Michelin-starred Galway restaurant marks 15 years of service

A RESTAURANT which has been serving up Michelin-starred dishes for nearly 15 years will go back to its roots as it celebrates its anniversary.

JP McMahon’s Aniar, which translates to ‘from the west’, first opened in Galway city’s Dominick Street Lower in 2011, boasting a menu reflecting the food and culinary traditions of the west of Ireland.

The following year it was awarded a Michelin star, which it has retained every year since.

This year McMahon will host a series of events to mark the restaurant’s 15-year milestone.

“15 years of Aniar, 15 years of service, seasonality, stories, and the west of Ireland on the plate,” McMahon said this week.

“What we’ve built has always been about more than food,’ he explained,

“It has been about place, people, and the possibility of seeing Irish cuisine differently.”

McMahon added: “I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has been part of that journey. “What began as a small idea in Galway has grown into something far greater: a new way of seeing Irish food on the global stage.”

Planned anniversary events will include collaborations, special menus and a return to some of the signature dishes that have defined the restaurant throughout its history.

The first will be a dual-Michelin-star collaboration at Glover’s Alley in Dublin.

On May 6 McMahon and Andy McFadden will present a tasting menu featuring signature dishes from Aniar’s past and present - alongside contemporary dishes from Andy and his Glover’s Alley team.

In June, the focus returns to Galway - where Aniar menus will revisit some of the restaurant’s most iconic dishes from the past 15 years.

“These dishes will reflect both the evolution of the kitchen and the ideas that have shaped it, from visiting chefs through Jp’s Chef Swap initiative to the producers he and his team have worked with over that time,” a spokesperson for Aniar confirmed.

Later in the summer, a limited-edition sparkling rosé developed in partnership with David Llewellyn of Lusca Wines will be launched by McMahon

Produced at the Lusk-based vineyard, it will be available exclusively at the restaurant and will feature a specially designed “15 Years of Aniar” label.

Michelin-starred Galway restaurant marks 15 years of service