The National Restaurant Awards 2012

It is the season of restaurant awards and last night, 8 October, saw the fifth National Restaurant Awards take place at the new venue of The Brewery in Chiswell Street, London. The Ledbury was voted as the UK’s best restaurant for the third year running, with second and third places going to Pollen Street Social and The Hand & Flowers.

This year saw the introduction of the Sustainable Restaurant of the Year award, restaurants were invited to complete the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) rating with the winner being the restaurant scoring the highest in sourcing, environment and society. The first recipient of this award was The Pig at Brockenhurst.

Special awards were also given this year to

• Best Restaurant England – The Ledbury
• Best Restaurant Northern Ireland – Shu, Belfast
• Best Restaurant Wales – The Hardwick
• Best Restaurant Scotland – The Kitchin, Edinburgh
• Wine List of the Year – Texture, London
• Front of House Award – The River Café, London
• Personality of the Year – Chris Corbin and Jeremy King
• Chef’s Chef – Phil Howard
• One to Watch – Lima, London
• Hotel Restaurant of the Year – Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London
• Highest New Entry – Quo Vadis, London
• Gastropub of the Year – Hand & Flowers, Marlow
• Sustainable Restaurant of the Year – The Pig, Brockenhurst

The National Restaurant Awards is compiled from the votes of the National Restaurant Awards Academy.  The country is divided into 12 regions, with each region having a panel of carefully selected voters comprising restaurateurs, chefs, food critics and journalists.

There is no list of nominees; each member of our national voting panel votes for their personal choice of seven restaurants. They may vote for up to five restaurants in their own region, the remaining votes must be cast outside their home region.

Nobody is allowed to vote for their own restaurant or restaurants they have a commercial interest or formal involvement with, and voters must have eaten in the restaurants they nominate within the past 12 months.

So the top 100 UK Restaurants for 2012 are –

1. The Ledbury, London
2. Pollen Street Social, London
3. The Hand & Flowers, Marlow
4. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
5. The Fat Duck, Bray
6. The Sportsman, Seasalter
7. The Square, London
8. The Kitchin, Edinburgh
9. Quo Vadis, London
10. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London
11. L’Enclume, Cartmel
12. 10 Greek Street, London
13. Le manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxford
14. Zuma, London
15. Alyn Williams at The Westbury, London
16. The Waterside Inn, Bray
17. The Hardwick, Abergavenny
18. Galvin La Chapelle, London
19. The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny
20. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, St Endoc
21. Roganic, London
22. St John. London
23. Bocca Di Lupo, London
24. Ondine, Edinburgh
25. L’Anima, London
26. Hibiscus, London
27. Zucca, London
28. Pizarro, London
29. The Pig, Brockenhurst
30. Chez Bruce, London
31. Dabbous, London
32. Brawn, London
33. Texture, London
34. Castle Terrace, Edinburgh
35. Koya, London
36. Paul Ainsworth at Number 6
37. The River Café, London
38. Yauatcha, London
39. Medlar, London
40. The Elephant, Torquay
41. Midsummer House, Cambridge
42. Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh
43. Viajante, London
44. The Royal Oak Paley Street, Paley Street
45. Hawksmoor Seven Dials, London
46. Arbutus, London
47. Marcus Wareingat the Berkeley, London
48. Hakkasan Mayfair, London
49. The Chilli Pickle, Brighton
50. Upstairs at the Ten Bells, London
51. The Dock Kitchen, London
52. Hedone, Chiswick, London
53. The Seahorse Restaurant, Dartmouth
54. St John Hotel, London
55. Burger and Lobster, London
56. Corrigan’s Mayfair, London
57. Aumbry, Manchester
58. Galvin at Windows, London
59. La Petite Maison, London
60. Tyddyn Llan, Llandrillo
61. Theo Randall at the Intercontinental, London
62. The Delauney, London
63. Le Gavroche, London
64. Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Gleneagles
65. Bar Boulud, London
66. Casamia, Bristol
67. Hix Soho, London
68. Gidleigh Park, Chagford
69. Restaurant Gordon Ramsey, London
70. The Latymer at Pennyhill Park, Bagshot
71. The Wolseley, London
72. The Star at Harome, Harome
73. Roka, London
74. Koffmann’s, London
75. MeatLiquor, London
76. Galvin Bistrot de Luxe, London
77. Bistrot Bruno Loubet, London
78. The Seafood Restaurant, Padstow
79. La Becasse, Ludlow
80. Barrafina, London
81. Moro, London
82. Cut at 45 Park Lane, London
83. Umu, London
84. Alimentum, Cambridge
85. Shu, Belfast
86. Pitt Cue, London
87. The Pass at South Lodge, Lower Beeding
88. Polpo, London
89. The Pipe and Glass Inn, Beverley
90. Purnell’s, Birmingham
91. The Potted Pig, Cardiff
92. Racine, London
93. Helene Darroze at the Connaught, London
94. The Three Chimneys, Isle of Skye
95. Brasserie Zedel, London
96. Goodman, Mayfair, London
97. Loves, Birmingham
98. Northcote Manor, Lancashire
99. Mourne Seafood, Belfast
100. Fraiche, Oxton