National Restaurant Awards: Gymkhana takes 2014 title

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