REVEALED | The best restaurant and hospitality businesses in Longford honoured at Irish Restaurant Awards

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The best restaurants and hospitality business owners in Longford were honoured at the Leinster Regional Final of the Irish Restaurant Awards at the Killashee Hotel, Kildare. 

All of the Longford winners now compete for the 2026 Regional and All Ireland Titles, which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards All-Ireland Final on Monday, May 18 at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin. READ MORE BELOW PHOTO

There was success for seventeen Longford businesses across eighteen categories and there were over 1,100 attendees at the presentation ceremony on Tuesday, March 3. 

Also read: Award winning Longford restaurant welcomes film star Will Ferrell

Spice India in Longford town were double winners as Frances Nugent was chosen as Best Restaurant Manager and they were also the recipients of the Best World Cuisine award.

The full list of County Longford winners:

Best Restaurant (sponsored by American Express)
Midtown Kitchen & Bar, Longford town

Best Chef (sponsored by BWG Food Service)
Marco Fabbi, Sorrento Restaurant, Lanesboro

Best Restaurant Manager (sponsored by Paynt)
Frances Nugent, Spice India

Best Hotel and Guesthouse Restaurant
Longford Arms Hotel

Employee Excellence (sponsored by Peninsula)
Hanna Kadet, Newcastle House, Ballymahon

Best Use of Social Media
Jolly Boys Pizza & Grill, Ballymahon

Best Casual Dining (sponsored by Musgrave Marketplace)
PV's Longford

Best World Cuisine (sponsored by National Chef de Partie Apprenticeship & National Sous Chef Apprenticeship Programmes)
Spice India Longford 

Best Gastro Pub (sponsored by Hendersons Foodservice)
Richmond Inn, Clondra

Best Contemporary Irish Cuisine (Sponsored by FBD Insurance)
The Glenview Bar and Lounge, Aughnacliffe

Best Newcomer (sponsored by Square)
Gooseberry Cafe, Longford town

Pub of the Year
Ronnie Nally & Sons, Ballymahon

Best Wine Experience (sponsored by Bibendum)
Vocella's, Longford town 

Best Customer Service (sponsored by Restaurant-Insurance.ie provided by Dolmen)
The Rustic Inn, Abbeyshrule

Best Café (sponsored by Illy)
Fabiani, Longford town

Best Sustainable Practices
Fiona Egan, Cloughan Farm & Cookery School

Innovator of the Year (sponsored by Diageo)
John Stone Beef, Ballymahon

Local Food Hero (sponsored by Sugar Snap Agency)
Pat & Fiona McCormack of The Farmhouse Bees and Trees, Abbeyshrule

Check out the 2025 Longford winners HERE

Addressing attendees at the Leinster Regional Final, Seán Collender, President of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, said: 

“As Ireland places a renewed focus on culinary tourism, nights like this take on even greater importance. Our restaurants are not only central to local communities and employment, they are a key part of the experience visitors travel here for. The Irish Restaurant Awards shine a light on the quality, creativity and standards that underpin Ireland’s growing food reputation at home and abroad.”

Check out the 2023 Longford winners HERE

“These awards are about more than recognition. They reinforce the link between hospitality businesses and Ireland’s wider tourism offering. By celebrating excellence at county and regional level, we strengthen the foundations of a food culture that attracts visitors, supports producers and sustains jobs right across the country. I want to congratulate every nominee and winner whose work contributes to that story.”