Tipperary hotel wins top restaurant award at leading hospitality awards

​​Ireland’s gold-standard food and hospitality champions were celebrated this week as the winners of the Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards 2026 were announced at a gala lunch in Dublin, with a top award going to Cashel.

Now in their fourth decade, these are the longest-running awards of their kind in Ireland.

Established by food & hospitality writer Georgina Campbell, they recognise excellence across the country, with winners selected through independent, year-round assessments by a team of experts who book anonymously and pay their bills like any other guest.

Businesses cannot enter themselves, ensuring the awards remain focused on genuine quality and hospitality.

The fine dining category winner of this year for a fine dining hotel restaurant is: The Bishop’s Buttery, Cashel Palace Hotel.

A gracious 18th-century former archbishop’s residence with the Rock of Cashel rising beyond its gardens, Cashel Palace Hotel enjoys one of Ireland’s most enviable settings - and, following meticulous restoration by the Magnier family, it has become a destination of international renown under the caring supervision of legendary General Manager Adriaan Bartels and a strong team.

Retaining a strong connection to Tipperary and to the great Irish country house tradition is key to that success and so is its food, which has always been a celebration of the rich agricultural landscape surrounding Cashel – as demonstrated in many ways, including the Food Tours offered to guests and, most recently, seen in their interesting new Land to Table documentary which visits some of the nearby suppliers.

Under Director of Culinary Stephen Hayes, the hotel has developed a confident dining identity, with the atmospheric vaulted Bishop’s Buttery and its Head Chef Stefan McEnteer providing the premier fine dining experience.

Here, accomplished modern cooking is an expression of that wonderful local produce presented with precision and served with warm professionalism in a room of genuine historic character.

But one of the nicest things about it is that diners are not constrained by the Signature Tasting Menu, lovely as the experience is, and may opt for the simpler Table d’Hote, which is a very attractive option for many guests.

And, from breakfast in the Queen Anne Room to afternoon tea or drinks in the atmospheric Guinness Bar and the pleasures of neighbouring Mikey Ryan’s pub – or a short scenic drive to Fethard, for casual dining at Sadler’s - enjoyable dining experiences are woven through everything at Cashel Palace.