Rua savours another accolade

COVETED Aran and Colleen McMahon with the Bord Bia Just Ask Restaurant of the Year award.

Rua Deli, Bakery and Café, Castlebar, has been named Bord Bia Just Ask Restaurant of the Year 2016. The award recognises chefs and restaurants’ engagement with and promotion of local suppliers.
The original Café Rua was established in 1995 by Ann McMahon on Castlebar’s New Antrim street. This hugely popular café is now run by Ann’s children Aran and Colleen. In 2007, they opened a second location on Spencer Street, simply named Rua. This second location also includes a delicatessen and bakery.
“We use numerous blackboards to announce various dishes of the day and afford respect to proudly named suppliers,” explains Aran McMahon.
“Our meat suppliers include SeΡn Kelly of Newport, De Burca’s butchers and Pat Carolan of Castlebar, Roscommon’s Castlemine Farm, and our free range pork is supplied by Andarl Farm in Claremorris. Irish chicken is supplied by the Friendly Farmer in Athenry and Shannonvale Foods in Clonakilty, and we source our fish from six different seafood providers on the west coast. Local herbs and vegetables are supplied by our local rural training scheme, Stephen Gould in Headford, Lavins of Castlebar and seasonally from our own polytunnel.”
Renowned food writer Georgina Campbell works with Bord Bia to select the Just Ask Restaurant of the Month and annual winner, and this year she was particularly impressed by Rua’s commitment not only in promoting local produce, but also customer service.
“The lunchtime queue on the stairs has become legendary, yet they somehow manage to deal with it swiftly and charmingly, and before you know it you’re comfortably seated and contemplating difficult choices,” commented Campbell. “If you are wondering where a template for the way to promote the best of local food might be found, look no further – Rua would be the perfect place to start.”