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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:
- Kiln, Soho
- Sabor, Mayfair
- A Wong, Victoria
- Core by Clare Smyth, Notting Hill
- L’Enclume, Cumbria
- Moor Hall, Lancashire
- Lyle’s, Shoreditch
- Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
- The Sportsman, Kent
- Nathan Outlaw, Cornwall
- Claude Bosi at Bibendum, Chelsea
- The Coach, Marlow
- Coombeshead Farm, Cornwall
- Brat, Shoreditch
- Padella, London Bridge
- The Quality Chop House, Clerkenwell
- The Ledbury, Notting Hill
- Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire
- Wreckfish, Liverpool
- The Black Swan at Oldstead
- The River Café, Hammersmith
- Indian Accent, Mayfair
- Paul Ainsworth at No 6, Padstow
- El Pastor, London Bridge
- Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons, Oxford
- Ondine, Edinburgh
- Casamia, Bristol
- Ynyshir, Powys
- Som Saa, Shoreditch
- House of Tides, Newcastle
- The Clove Club, Shoreditch
- The Fat Duck, Bray
- Chez Bruce, Wandsworth
- Elystan Street, Chelsea
- The Crown at Burchetts Green, Maidenhead
- Trinity, Clapham
- The Little Fish Market, Hove
- The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny
- Quo Vadis, Soho
- The Seahorse, Dartmouth
- Barrafina, Covent Garden
- Lorne, Victoria
- The Waterside Inn, Bray
- Brawn, Bethnal Green
- The Raby Hunt, Darlington
- Hispi, Didsbury
- Hoppers, Soho
- Midsummer House, Cambridge
- Noble Rot, Bloomsbury
- Gymkhana, Mayfair
- Nuala, Old Street
- Hedone, Chiswick
- Alchemilla, Nottingham
- Kricket, Soho
- Pollen St Social, Mayfair
- Tyddyn Llan, Llandrillo
- Root, Bristol
- St John Bread & Wine, Shoreditch
- The Star Inn Harome, Yorkshire
- Farang, Highbury
- Holborn Dining Room, Holborn
- The Hand & Flowers, Marlow
- Wilson’s, Bristol
- 40 Maltby Street, London Bridge
- Black Axe Mangal, Islington
- Carter’s of Moseley, Birmingham
- The Palomar, Chinatown
- Smoking Goat, Shoreditch
- The Beehive, Berkshire
- The Hardwick, Abergavenny
- Timberyard, Edinburgh
- Xu, Chinatown
- The Dairy, Clapham
- Le Gavroche, Mayfair
- Paco Tapas, Bristol
- The Parkers Arms, Clitheroe
- Rambla, Soho
- Wine & Brine, County Armagh
- Frog by Adam Handling, Covent Garden
- Where The Light Gets In, Stockport
- Bonhams, Mayfair
- Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Edinburgh
- Fraiche, Oxton
- Restaurant Story, London Bridge
- Sardine, Hoxton
- The Ritz, Picadilly
- Kitchen Table, Fitzrovia
- Inver, Argyll & Bute
- Lima, Fitzrovia
- The Fordwich Arms, Canterbury
- Frenchie, Covent Garden
- The Elephant, Torquay
- Barbary, Covent Garden
- Neo Bistro, Mayfair
- Mark Greenaway, Edinburgh
- Morston Hall Hotel, Norfolk
- Northcote Manor, Langho
- Westerns Laundry, Highbury
- Perilla, Newington Green
- Ikoyi, Piccadilly