Aniar named Best Restaurant in Connaught

Galway restaurant Aniar won the award for Best Restaurant in Connaught at Sunday’s Food&Wine Louis Latour 2012 Awards ceremony. The award ceremony held in Dublin Convention Centre was attended by the stars of Ireland’s culinary world.

Aniar competed against stiff competition to bag the coveted award. Jp McMahon and Drigín Gaffey, owners of Aniar, were there to receive the award along with Aniar Head Chef Enda McEvoy.

“I am absolutely overwhelmed at winning this award. It’s been a difficult year for fine dining in Galway, but the whole team in Aniar from Enda to Alex have been fantastic,” said Jp.

“This award is for good food and to show that Galway can produce the calibre of restaurant that would make any capital city in Europe jealous. I hope this award will showcase the viability of taking risks with innovative food. We need to continue to raise the bar with regard to food in The West of Ireland and this is only the beginning.”

Drigín added she is “so proud of the team in Aniar who work extremely hard to create new and interesting ways of thinking about food”. “I would also like to thank our fantastic customers who support and appreciate what we are doing,” she said.

Aniar is one of three restaurants that make up Jp and Drigín’s Eat Galway group - Cava Spanish Restaurant and Tapas Bar, Aniar Restaurant and Eat Gastropub. All three restaurants in the group share the overriding philosophy of producing good, sustainable, tasty, artisan food and working hand in hand with local suppliers.

“We are starting an education program in the autumn for students and run continuous cooking classes in Cava and Aniar. We hope to educate people on cooking with provenance and sustainability in mind and learning about the best produce from The West of Ireland and different ways to use it,” said Jp.

Aniar opened its doors in July 2011 to critical acclaim, offering relaxed brassiere-style dining. Chef, Enda McEvoy won Chef of The Year in the 2011 Bridgestone Guide.

Aniar is open Tuesday to Saturday 6pm to 10pm. Bookings at food@aniarrestaurant.ie or 091-535947. More details at www.aniarrestaurant.ie.