Top of the foodie chain — Chapter One leads ‘Life’ 100 best restaurants list

The Dublin 1 establishment, described as a “sleek, elegant restaurant reaching stratospheric heights on all fronts” earned two Michelin stars this year, and tops the list which is published in today’s Life magazine.

Other restaurants in the top 10 include the “tantalising” Lady Helen in Co Kilkenny at the Mount Juliet Estate in Thomastown and Lignum in the remote village of Bullaun, east Galway.

Liath at the Blackrock Market in Co Dublin, which was elevated to two Michelin stars this year, also gets a special mention, while George V at Ashford Castle in Co Mayo, Aimsir in the Village at Lyons in Co Kildare and Dax on Upper Pembroke Street in Dublin 2 were also on the list.

Celebrity chef Neven Maguire’s MacNean House in Co Cavan, a family business Lucinda says has become “a superb destination restaurant and stylish guesthouse” in the village of Blacklion, also gets a mention.

In Northern Ireland, the crème de la crème of restaurants is Ox Belfast which comes in at number one there, having “knocked the socks off” the competition, while Michael Deane’s Michelin-starred Eipic comes in second.

Also on Lucinda’s list is 28 At the Hollow in Co Fermanagh, run by husband and wife team Glen Wheeler and Zara McHugh who were previously head chef and front of house at MacNean House and Restaurant before opening their own restaurant in Enniskillen three years ago, and then relocating last year. Other best restaurants in Northern Ireland include Browns in Town in Co Derry, Dumpling Library, Belfast, and Watermill Lodge in Co Fermanagh.

In compiling the list, Lucinda said she does not “judge restaurants merely by the artwork on a plate, or whether  they’ve won a rubber tyre award”. “I’m not particularly into sitting in overly precious, hushed rooms in silent worship, cooing over foraged fiddlehead ferns.

“For me, it has to be more than that, it’s the whole package — atmosphere, attitude, good food, service, and how they serve their customers and community through thick and thin — that warrants them a place on my 100 Best Restaurants list.”