Diners take the vegetarian option as top award goes to Cafe Paradiso

IRISH Daily Mail food critic Tom Doorley gave i t the thumbs up and now it has been crowned Ireland’s best restaurant in the Traveller’s Choice awards.

Cork vegetarian restaurant Cafe Paradiso was awarded the title based on millions of reviews and opinions on travel website TripAdvisor.

Co- owner Geraldine O’Toole said staff were delighted to have won the award.

She told the Mail: ‘This is a unique accolade in that it is based solely on diners’ feedback, and for that reason all of us in Paradiso are honoured and chuffed to be considered the No.1 rated restaurant in Ireland by local and visiting diners.’

Two years ago, Mail food critic Doorley wrote: ‘I’ll say one thing for Café Paradiso, you’re never going to be bored there.’

Located on Lancaster Quay in Cork city, its menu features a wide range of dishes with seasonal vegetables and Irish cheeses.

Denis Cotter, also a co-owner at the restaurant said: ‘We’ve been here 22 years. It’s a very unique style of cuisine which has evolved over that time.

‘We work with a farmer and local produce. At the moment, we’re moving into autumn ingredients like squash, aubergines, leeks, parsnips. The produce tends to dictate the menu.’

Mr Cotter was named Chef of the Year by Irish magazine Food and Wine in 2005 and has published four cookbooks.

He added: ‘From the very start we were very conscious that we wanted to create a mainstream restaurant that worked with vegetable cuisine rather than what’s perceived as a vegetarian industry.’

Mr Doorley also wrote in his 2013 review: ‘Cotter’s cuisine’s is vastly eclectic in terms of influences; his imagination and inventiveness know no bounds.’

Awards took into account the quantity and quality of reviews for restaurants around the world gathered over a 12-month period.

Michelin star restaurant Chapter One came in second place with Sabor Brazil in third for the Traveller’s Choice awards in Ireland.

Spanish chef Martin Berasategui’s Lasarte in Barcelona picked up the coveted title of No.1 restaurant in the world.

Commenting on the awards, TripAdvisor spokesman James Kay said: ‘Given how competitive the restaurant industry is, it is a fantastic achievement for Cafe Paradiso to have claimed the No.1 spot in Ireland for the first time.’