National Restaurant Awards: Gymkhana takes 2014 title

Mayfair restaurant Gymkhana has been voted the UK’s best restaurant at the 2014 National Restaurant Awards, beating previous winners The Ledbury and The Hand & Flowers to the top spot.

Gymkhana chef-patron Karam Sethi, who opened his Indian restaurant in September to critical acclaim, took to the stage this evening (30 June) at the Hurlingham Club in London to collect his award from guest of honour Ferran Adrià.

"To be voted the number one restaurant in the UK is a big surprise and beyond our wildest dreams," said Sethi. "‎There are so many brilliant restaurants and inspiring chefs in the list who probably deserve it more, so to be recognised by the industry in this way is incredible. It's a credit to all the Gymkhana team who have worked extremely hard to create a restaurant we are so proud of."

Top 100 restaurants

Now in their seventh year, the National Restaurant Awards, organised by Restaurant Magazine and sponsored by Estrella Damn, recognise the top 100 UK restaurants in the UK, as voted for by industry experts.

Isaac McHale’s crowd-funded Shoreditch restaurant The Clove Club climbed three places to number two, while The Ledbury slipped to third place.

Last year’s winner, Tom Kerridge’s The Hand & Flowers was Gastropub of the Year for the third year running and came in at number four on the list.

Other noticeable achievements included Mikael Jonsson’s Hedone (7), which climbed seven places to make it into the top 10 for the first time, and Restaurant Story, which was the Highest Climber after moving up an impressive 69 places to 25.

Special awards

Regional awards went to The Walnut Tree (14) - voted Best Restaurant in Wales, Restaurant Andrew Farlie (20) – voted Best Restaurant in Scotland and Shu (76) – voted Best Restaurant in Northern Ireland.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (9) head chef Ashley Palmer-Watts was voted Chef’s Chef of the Year, while the Waterside Inn (16) won the Service Award and The Dairy won the OpenTable Diners’ Choice ‘Fit for Foodies’ Award, based on the combined opinions of more than 325,000 OpenTable reviews.

Special awards also went to Le Gavroche (Wine List of the Year), Grain Store (Cocktail List of the Year) and James Lowe’s Shoreditch restaurant Lyle’s, which was this year’s One to Watch.

The Sustainable Restaurant of the Year award, given in conjunction with the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA), went to The Pig (73) in Brockenhurst, which grows much of its produce in its own garden, has an in-house forager to find wild food from the forest, and sources almost everything else from suppliers within a 25 mile radius.

Industry Votes

For restaurants to make it onto the top 100 list, they must be voted for by members of the National Restaurant Awards Academy – which is made up of 150 restaurateurs, chefs, food critics and journalists across 12 regions.

Each voter casts seven votes best on their best restaurant experiences over the previous 12 months, and nobody is allowed to vote for their own restaurant or restaurants in which they have a commercial interest.

Members of the voting panel can vote for up to five restaurants in their own region, with the remaining two votes reserved for restaurants outside their region.

Check out the latest issue of Restaurant Magazine for detailed listings of the winners and an interview with Karam Sethi.

The Top 100 Restaurants in the UK:

  1. Gymkhana - National Restaurant of the Year
  2. The Clove Cub                         
  3. The Ledbury                             
  4. The Hand & Flowers - Gastropub of the Year 
  5. Pollen Street Social               
  6. The Sportsman                       
  7. Hedone                      
  8. L'Enclume                  
  9. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal - Chefs' Chef of the Year - Ashley Palmer-Watts          
  10. The Square               
  11. Restaurant Sat Bains                             
  12. Midsummer House               
  13. Le Manoir                  
  14. The Walnut Tree - Best Restaurant in Wales              
  15. Kitchen Table                           
  16. The Waterside Inn - The Service Award        
  17. Chiltern Firehouse                 
  18. The Fat Duck                            
  19. Nathan Outlaw                       
  20. Restaurant Andrew Fairlie - Best Restaurant in Scotland         
  21. Le Gavroche - Wine List of the Year
  22. Koya                            
  23. The Hardwick                           
  24. The Dairy - OpenTable Diners' Choice 'Fit for Foodies' Award              
  25. Hibiscus                      
  26. Restaurant Story - Highest Climber  
  27. Casamia                     
  28. Grain Store - Cocktail List of the Year             
  29. Brasserie Chavot                    
  30. Mayfields                  
  31. Bocca di Lupo                           
  32. The Kitchin                
  33. The River Café                         
  34. St John                       
  35. Quo Vadis                 
  36. 64 Degrees               
  37. The Quality Chop House                     
  38. Jose                             
  39. Sticky Walnut                           
  40. Goodman Mayfair                 
  41. Sushi Tetsu               
  42. The Seahorse                          
  43. Social Eating House               
  44. The Royal Oak Paley Street                
  45. Galvin at Windows                
  46. Berners Tavern                       
  47. Barrafina                    
  48. HKK                              
  49. Marcus                       
  50. Tyddyn Llan                              
  51. Restaurant Martin Wishart                
  52. The French               
  53. Merchants Tavern                 
  54. Ynyshir Hall               
  55. The Chilli Pickle                       
  56. Andre Garret at Cliveden                   
  57. Hawksmoor Air Street                         
  58. Paul Ainsworth at No6                         
  59. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay                              
  60. 10 Greek Street                      
  61. Ember Yard               
  62. Simpsons                   
  63. Ondine                       
  64. Koffmanns                
  65. L'Anima                      
  66. Manchester House               
  67. 40 Maltby Street                    
  68. Le Champignon Sauvage                     
  69. Alyn Williams at The Westbury                         
  70. Pitt Cue                      
  71. Drakes                        
  72. Loves                          
  73. The Pig - Sustainable Restaurant of the Year             
  74. The Elephant                           
  75. The Ethicurean                        
  76. Shu -  Best Restaurant in Northern Ireland  
  77. The Goods Shed                     
  78. The Pipe & Glass Inn                             
  79. Hutong                       
  80. MeatLiquor                              
  81. Mark Greenaway                   
  82. Flinty Red                  
  83. Chez Bruce               
  84. The Hinds Head                      
  85. The Star Inn                              
  86. La Trompette                           
  87. Bar Boulud                
  88. Timberyard               
  89. Café Murano                           
  90. Toasted                      
  91. The Wolseley                           
  92. Newman Street Tavern                       
  93. Aumbry                      
  94. Moro                           
  95. Monachyle Mhor                   
  96. The Kingham Plough               
  97. The Greenhouse                    
  98. La Petite Maison                    
  99. Gauthier Soho
  100. Umu                    

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