2022 Award Winners ATMOSPHERIC RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR 2022

Rúibín Bar & Restaurant Galway

Irish diners place a high premium on atmosphere – often rating it even above the quality of food when choosing where to eat out – but this restaurant, although certainly atmospheric, has much more to it than that. As everyone familiar with past winners of our Atmospheric category will know, we seek out establishments that offer very high standards all round, with great atmosphere as the icing on the cake.

On the corner of Galway’s historic docks, just a few minutes from Spanish Arch and Quay Street, this atmospheric old stone building got a new lease of life recently when it was taken over by gifted chef Alice Jary and her partner, Richard Kennan (whose family own the wonderful Roundwood House, Co Laois) and they quietly earned a reputation for producing some of the most interesting food in Galway. The bright, contemporary interior makes a lovely relaxing setting for the ground floor bar and, above it, a restaurant that offers not only exciting locally produced food that reflects the couple’s experience working in kitchens all over the world, but also a wonderful ambience and some of the best views in Galway city from the window tables. A visit to Ruíbín is always more than the sum of its parts – and it’s sure to be memorable.