2019 Award Winners CASUAL DINING RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR 2019

Nash 19, Cork

Our Casual Dining award aims to highlight the quality of (mainly) smaller establishments, especially those serving outstanding daytime food and also ambitious restaurants with an informal style. Not only a pleasure to find, such places also enhance the reputation of any town or village lucky enough to be their chosen location.

Home from home for its many loyal customers since 1991, Claire Nash’s bustling city centre restaurant is just a stone’s throw from the English Market – the source of much of the local and indigenous produce they are known for, including vegetables, fresh sustainable catches and meats. A small but carefully chosen wine selection (mainly from small producers) changes regularly and all of the very friendly staff are barista trained. ‘Simple food cooked honestly’ is their mantra, and it’s a very child friendly place too, offering proper wholesome meals for little ones. In Claire Nash's own words 'We simply love our food!' - and it shows. But there is more to this pleasing place than good food, delightful as that may be. It is also a place that also celebrates the wider local culture, including the visual arts; strategically sited pieces, including some unusual sculptures, enhance the restaurant - and a dedicated gallery space on the Marlborough Street side showcases contemporary Irish art exhibitions. A magic place, with real heart.