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TWO IRISH RESTAURANTS have been awarded their first Michelin star at the Michelin Guide’s annual ceremony for Britain and Ireland.

Dublin restaurant Forest Avenue and Galway restaurant The Pullman were both honoured with one star at the ceremony, which was held in Dublin’s Convention Centre this evening in the ceremony’s first Irish outing.

Their stars mean there are now 18 one-star restaurants in Ireland.

The Pullman, which is at Glenlo Abbey Hotel and Estate in Kentfield, is housed within two original restored carriages from the Orient Express. It reopened on 1 March 2025 with the ambition to reach Michelin-star recognition.

Led by head chef Angelo Vagiotis, the restaurant has earned its first star in under a year.

Vagiotis said it was a “remarkable achievement for our entire team”, which aims to “deliver a dining experience that captures the seasons’ rhythm and Ireland’s terroir richness”.

Stepping out from the ceremony, The Pullman’s general manager Rónán O’Halloran told The Journal the restaurant’s team is delighted at earning the star after less than a year in business in its current iteration. 

O’Halloran and Vagiotis are in Dublin for the ceremony while the team watched the livestream from the Galway hotel.

“Celebrations are already underway,” O’Halloran said. 

The Pullman The Pullman

While The Pullman launched last year, O’Halloran said the team set out on the path towards tonight’s result three of four years ago, and invested significantly in the venture. Around 18 months ago, Glenlo Abbey’s team sat down with Vagiotis and discussed the vision for the restaurant.

“Very quickly, there were similarities in where we could go and how far we could push the boundaries.” 

Vagiotis came on board and the restaurant’s concept – a fine dining restaurant within the restored Orient Express carriages that caters a seven-course tasting menu – was developed.

“We open Wednesday to Sunday, so it’s a little bit surreal on a Monday night, but we’ll take a little while to get accustomed to the news.

“We’re really looking forward to welcoming guests on Wednesday and making sure that every guest has that experience that Michelin obviously had recently,” he said.

Forest Avenue is located in Dublin 4 and is run by Cork chef John Wyer and his wife Sandy Sabek Wye. The Michelin Guide describes the restaurant as having a “minimalist, casual elegance”, with the cosiest tables those in front of the open kitchen.

The ceremony saw the announcement of Michelin stars for Irish and British restaurants as well as Bib Gourmands, the latter a recognition of restaurants that serve high-quality, locally-sourced food at reasonable prices. 

Five Irish restaurants were awarded Bib Gourmands last week. Three of these were in Dublin, one in Waterford, and one in Belfast.

Michelin stars are globally recognised as the mark of a world-class restaurant. The highest number of stars available is three, and the position of a three-star restaurant is coveted by fine dining establishments. 

There are 157 of these in the world – but none yet in Ireland. Across the island, 25 restaurants hold at least one star, and five of those 25 have two stars.

Dublin’s Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen was thought to be in with a chance of earning its third star this evening, but the restaurant and its two-star peers missed out. 

Any lost stars aren’t announced at the ceremony, but Ireland has retained all stars and gained two more.

The full Irish Michelin Guide is available to view here.