Estrella Damm’s National Restaurant Awards has once again released its annual “definitive guide to the UK’s best restaurants”, and for the second year running, the National Restaurant of the Year award has gone to a restaurant outside of England. Last year, Wales’ Ynyshir was the first restaurant in the award’s history to nab the title from outside of England. This year, they’re back again with the top spot off the back of a two-Michelin starred menu of unique, punchy, Japanese-influenced plates of wood-fired food served in a traditional country house hotel. But accompanying them in the Top 10 list were also seven incredible London restaurants.
Coming in at second place on the list was Lancashire’s Restaurant Moor Hall. The two-Michelin-starred restaurant had held the top spot for two years until Ynyshir stormed into first place in 2022. This is Restaurant Moor Hall’s second year ranked as the second-best restaurant in the UK. Moor Hall also won Best Restaurant In England at the awards.
Rounding out the top three best restaurants in the UK was our very own (well, London’s very own) one-Michelin-starred Da Terra, in Bethnal Green. The restaurant was praised for offering sophisticated fine dining “that belies its location on a busy east London road”.
The other London restaurants in the top 10 were:
- The Ledbury (#4)
- Bouchon Racine (#5)
- The Ritz (#7)
- Core by Clare Smyth (#8)
- Frog by Adam Handling (#9)
- KOL (#10)
How did the restaurants get picked?
Estrella Damm’s National Restaurant Awards are voted on annually by over 200 of the UK’s leading food experts and workers. The process takes 18 months to complete and produces a countdown of the top 100 restaurants in the UK. There are also a variety of awards for sustainability, exceptional service, drinks offerings, and for the chefs and restaurateurs themselves.
Altogether, London had 55 restaurants in the National Restaurant Awards’ list of the UK’s 100 best restaurants. Among the Secret London staff’s favourites that cracked the top 100 were:
- Brat (#19)
- Kiln (#20)
- Speedboat Bar (#57)
- 40 Maltby Street (#58)
- Smoking Goat (#66)
- Manteca (#69)
- St. JOHN (#74)
- The River Café (#76)
- Mangal 2 (#87)
- Straker’s (#90)
- The Tamil Prince (#98)
Stockport’s Where The Light Gets In netted the Sustainability Award for an approach to produce and well-being that encompasses a car park roof-top farm and yoga sessions for staff. London’s Lisboeta was recognised as ‘One To Watch’, in anticipation of their restaurant’s impending expansion. And the National Restaurant Awards also recognised two London venues for having the UK’s best cocktail list (Kol) and wine list (Noble Rot Soho).
Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got plenty of restaurants to add to our never-ending list of places to try. Has anyone got a hook-up for reservations?
You can find the full list of the top 100 restaurants in the UK, at the National Restaurant Awards website.