THE LEDBURY in LONDON is named the UK’s Best Restaurant 2024 marking the fourth time it has topped the list following consecutive wins in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT AWARDS was announced on Monday 10th June 2024 at The Magazine London.
Brett Graham’s Notting Hill restaurant The Ledbury has been named the Best Restaurant in the UK 2024, 12 years after it last held the title (The Ledbury was named Number One restaurant in the UK for three years, 2010-2012). Meanwhile, the London restaurant boom continues to dominate, with most awards going to establishments in the capital.
Launched in 2005, The Ledbury is overseen by chef-patron Brett Graham. It reopened in 2022 after a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic and was awarded three Michelin stars in the 2024 Michelin guide. Aussie-born Graham and his kitchen team are known for their seasonal cooking and using high quality ingredients, showcasing technique and originality in each dish.
“Brett Graham leads by example in the kitchen and is one of the hardest working chefs cooking at this level in the country. The Ledbury is revered for its produce-led dishes that arrive strikingly plated but also for the refreshing down-to-earth nature of its cooking, with the team always prioritising deliciousness over culinary showboating. It’s an outstanding restaurant, one that fully deserves to be recognised as the Best in the UK,” says Restaurant editor Stefan Chomka.
The second place and the Highest New Entry goes to Tomos Parry’s critically acclaimed Soho restaurant Mountain. Following his success with Brat (ranked 47th), Parry brings together his Welsh heritage and love for Basque cuisine with a focus on open-fire cooking and small-scale Spanish winemakers.
Founder and head chef of Chishuru (no.31 in the list) Adejoké Bakare takes home the Chef of the Year title. Serving modern West African cuisine, Bakare’s journey began hosting pop-ups in 2020 before opening a restaurant in Brixton Village. At the end of 2023 she relocated Chishuru to a larger site in Fitzrovia, and earlier this year became the first black woman in the UK to be awarded a Michelin star, and only the second black female chef in the world to have achieved this.
For the first time ever, a pub has been crowned Opening of the Year with the recent launch of The Devonshire in Soho. Run by Oisín Rogers, Charlie Caroll and Ashley Palmer-Watts, The Devonshire houses an ambitious wood-fired restaurant upstairs, showcasing exemplary butchery with cuts of meat cooked on a wood-ember grill. The Devonshire also takes home the title of Gastropub of the Year.
Stuart Ralston’s new Edinburgh restaurant Lyla receives The Service Award, while Ayo Adeyemi of Akoko, who has led the kitchen since October 2022, wins the Chef to Watch award, bringing greater attention to West African cuisine.
The Lifetime Achievement Award goes to former chef-patron at Le Gavroche Michel Roux. As a member of the Roux family, a dynasty that has profoundly influenced the UK’s culinary landscape, Michel Roux has continued the legacy of his father Albert Roux and his late great-uncle Michel and upheld Le Gavroche’s status as a cornerstone of classical French cuisine in London until its closure at the start of this year.
The winner of the Estrella Damm Sustainability Award goes to The Bull Inn in Totes. Judged by the Sustainable Restaurant Association, The Bull Inn is an organic, ethical gastropub and hotel and was recognised for its commitment to sustainability across many elements of the business, which include publicly communicated policies like the ‘No-Bull Rules to Dine, Trade, and Work By’ that ensures transparency; investment in an Employee Assistance Programme; and the use of a heat recapture system in the kitchen and uses solar energy panels.
This year’s list shows the return of the capital’s dominance in the restaurant scene, with a total of 53 restaurants from London in the top 100 list and only three in the top 10 located outside of London.
The winners were announced on Monday 10th June at a ceremony held at The Magazine London. The full list of the UK’s Top 100 Restaurants can be found on the National Restaurant Awards website.
The National Restaurant Awards is Restaurant’s annual countdown of the top 100 restaurants in the UK as voted for by the UK’s leading chefs, restaurateurs and food writers.
The Full List of Awards:
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National Restaurant of the Year: The Ledbury
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Highest New Entry: Mountain
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Best Restaurant in England sponsored by Estrella Damm: The Ledbury
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Best Restaurant in Northern Ireland: The Muddlers Club
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Best Restaurant in Wales: Ynyshir
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Best Restaurant in Scotland: The Glenturret Lalique
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Chef of the Year sponsored by SevenRooms: Adejoké Bakare
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Restaurateur of The Year sponsored by Chapman Ventilation: Joshua and Victoria Overington
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Opening of The Year sponsored by Open Table: The Devonshire
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Chef to Watch sponsored by Belazu: Ayo Adeyemi
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One to Watch sponsored by Woods Foodservice: Skof
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The Estrella Damm Sustainability Award: The Bull Inn, Totnes
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Gastropub of the Year: The Devonshire
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The Service Award sponsored by Liberty Wines and Piper-Heidsieck: Lyla
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Wine List of the Year: Trivet
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Cocktail list of the Year sponsored by Britvic: The Dover
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Lifetime Achievement Award sponsored by HG Walter: Michel Roux