Ireland's favourite restaurants, grocery, and convenience partners were revealed at Just Eat's annual awards ceremony last night.
Hosted by TV presenter and podcaster Muireann O’Connell, the awards took place in The Marker Hotel in Dublin's city centre.
Over 47,500 votes were cast at this year's awards in a bid to find the best pizza, Indian, Asian, and burgers in the country, but when it came to finding the top prize, the professionals were called in to assist.
Pop up chef Nico Reynolds, TV chef and cookery tutor Erica Drum, and restaurateur and author JP McMahon were enlisted to judge the 'Best of Ireland' category this year.
The finalists were voted by the public as offering some of the best food for delivery in their province.
As this year’s regional award winners, Birdhouse (Best of Connacht & Ulster), Amigo (Best of Munster), and Dublin Pizza Company (Best of Leinster), automatically became the finalists of the category.
The trio of judges sampled a selection of dishes from each of the category finalists before declaring the winner, including Birdhouse’s signature dish, the ‘Tendie Burger’, which is the restaurant’s unique take on the classic Irish chicken fillet roll.
Located on Dominick St Lower, Birdhouse has been in operation in Galway for three years under the care of co-owners Fraser and Orla Scott.
Moving home from Australia following the COVID pandemic, the couple began selling their homemade sauces as a side hustle throughout the various lockdowns.
Before long, their dedication to "homemade, organic, and fresh" sauces paid off, and their dreams of owning their own restaurant came true.
Their small team of five quickly grew to a staff of 15, and the duo say they are thrilled to be bringing both the 'Best of Ireland' and 'Best of Connacht & Ulster' award home to them.
"We have very sore heads today," laughs Fraser, admitting that they may or may not have seen the dancefloor of Coppers before the night ended.
Reflecting on the awards, Fraser said he was thrilled to see their restaurant go up against such established names like the Dublin Pizza Company and Amigo.
"We have to give a big thanks to Just Eat because the campaign has been really positive for us, it's definitely grown our customer base in Galway," he explains.
"Getting us introduced to the judges too, it was just really good to be networking," adds Orla. "It was a really positive experience."
Just Eat Winners 2024
Best of Ireland: Birdhouse (winner)
Best Sustainability: Chimac (winner)
Best Chain:
- McDonald's (Gold)
- Supermac’s (Silver)
- Domino’s (Bronze)
Best Burger:
- Cluck Chicken (Gold)
- Chimac (Silver)
- Locke Burger (Bronze)
Best Chipper:
- Romayo’s (Gold)
- Beshoff’s (Silver)
- Leo Burdock (Bronze)
Best Mexican:
- Boojum (Gold)
- Zambrero (Silver)
- Amigo (Bronze)
Best Healthy:
- Urban Health (Gold)
- Jump Juice (Silver)
- The Punnet (Bronze)
Best Asian:
- Bao Bun (Gold)
- Saba (Silver)
- NEON Asian Street Food (Bronze)
Best Pizza:
- Pompeii Pizza (Gold)
- Dublin Pizza Company (Silver)
- UNO Pizza (Bronze)
Best Indian:
- Daata (Gold)
- Thindi (Silver)
- Doolally (Bronze)
Best Grocery & Convenience:
- Shuppa (Gold)
- Centra (Silver)
- SPAR (Bronze)
Best of Connacht & Ulster:
- Birdhouse (Gold)
- Handsome Burger (Silver)
- Burrito Loco (Bronze)
Best of Munster:
- Amigo (Gold)
- Roosters Piri Piri (Silver)
- Sambros (Bronze)
Best of Leinster:
- Dublin Pizza Company (Gold)
- Griolladh (Silver)
- Chimac (Bronze)
