To be fair, the places we stayed in Kinsale and Dingle didn't exactly have dedicated concierges; these were young ladies (clearly foreign workers as well) working the check-in desks at the small hotels we stayed at.

On the point of asking, say, the desk clerk at a random Hampton Inn or equivalent, my thought it is depends on the area. They probably aren't doing a ton of dining themselves at Michelin starred places (unless they're friends with kitchen or wait staff there, perhaps). Somewhere there aren't many such splurges, they likely do know the best non-chain places where they've taken a date or hear everyone wants to go.