Stars rained down on Ireland at the 2025 Michelin Guide awards in Glasgow, with Lignum in Galway, The Morrison Room at Carton House in Kildare, and Ballyfin in Laois each claiming a coveted Michelin star. Zsolt Lukács of Daróg Wine Bar in Galway took home the Sommelier award for the UK and Ireland.
These additions bring Ireland’s Michelin-starred count to 23 (including two in Northern Ireland), but the real shocker? Dublin didn’t land a single new accolade. The city’s fine-dining scene remains strong, yet Michelin overlooked Library St again, and still, no three-star restaurant.
Speculation swirled around Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen, but Michelin refused to budge. Another year, another near miss. Northern Ireland was left out in the cold too.
Lignum’s Michelin star was inevitable. Danny Africano’s fire-driven precision has made it one of Ireland’s most ambitious restaurants since it opened in 2019, with the kind of technical control and consistency that should have earned it a place in the guide much earlier.
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Africano’s kitchen revolves around an open flame, using kiln-dried Irish woods – birch, ash and oak – to infuse a distinct smokiness into his tasting menus. The result is a unique blend of Irish and Italian influences, refined yet primal, with dishes shaped as much by their char and embers as by their ingredients.
“This is a restaurant that’s always been on the radar of the inspectors and has now matured into an impressive operation thanks to the greater confidence and depth of the cooking,” cited the host, Amanda Stretton, adding that the inspectors absolutely loved the Amalfi lemon dessert that has become a signature dish on the menu.
The award for Lignum in Bullaun, near Loughrea, also restores some balance to Galway’s Michelin standing. When Loam closed in 2023, the city was left with just one Michelin-starred restaurant – Aniar – and the gap was immediately obvious. Galway is once again a serious player in Ireland’s fine-dining scene.
The Morrison Room always looked destined for a star. It’s the sort of dining room that feels like it was built for Michelin, with its Greek Corinthian columns, ornate plaster cornicing and sweeping banquettes. Head chef Adam Nevin, who grew up in Maynooth and brought Michelin star experience from his time working at The Grill at The Dorchester, The Hand and Flowers, and The Westbury, has, in the words of the inspectors, brought this magnificent Palladian mansion the food to match its surroundings.
The €110, eight-course menu has been consistently strong, with dishes that balance indulgence with precision. Barbecued lobster tail, aged duck and prime Irish seafood feature prominently, with his signature turbot and vin jaune sauce a standout.
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And then there’s Ballyfin, a restaurant in a hotel so exclusive that most people will never step foot in it. Michelin, of course, loves an ultra-luxurious country house, and it doesn’t get much more luxurious than this. Ballyfin, which was awarded three Michelin Keys last year, a new award that places it among the world’s top hotels, has long been regarded as one of Ireland’s most exclusive retreats, but its food had never quite broken into Michelin’s ranks – until now.
The restaurant began drawing the guide’s attention after executive chef Richard Picard-Edwards joined Ballyfin in April 2023, championing seasonal produce from the estate’s 614 acres. With a Michelin star from Lords of the Manor in the Cotswolds (2014) and experience leading kitchens at Lartington Hall and Michelin-starred Lucknam Park Hotel, he brought serious pedigree.
The €145, eight-course tasting menu is built around bold, expressive flavours, with broths, purées and reductions adding depth to impeccably cooked meat and fish. The Jerusalem artichoke cream has been a particular standout, topped with precisely cut pickled artichoke, caviar, gold leaf and a umami-rich chicken jelly. The win is a reminder of Michelin’s shifting stance on luxury dining – where once the guide leaned towards the experimental, there is now a renewed appreciation for refinement and elegance.
“We are absolutely thrilled with today’s news,” says Picard-Edwards. “This is a wonderful accolade to receive and I’m very proud of our hard work at Ballyfin and the team’s dedication. We are inspired each day by the extraordinary 19th century eight-acre walled garden that is any chef’s dream to pick produce from.”
Despite the night’s celebrations, the biggest moment was what didn’t happen – no third star for Chapter One. The word from the guide has always been: Chapter One remains under close scrutiny, it is being watched, it is evolving, when everything is in place, it will happen. But the problem is that no one seems to know what “everything” actually means. And this year, in the absence of a press conference following the event, we remain in the dark.
The food has been at three-star level since Viljanen took over in 2021. The produce is exquisite, the technique and execution is impeccable, the precision almost obsessive. If the food isn’t enough, then what is?
It makes the conversation about Ireland’s first three-star restaurant even more complicated. If the decision were based purely on food, Chapter One would already be there. But if Michelin is looking for something else – something intangible, something that makes a restaurant feel as though it belongs at that level – it is unclear what exactly they are waiting for.
Among the other awards on the evening were three new Michelin Bib Gourmands, with Daróg in Galway, Baba’de in Baltimore and mrDeanes in Belfast joining the restaurants in Ireland that the guide considers to offer particularly good food at moderate prices.
Beyond the new stars and the Chapter One saga, the Michelin landscape remains largely unchanged. No restaurant in Ireland lost a star this year, though several major contenders were overlooked again: Library St, Dax, Uno Mas and Forest Avenue.
The step from one to two stars is always a difficult one to predict, but there was no movement this year. Adare Manor and Mount Juliet were both seen as possible contenders, but Michelin ultimately decided against awarding any new two-star distinctions.
Despite all this, the expansion beyond Dublin is becoming more and more obvious. Galway, Laois and Kildare all gaining stars this year continues a trend that has been growing for some time. Michelin is acknowledging that some of Ireland’s best food isn’t just in the capital – that places such as Lignum, Ballyfin and The Morrison Room are operating at the highest level.
While the long-standing frustration over the lack of an Irish three-star remains, this year’s awards have provided a much-needed boost, particularly for restaurants outside of Dublin, signalling a recognition of the growing depth and diversity of Ireland’s fine-dining scene.
For now, there are three new Michelin stars to celebrate and that is very good news indeed. And there is much to look forward to in the year ahead.
Cúán Greene, former head chef at Bastible and alum of Noma, is set to open a new restaurant in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. Backed by Stripe co-founder John Collison, who acquired the 1,120-acre Abbey Leix estate in 2021, the project will include a 32-seat restaurant and a 16-bedroom guest house. In Galway, Angelo Vagiotis, a former key player at two Michelin-starred Terre, is now at the helm of Glenlo Abbey’s Pullman Restaurant, with a new tasting menu launching in March. Joining him are Shauna Murphy (Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year 2023) and pastry chef Linda Sergidou. His ambition is clear – to earn a Michelin star for The Pullman.
Kevin O’Donnell, the former head of development at Kadeau in Copenhagen has partnered with Barry Fitzgerald of Bastible to open a new restaurant, Comet, later this year. And of course, the opening of Lena, a neighbourhood Italian restaurant in the former Locks premises by Paul McNamara, Liz Matthews and Simon Barrett is highly anticipated.
There is speculation that the 2026 Michelin awards will be held in Dublin, so it’s never too soon to start with your 2026 predictions. With any luck, we’ll be celebrating in Ireland’s first three-Michelin-star restaurant.
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