Galway has cleaned up at a major national food awards with eleven of our bright and best on the shortlist for their respective gongs.
The Just Eat Food Awards 2025 will have a little more spice than usual with the delivery company offering a €50,000 media value grand prize for their ‘Best of Ireland’ overall winner.
Galway has eleven nominees across seven categories, including the biggest awards up for grabs, like best chipper, best pizza, best burger, best Indian and best chain,
Some absolute Galway legends are on the list, along with rising stars in Tribes food. Get voting and get them the recognition they deserve here on Just Eat’s voting portal. And if supporting your own wasn’t a good enough reason to vote, one lucky voter will get a Just East food for free for a year. Voting is open now until 10 February 2025.
Interestingly, despite being just 1/26th of the counties in the Republic, Galway has over one-eight of the nominees, which shows just how lucky we are when it comes to our food choices.
Best Chipper – Salt n Pepper
One of two chippers in Galway city to be nominated in the ‘Best Chipper’ category, Salt n Pepper opened its doors in 1991 when an inspired Galway man came home from America with fast on his mind.
Salt n Pepper have the freshest fish and the sweetest ice cream
(Image: Salt n Pepper)
Salt n Pepper is a family-friendly joint with rakes of choice and even more quality. They get bonus points for offering some of the best desserts of any takeaway on planet earth.
Best Chipper – Giovanni’s
Giovanni’s is the second Galway chippy up for the ‘Best Chipper’ award. While Giovanni’s is a few decades younger than Salt n Pepper, it has become a fast foodie favourite in the near decade since its opening.
Giovanni’s, Dominick Street, Galway city
(Image: Giovanni’s)
Set in the heart of Galway’s West End, the versatile takeaway has plenty of competition for the hearts of hungry punters, but Giovanni’s uniformly high quality across its extensive range guarantee satisfaction after your few scoops.
Best Pizza – Pizza & Pasta Napoli
Pasquale, an authentic Neapolitan, brought his brand of simple Neapolitan pizza delights to Galway almost 15 years ago and quickly established Pizza & Pasta Napoli as one of the best slices in country.
A massive pizza from Pizza Napoli
(Image: Pizza Napoli Facebook page)
Set on Cross Street amongst the hustle and bustle of Galway city centre, you cannot go wrong with a generous slice, a whole pizza, or their range of homemade pasta dishes.
Best Indian – Kashmir
Kashmir has served Galway city for 30 years, offering authentic foods centred around the famous Kashmir region of Asia. Kashmir has all the favourites you would expect from a real Indian restaurant, however it also has a huge range of the Kashmir region’s own specialties.
Kashmir Nepalese & Indian restaurant
(Image: Kashmir)
The adventurous palate loves Kashmir as much as they classic Indian enjoyer, thanks to their stellar quality and affordable prices.
Best Breakfast – Bare Pantry Café
One of the rising stars of Galway food, Bare Pantry Café replaced the popular Arabica coffee shop in the Liosban Industrial Estate on the Tuam Road in the summer of 2023.
Bare Pantry Cafe, Galway
(Image: Bare Pantry Cafe)
It hasn’t been two years yet, and the Bare Pantry’s crew has customers rolling in from all over Galway to try their legendary Irish breakfast.
Best Burger and American – Handsome Burger
The award-winning Dominick Street eatery was founded in 2017 and such was their quality, they opened a franchise in Terminal 2 of Dublin Airport, and later added another branch in Athlone.
Handsomeburger’s popular ‘The Roost’ burger
Handsome Burger’s fare has seen them rise quickly in the burger world.And just this year, the chain announced another new eatery, this time in the big smoke.
Best Burger and American – Smashbird
Smashbird is the brainchild of married couple Orla and Fraser Scott. Fraser, originally from Scotland, came to Ireland to work as a chef. His sauces were legendary, and his then fiancée Orla and him took the plunge into business selling their wares.
One of Smashbird’s delicacies
(Image: Smashbird)
The couple later expanded their business into the best chicken burgers in the whole country, all supported by the sumptuous sauces of Chef Fraser.
Best Burger and American – Benny’s
Another relatively new entry to Galway’s iconic food scene, Benny’s is tucked away in Ballybane but since opening its doors it has dragged plenty of Galwegians out east to try their American-style wares.
Benny’s is bringing customers in from all over the city
(Image: Benny’s Burgers)
Benny’s has stellar reviews from locals and from those who took the gruelling 25-minute bus journey just to see what the fuss is about.
Best Mexican – Vocho
Vocho is an independent Mexican restaurant and takeway that has nestled into the old Jungle Café slot nicely. They’re another newcomer to Galway’s food scene, but rave reviews and word of mouth have quickly propelled them on Just Eat’s Best Mexican list.
Vocho Nachos
(Image: Vocho Galway)
A wonderful and unique location that’s made from recycled shipping containers and reflects the bohemian quality of Vocho’s authentic menu.
Best Mexican – Salsa
Enrique and Angelica opened Salsa in 2022 and they’ve made a name for themselves on Abbeygate Street with their home-style Mexican offerings.
Salsa bring authentic Mexican cuisine to the streets of Galway
(Image: Salsa, Galway)
Salsa originally opened in Dublin in 2012 when Enrique was in Ireland, at first to learn English but later he fell in love with us. His gift to say thanks was Salsa’s famous burrito.
Best Mexican – Banditos
Oranmore has some incredible restaurants, but Banditos is perhaps the most well-known. The Mexican eatery has served Oranmore for seven years, and thanks to their delivery service, they’re now serving those further afield too.
Banditos of Oranmore, Galway
(Image: Banditos)
Their reputation is built on quality ingredients, the best meats, freshest vegetables and the finest spices bring the taste of Mexico straight the village of Oranmore.
And from the ten categories, the awards biggest accolade, the Best of Ireland, will be given to the independent restaurant who receives the highest number of votes cast, both in their individual category and overall.
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