Double delight for one Kilkenny eatery at Irish Restaurant Awards

The very best of the food and hospitality sector in Kilkenny and Leinster were honoured last night at the Irish Restaurant Awards Leinster Regional Final 2025, marking the first regional event of this year’s prestigious awards season.

Kilkenny’s Arán Artisan Bakery & Bistro had a standout night, winning in two categories.

The much-loved eatery took home the awards for 'Best Contemporary Irish Cuisine' and 'Innovator of the Year'.

ABOUT ARÁN

Bart Pawlukojć and Nicole Server-Pawlukojć recently celebrated five years in business at Arán Bakery & Bistro on Barrack Street in Kilkenny City.

Although they come from different culinary backgrounds, Bart and Nicole join forces right here in Kilkenny at Arán Bakery & Bistro to bring you a taste of what they’ve learned from all over the world.

“Arán Bakery & Bistro is our creative outlet that allows us to make top-quality food accessible to everyone,” Bart explains.

“We aim to make simple, yet delicious dishes made from local ingredients that everyone can enjoy in our restaurant.”

Bart and Nicole make it clear that it’s very important to not be bound by one single menu or one single concept.

“Our menu changes regularly depending on seasonal availability,” they said.

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“This allows us to offer imaginative variations of many of the most popular breakfast and brunch dishes, along with our evening à la carte menu in our restaurant.

“Our brunch and dinner menus showcase the best of local produce from Kilkenny and nearby counties.

“We bake our bread and grind our flour in-house. We source as many ingredients as possible from our local producers and farmers for our restaurant and bakery.

“We offer an all-day brunch, private evening dining, award-winning sourdough bread, and take-away sweet and savoury baked goods.

“There are irresistible cakes and pastries too, and natural wines (including bubbly) to give your meal a lift!

“Recent additions to the menu include specials, which change regularly, usually around every three weeks. It’s a really dynamic menu, designed to get the best out of the seasonal ingredients that we have.”

Over the last five years, they’ve continued to strengthen the presence of Arán here in Kilkenny, navigating a pandemic in the process.

When they founded their premises on Barrack Street, every single business person advised them against it, but they took that gamble.

After defying the odds, Arán is now a vital part of the social scene of Barrack Street and has helped breathe new life into the area.

Major renovations were recently completed to the Bistro, allowing even more people to savour the award-winning food on the premises.

“If you haven’t been to our new place yet, please stop by and of course we still continue to be dog friendly and are now able to accommodate bigger groups,” Bart added.

“Now the entire shopfront opens up, so you can get the feel that you’re sitting outside but you’re actually inside.”

There is ample parking located nearby, further enhancing the convenience of paying a visit to the venue.

Adding another string to their bow, Arán now also offers many different options for parties and private catering, meaning that they can help elevate your special day or event with exceptional catering fare.

Whether it’s a wedding, communion, barbeque or anything in between, if you get in touch with Bart and Nicole, they will be able to best advise you on the various options available.

They can also adjust and tailor bespoke food options to clients’ different tastes and budgets.

The whole restaurant can also be rented in the evenings, subject to availability, for intimate dining events.

Book/Order
Interested in ordering takeaway brunch or booking a table in the bistro? Use the website or phone number listed below. If you’ve never been to Arán Bakery & Bistro before, now is the perfect time to tick it off your bucket list.

Make sure to also follow Arán on social media to stay up-to-date with all of their latest innovations and culinary offerings!

Contact Details
8 The Arches, Barrack Street, Kilkenny City
Tel: 056 7756297
Web: arankilkenny.ie
Facebook: facebook.com/arankilkenny
Instagram: @arankilkenny

Following the completion of all regional finals, the Regional and All-Ireland Winners will be announced at the All-Ireland Awards Gala Dinner on Monday, May 19, at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin.

County winners from Leinster can now secure their tickets for this highly anticipated event.

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