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‘Grotty rundown pub’ named UK’s best restaurant
A Michelin-starred gastro pub described by its owner as a “grotty rundown pub by the sea” has been named the UK’s best restaurant at the 2016 National Restaurant Awards.
The Sportsman in Seasalter, Kent
The Sportsman in Seasalter, Kent, stole the crown from last year’s best restaurant, Barrafina, at an awards ceremony in London on 27 June, moving from second to first.
Self-taught chef and owner of The Sportsman, Stephen Harris, entered the culinary world in 1996 at the age of 34, having turned his back on a lucrative career in finance. Three years later he opened The Sportsman.
The unassuming looking restaurant, which Harris describes as a “grotty rundown pub by the sea” on its official Twitter account, is essentially a pub with a dining room, that also offers a £65 tasting menu designed to showcases local produce. Dishes include roast partridge with celeriac risotte, slip sole grilled in seaweed butter and turbot braised in vin jaune with smoked pork.
“Stephen Harris once described The Sportsman as a ‘grotty boozer by the sea’”, said restaurant editor Stefan Chomka. “But it’s certainly way more than that. The former history teacher is one of a handful of UK chefs to practice genuine terroir cooking down in the Kent estuary. A magnificent restaurant and a very worthy number one, congratulations to The Sportsman.”
While it was not able to secure the top spot, London did dominate the top 10, with The Ledbury and Hedone took third and fourth places respectively. The Clove Club in Shoreditch came in at sixth place.
Allan Pickett and Andre Blais’s London restaurant Piquet, which opened last year, was awarded highest new entry (7th) while Lake Road Kitchen in Ambleside (7th) was named highest climber after climbing up 70 places from last year.
Other awards, for service, cocktail list of the year and wine list of the year, were given to The Clove Club, Social Eating House and Noble Rot respectively.
Votes for the best restaurants were collected from 150 industry experts from across the UK, including chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and critics. Each voter is given seven votes based on their best restaurant experiences from the last 12 months, with votes listed in order of preference and must include restaurants both in their ‘home’ region and outside it.
The Restaurant Magazine’s National Restaurant Awards were held at The Hurlingham Club in London on 27 June.
Click through for the top 10 to 100…
10. The River Café, London
Thames Wharf, Rainville Rd, London, W6 9HA
9. Lyle’s, London
Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JJ
8. L’Enclume, Cartmel
Cavendish Street, Cartmel, Nr Grange over Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6PZ
7. Piquet, London (Highest New Entry)
Piquet Restaurant, 92-94 Newman Street, London, W1T 3EZ
http://piquet-restaurant.co.uk/
6. The Clove Club, London
Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London, EC1V 9LT
5. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac
1 Middle Street, Port Isaac, PL29 3RH
4. Hedone, London
301-303 Chiswick High Road, London, W44HH
3. The Ledbury, London
127 Ledbury Road, Notting Hill, London, W11 2AQ
2. Barrafina Adelaide Street, London
10 Adelaide Street, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4HZ
1. The Sportsman, Kent
The Sportsman, Faversham Road, Seasalter, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 4BP
http://www.thesportsmanseasalter.co.uk/
The best of the rest…
11. The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny
12. Casamia, Bristol
13. The Dairy, London
14. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
15. Lake Road Kitchen, Ambleside
16. 64 Degrees, Brighton
17. Hoppers, London
18. Le Gavroche, London
19. A Wong, London
20. Frenchie, London
21. Noble Rot, London
22. Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Auchturader
23. The Waterside Inn, Bray
24. Black Axe Mangal, London
25. The Quality Chop House, London
26. Bells Diner and Bar Rooms, Bristol
27. The Man Behind the Curtain, Leeds
28. Fera, London
29. Duck & Waffle, London
30. 40 Maltby Street, London
31. Hibiscus, London
32. The Elephant, Torquay
33. The Hand and Flowers, Marlow
34. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London
35. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London
36. Hawksmoor Seven Dials, London
37. Birch, Bristol
38. Northcote, Blackburn
39. Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
40. The Hardwick, Abergavenny
41. Portland, London
42. The Palomar, London
43. Midsummer House, Cambridge
44. Bao, London
45. Gymkhana, London
46. Pollen Street Social, London
47. The Seahorse, Dartmouth
48. Ellory, London
49. Alyn Williams at The Westbury, London
50. Manchester House, Manchester
51. Paul Ainsworth at Number 6, Padstow
52. Pitt Cue, London
53. Brawn, London
54. Otto’s, London
55. Smoking Goat, London
56. Simpsons, Birmingham
57. The Manor, London
58. Oldroyd, London
59. The Coach, Marlow
60. Ondine, Edinburgh
61. The Ninth, London
62. Bocca Di Lupo, London
63. Kitchen Table, London
64. Social Eating House, London
65. Fraiche, Oxton
66. Restaurant Story, London
67. Marcus, London
68. The Fat Duck, Bray
69. The Wolseley, London
70. Wright’s Food Emporium, Llanarthney
71. Chez Bruce, London
72. Lurra, London
73. Primeur, London
74. Sticky Walnut, Chester
75. The Kitchin, Edinburgh
76. Tyddyn Llan, Corwen
77. Colony Grill Room, London
78. Castle Terrace, Edinburgh
79. The French, Manchester
80. Darsham Nurseries, Darsham
81. El Gato Negro, Manchester
82. Snaps and Rye, London
83. Deanes EIPIC Restaurant, Belfast
84. The Wild Rabbit, Kingham
85. Ynyshir Hall, Machynlleth
86. Theo Randall at The InterContinental, London
87. Bentleys Oyster Bar & Grill, London
88. The Parkers Arms, Newton in Bowland
89. The Chilli Pickle, Brighton
90. The Pipe and Glass Inn, Beverley
91. Carters of Moseley, Moseley
92. The Flitch of Bacon, Dunmow
93. Silo, Brighton
94. MeatLiquor Marylebone, London
95. Sartoria, London
96. Wilks Restaurant, Bristol
97. Berners Tavern, London
98. Café Murano St James, London
99. House of Tides, Newcastle
100. Driftwood Hotel, Cornwall
Special Awards:
• Chef’s Chef of the Year – Philip Howard
• Lifetime Achievement Award – Pierre Koffmann
• One to Watch – Som Saa
• Highest New Entry – Piquet
• Highest Climber – Lake Road
• The Service Award – The Clove Club
• Cocktail List of the Year – Social Eating House
• Wine List of the Year – Noble Rot
• Best Italian – The River Café
• Sustainable Restaurant of the Year – Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
• Best in UK/Gastropub – The Sportsman
• Best in Scotland – Restaurant Andrew Fairlie
• Best in Wales – The Walnut Tree
• Best in Northern Ireland – Deanes EIPIC Restaurant