The Notting Hill restaurant, headed by young Australian chef Brett Graham, was awarded last night at London’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The Sunday Times Food List is based on food quality alone and is chosen by 8,000 diners-out and members of the public.
Graham said: “It’s a huge honour to top the list, especially as it comes from such a broad base of customers. This is a testament to everyone in the extremely talented and energetic young team here at The Ledbury."
The latest award comes after earning the prestigious number one spot National Restaurant Awards for the second year running. The Ledbury has also recently topped both the Zagat and Harden's surveys for best food in London. And Graham insists all the success is down to a collective effort.
Dedicated and hard-working
“It's my privilege to come in each day and orchestrate the proceedings,” he added. “But the accolade belongs to them all. I feel so lucky to be part of such a dedicated and hard-working group."
Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Great Milton, Oxfordshire came second in the Food List while last year’s winner, Gidleigh Park, was third.
Gidleigh Park also walked off with the Rémy Martin Excellence Award for Best All Round Restaurant. Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley won the Coeur de Cognac Award for Best Dessert, and Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental received the Rémy Martin Best Newcomer Award.
The Sunday Times Food List Top 5 (last year’s rank in brackets)
1 - (4) The Ledbury, Notting Hill, London
2 - (6) Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Great Milton, Oxon
3 - (1) Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon
4 - (7) Le Gavroche, Mayfair, London
5 - (5) Waterside Inn, Bray, Berkshire
Other interesting statistics from this year’s Sunday Times Food List include:
- Half of the top 100 restaurants are outside London (last year it was only 40 per cent)
- The number of Asian eateries in the List has fallen by half
- There are 31 new entries on the list
The full list of the top 100 restaurants in Britain will be published in The Sunday Times on 30 October.