dublin

It first opened in Galway in 2016 and now has five branches there, with two of those in Dublin. A modern Chinese cuisine restaurant originating from the Xi'an province of China, their traditional hand-pulled noodles are made fresh every day, with a bold and authentic flavour.

PI, Dublin

The restaurant is led by Laois native Reggie White and his business partner John Savage. Located on South Great Georges Street in Dublin City centre, PI uses only the very finest 00 flour from Naples, Italy.

Umi Falafel, Dublin

Umi was established in 2013, and beloved with the vegetarian and vegan community in Ireland for their deliciously wholesome falafel. Their restaurants are located at Dame Street, Mary Street, The George’s Street Arcade, Rathmines and Haddington Road in Dublin.

Yeeros, Dublin

Yeeros do their best to serve the perfect Greek food experience in Dublin, serving fresh gyros with flame-grilled meats and fresh Mediterranean-inspired fillings, wrapped in a fluffy pita bread or a pita pot or on a plate.

Customer votes will determine x5 Regional Restaurant of the Year winners who will be automatically entered into the final shortlist for the national Independent Restaurant of the Year, later judged by a panel.

The return of the Deliveroo Restaurant Awards is backed by TV favourite and takeaway aficionado, Rylan, who has been enlisted to judge the Beating Heart of the Community award- a new category for 2024. In images released today, the much-loved TV entertainer has recreated some of his favourite and most iconic celebrity award season moments, all with a fun foodie twist.

Spotlighting some of the cuisine categories in this year’s awards, one of the looks includes Rylan sporting his unique take on Lady Gaga’s controversial meat dress, which she wore at the MTV Music Awards in 2010. The most intricate of Rylan’s three looks, the hand-sewn ensemble celebrates one of Deliveroo’s most-ordered items – the humble kebab – and took a meaty 20 hours to make. In true Rylan fashion, he dons the ensemble, kebab boots and all, with his signature sass and style, pairing the look with a fresh salad-filled pitta headdress for added glamour.

Rylan comments: “As a takeaway connoisseur and one of Deliveroo’s most loyal customers, I’m so excited to be involved in the 2024 Restaurant Awards. It's no secret I love a cheeky takeaway, so I can’t wait to join the judging panel and help choose the deserving winner of the Beating Heart of the Community category.”

Deliveroo’s Restaurant Awards celebrate and recognise the very best and most-loved restaurants across the UK and Ireland – from local independent burger joints to neighbourhood sushi restaurants and all the dishes and flavours in between. With 60 award categories in total, including 50 regional cuisine-led awards and the coveted Independent Restaurant of the Year award, this year sees the introduction of several new categories – Beating Heart of the Community, Rider Love and Best Customer Innovator – each of which will be judged by a dedicated panel. Guest judges will include Rylan, Deliveroo’s CEO and founder, Will Shu, as well as renowned food critic and journalist Jimi Famurewa.

Will Shu, CEO and Founder at Deliveroo adds: “This year’s awards are bigger and better than ever and we are delighted to have Rylan joining our judging panel. The Restaurant Awards are designed to give our customers the chance to champion and celebrate the wealth of great food right on their doorstep – so get voting to see your favourite spots snap up the titles!”

Voting for the awards is now open via the Deliveroo Restaurant Awards website and participating customers are automatically entered into a prize draw to win €500 of app credit! Voting will close on Sunday, 21st January at 23:39 with winners announced on Deliveroo’s social channels on Thursday 15th February.