Following over 160,000 votes being cast, Deliveroo can reveal the Northern Ireland winners of its 2025 Restaurant Awards, which celebrate the best and most loved local restaurants across the UK and Ireland.
The most coveted award – Independent Restaurant of the Year Ireland 2025 – has been won by SEED in Belfast. The popular restaurant, which opened its third location in Belfast last year, was up against Koto in Cork and Dublin’s Fired Up Pizza, Pi and Sprout & Co for the right to be named as Ireland’s top independent restaurant.
Peter Coleman Co-Founder of SEED: “We are blown away to be named Independent Restaurant of the Year for Ireland 2025 by Deliveroo! Since opening our doors in 2018, we’ve stayed committed to serving food that’s fresh, flavour-packed, and made to nourish. This award is a testament to the passion and dedication of our incredible team, who bring their best every single day, and to our loyal customers in Northern Ireland who continue to support and believe in what we’re building. Thank you – this one’s for you.”
Following SEED’s Irish victory, the restaurant’s team travelled to London to compete in a cook-off against some of the top restaurants from across the UK in a bid to be named Deliveroo Independent Restaurant of the Year 2025 for the UK and Ireland. The cook-off took place at Deliveroo Editions in London. The SEED team narrowly missed out, with the accolade being won by ‘next level sandwich’ restaurant, CRUNCH, from London.
SEED faced off against CRUNCH from London, GET BAKED from Leeds & Manchester (North England & Midlands), Oowee Diner, Bristol (South England & Wales), and Big Mannys’ Pizza, Edinburgh & Aberdeen (Scotland) at the cook-off.
The award was judged by Deliveroo’s CEO and founder, Will Shu; returning judge, food critic and journalist Jimi Famurewa; and the awards’ youngest ever judge, TV Chef and personality Tilly Ramsay. Competing finalists had forty-five minutes to cook their most popular main dish on Deliveroo to the panels’ discerning taste buds. Each restaurant was assessed against criteria including brand personality, food quality and value, packaging and presentation, customer reviews and loyalty, innovation, and going the extra mile.
Joining SEED on the list of Northern Ireland winners at the Deliveroo Restaurant Awards 2025 is Belfast’s Juice Jar. The popular brand, which opened its first store in Dublin earlier this year, won the Best Salads and Healthy Cuisine award.
Matthew Stevenson Operational Manager at The Pizza Co: “We are delighted to have won the Deliveroo award for Best Pizza in Ireland. Thank you to everyone who gave us their vote – your support means the world to the team. We hope to continue to serve award-winning pizza to the locals of Belfast and beyond for many years to come.”
Sam Shephard, founder of Juice Jar: “Amazing news! It’s incredible to be named Deliveroo’s Best Salads & Healthy Cuisine in Ireland. Huge thanks to each and every one who voted – your support is truly humbling. We’re looking forward to serving up healthy Acai Bowls, Melted Sandwiches, Juice and Matcha for a long time to come.”
Helen Maher, Regional Director, Deliveroo Ireland, added: “Congratulations to all the winning restaurants recognised as the best local favourites across Ireland. A heartfelt thank you to Deliveroo’s loyal customers, whose overwhelming support helped shine a spotlight on their top picks. This year’s winners and nominees represent some of the finest culinary talent we’ve ever seen. At Deliveroo, we’re proud to partner with such exceptional restaurants to create more meaningful and memorable moments for our customers.”
First launched in 2018, Deliveroo’s Restaurant Awards celebrate and recognise the very best and most-loved restaurants across the country – from local independent burger joints to neighbourhood sushi restaurants and all the dishes, cuisines, and flavours in between. This year saw a total of 65 awards up for grabs, with hundreds of thousands of votes cast by hungry Irish fans keen to show support for their favourite local restaurants.
The Irish winners of the Deliveroo 2025 Restaurant Awards are:
- Independent Restaurant of the Year Ireland 2025: SEED, Belfast
- Best Chinese: Taste of Hong Kong, Dublin
- Best Pizza: The Pizza Co, Belfast
- Best Mexican: Pablo Picante, Dublin
- Best Middle Eastern: Reyna, Dublin
- Best Salads and Healthy Cuisine: The Juice Jar, Belfast & Dublin
- Best Indian and Nepalese: Kerala Kitchen, Dublin
- Best Burger & American: Smashbird, Galway
- Best Thai: San Sab, Dublin
- Best Chicken: Mad Egg, Dublin
- Best Japanese: Musashi, Dublin
- Environmentally Sustainable Award(national award): BuJo, Dublin
All winners will be announced on Deliveroo’s social channels from Wednesday 28 May as part of a 2025 Restaurant Awards social takeover, which will spotlight all 65 award winners.
