Two Irish restaurants were awarded rosettes in the AA's Restaurant Guide, after the pandemic caused the publication to postpone releasing their guide for the first time in 50 years.
With this in mind, the announcement comes as one of the most highly anticipated ones for the hospitality industry, and just in time for booking in for Christmas.
This year marks the 28th edition of the guide, which includes 1,700 restaurants and 100 entirely new entries which have been handpicked for their "culinary excellence". After so many months of interrupted service and major blows to the hospitality industry, such awards have become more precious than ever.
Two Irish restaurants were awarded 4 rosettes: Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin and The Lady Helen Restaurant in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny.
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud already has two Michelin stars and has long been celebrated for its "contemporary Irish cuisine with French classical roots", as the guide puts it. Its eight-course tasting menu costs €205 per person, is served daily and features dishes such as duck foie gras with pomegranate molasses, and black leg chicken pate en croute.
There is also an à la carte menu which changes seasonally.
The Lady Helen Restaurant, in Thomastown in Co. Kilkenny, is the crown jewel of the stunning Mount Juliet Estate and already has one Michelin star. The breathtaking restaurant is located in the dining room of the Manor House and overlooks the rolling green estate.
The menus source ingredients from the estate and the surrounding farms. A three course menu costs €90, a seven course menu costs €105 and an indulgent nine course menu costs €130.
Ghan House in Carlingford, Co. Louth was also included in the list, as it retained the 2 rosettes it was awarded in 2011. Writing about the stunning hotel, which is housed in a Georgian townhouse with a stunning walled garden "set on the shores of Carlingford Lough, just before it reaches the sea", the guide commended the hotel for making the most of the local seafood.
Of the restaurant offering, which includes caviar and scallops, beef and oyster pie and lemongrass ravioli among other dishes, it says it has "a French base, but offers plenty of interesting combinations". A four-course meal costs €55, which the six-course tasting menu costs €45.
