By Denise McNamara

Galway has joined cuisine royalty with the awarding of the city’s first Michelin Star.

Aniar Restaurant on Dominick Street won the prestigious accolade after being visited by a team of clandestine restaurant experts over half a dozen times.

Its inclusion in the Michelin Star Guide 2013 for Great Britain and Ireland is all the more remarkable given that the eaterie is just over one year old. It now belongs to an exclusive club of just seven restaurants in the country which boast a Michelin Star – with only one other outside the capital, the Cliff House Hotel in Waterford.

One eaterie – Patrick Guilbauld’s on Dublin’s Merrion Street – has two stars. Aniar was joined by Locks Brasserie in Portobello as first time entrants to the coveted list, the first restaurant in Dublin to receive the rating in five years.

This year’s reviewers were impressed by head chef Enda McEvoy’s technical skill and focus on local produce, explained the editor of the guide, Rebecca Burr.

“It’s an informal, buzzy, friendly restaurant which is all about seasonal ingredients. The chef is at the forefront of technique. We enjoyed him when he was at Sheridans on the Docks. He has an originality about him. Above all, we liked the value for money and the taste,” she remarked.

“We found the dishes not only visually impressive but they also tasted good. It’s the consistency and the originality of his food that sets him apart. He has a knack of combining luxury ingredients with the simplest things. I just think it’s a smashing little restaurant.”

Aniar is owned by husband and wife JP McMahon and Drigin Gaffey, who also own Cava and run the restaurant Eat @ Massimos, all in ‘The West’ area.

Other local hotspots which received a recommendation in the guide were Kai, Cava, the seafood bar at Kirwans, Vina Mara and Ard Bia at Nimmos.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel