A Tiny Thai Grill Restaurant in Soho Is Named U.K.’s ‘Best’

Ben Chapman’s specialist northern Thai barbecue restaurant — Kiln, on Brewer Street in Soho — has been named the “best restaurant in the U.K.,” according to Restaurant Magazine’s annual index. Nieves Barragan Mohacho picked up a brace, taking chef of the year, while her new Spanish restaurant Sabor was awarded second place in the overall index.

Other restaurants in the capital in the top 10 included, Eater London’s chef of the year 2017 A. Wong in third; high-end newcomer Core by Clare Smyth in fourth; and James Lowe’s Shoreditch restaurant Lyle’s in seventh. Claude Bosi’s temple to Michelin — Bibendum in Chelsea — which was awarded two Michelin stars at the first time of asking last year, was named in eleventh place.

Other notable London inclusions in the top 100, were Brat — Tomos Parry’s hit grill restaurant in Shoreditch (in which Kiln’s Chapman is a partner) at number 14; and Indian Accent at 22. Victor Garvey’s affordable tapas restaurant — Rambla on Dean Street — made it in at 77, while there was just enough space to give Ikoyi in St. James’s a spot at number 100. Chapman’s other restaurant Smoking Goat (which opened in Shoreditch last autumn) only managed to make it in at number 68; and Nuala, the modern Irish restaurant, which opened on Old Street roundabout just before Christmas, was placed at number 51.

53 of the 100 restaurants in the index are located in London.

Ben Chapman (and his business partner, Brian Hannon) said in a joint statement that they were humbled by the recognition:

Trying to open a tiny place in Soho that serves rural Thai food whilst growing and sourcing the ingredients in Cornwall is probably a fairly demented approach to opening a restaurant. We don’t know if this brilliant award makes it more or less so, but we’re certainly humbled by the recognition. There are days where I silently wonder whether anyone notices or likes the fact that chef Nick has spent a year trying to use wild monkfish liver to thicken a curry rather than buying coconut cream, but what’s lovely about this award, is that it acknowledges people do. Acutely with Kiln, we owe so much to the enduring enthusiasm of our regulars, who whenever they eat with us embrace the spirit of what we’re trying to do. Without them, we’d have closed 6 months in.

Among those listed in the one’s-to-watch section were ex-Outlaw’s at the Capital chef Tom Brown’s Cornerstone, which recently opened in Hackney Wick. Noble Rot won wine list of the year. Restaurateur of the year was given to siblings Karam, Jyotin and Sunaina Sethi of JKS Restaurants.

The index belongs to the William Reed group and is a kind of regional affiliate of the World’s 50 Best, whose 51 to 100 “best restaurants in the world” are announced later today. This list is decided by “150 industry experts” who “have voted for their best restaurant experiences over the past 12 months across the British Isles, taking into consideration not only the food, but the staff, atmosphere, music, design and price.” Restaurant Magazine says “The academy of voters is made up of chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and critics and other food experts and gastronomes.”

It will be interesting to note how many, if any, of the restaurants that have registered in this list will be recognised by the much more high-profile 50 Best index, which comes out next week.

Despite the high ranking of Sabor and Core, critics of the list have already pointed to a broader lack of female representation. It is of course not the first time William Reed-as-event-organisers have faced questions over equity and diversity. But, Restaurant Magazine’s editor, Stefan Chomka, has said that he would consider having an open and informal discussion with members of the newly formed Women of Food. So let’s see where that takes the list next year.

Here’s the full list of U.K. restaurants awarded last night:

1. Kiln, Soho
2. Sabor, Mayfair
3. A Wong, Victoria
4. Core by Clare Smyth, Notting Hill
5. L’Enclume, Cumbria
6. Moor Hall, Lancashire
7. Lyle’s, Shoreditch
8. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
9. The Sportsman, Kent
10. Nathan Outlaw, Cornwall
11. Claude Bosi at Bibendum, Chelsea
12. The Coach, Marlow
13. Coombeshead Farm, Cornwall
14. Brat, Shoreditch
15. Padella, London Bridge
16. The Quality Chop House, Clerkenwell
17. The Ledbury, Notting Hill
18. Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire
19. Wreckfish, Liverpool
20. The Black Swan at Oldstead
21. The River Café, Hammersmith
22. Indian Accent, Mayfair
23. Paul Ainsworth at No 6, Padstow
24. El Pastor, London Bridge
25. Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons, Oxford
26. Ondine, Edinburgh
27. Casamia, Bristol
28. Ynyshir, Powys
29. Som Saa, Shoreditch
30. House of Tides, Newcastle
31. The Clove Club, Shoreditch
32. The Fat Duck, Bray
33. Chez Bruce, Wandsworth
34. Elystan Street, Chelsea
35. The Crown at Burchetts Green, Maidenhead
36. Trinity, Clapham
37. The Little Fish Market, Hove
38. The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny
39. Quo Vadis, Soho
40. The Seahorse, Dartmouth
41. Barrafina, Covent Garden
42. Lorne, Victoria
43. The Waterside Inn, Bray
44. Brawn, Bethnal Green
45. The Raby Hunt, Darlington
46. Hispi, Didsbury
47. Hoppers, Soho
48. Midsummer House, Cambridge
49. Noble Rot, Bloomsbury
50. Gymkhana, Mayfair
51. Nuala, Old Street
52. Hedone, Chiswick
53. Alchemilla, Nottingham
54. Kricket, Soho
55. Pollen St Social, Mayfair
56. Tyddyn Llan, Llandrillo
57. Root, Bristol
58. St John Bread & Wine, Shoreditch
59. The Star Inn Harome, Yorkshire
60. Farang, Highbury
61. Holborn Dining Room, Holborn
62. The Hand & Flowers, Marlow
63. Wilson’s, Bristol
64. 40 Maltby Street, London Bridge
65. Black Axe Mangal, Islington
66. Carter’s of Moseley, Birmingham
67. The Palomar, Chinatown
68. Smoking Goat, Shoreditch
69. The Beehive, Berkshire
70. The Hardwick, Abergavenny
71. Timberyard, Edinburgh
72. Xu, Chinatown
73. The Dairy, Clapham
74. Le Gavroche, Mayfair
75. Paco Tapas, Bristol
76. The Parkers Arms, Clitheroe
77. Rambla, Soho
78. Wine & Brine, County Armagh
79. Frog by Adam Handling, Covent Garden
80. Where The Light Gets In, Stockport
81. Bonhams, Mayfair
82. Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Edinburgh
83. Fraiche, Oxton
84. Restaurant Story, London Bridge
85. Sardine, Hoxton
86. The Ritz, Picadilly
87. Kitchen Table, Fitzrovia
88. Inver, Argyll & Bute
89. Lima, Fitzrovia
90. The Fordwich Arms, Canterbury
91. Frenchie, Covent Garden
92. The Elephant, Torquay
93. Barbary, Covent Garden
94. Neo Bistro, Mayfair
95. Mark Greenaway, Edinburgh
96. Morston Hall Hotel, Norfolk
97. Northcote Manor, Langho
98. Westerns Laundry, Highbury
99. Perilla, Newington Green
100. Ikoyi, Piccadilly