The Michelin-starred pub restaurant in Seasalter, swapped places with last year’s best restaurant – Barrafina Adelaide Street – to take up the number one spot at Restaurant magazine's awards, held at The Hurlingham Club in London tonight (27 June).
Restaurant editor Stefan Chomka said: "Stephen Harris once described The Sportsman as a 'grotty boozer by the sea'. 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."
London restaurants The Ledbury and Hedone took third and fourth places respectively while Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Port Isaac, Cornwall, was fifth.
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.
Philip Howard, was awarded Chef's Chef of the Year and Pierre Koffmann was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.
There was also the Best Italian Award, given to London's The River Cafe and The One to Watch, awarded to Som Saa in London.
Top 100 criteria
Votes from 150 industry experts from across the UK, including chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and critics, determine which restaurants make the top 100 list.
Each voter is given seven votes based on their best restaurant experiences from the last 12 months. Votes are listed in order of preference and must be for restaurants both in their ‘home’ region and outside it.
Once all votes are cast, they are added up by Restaurant magazine to create the list. In the event of a tied number of votes, the preference ‘weighting' comes into play.
Special awards - Best Wine List, Service, Best Cocktail List and Lifetime Achievement - are voted for separately by the same academy of experts while The One To Watch Award is granted at the discretion of Restaurant magazine.
Top 100 UK Restaurants 2016:
- The Sportsman, Kent
- Barrafina Adelaide Street, London
- The Ledbury, London
- Hedone, London
- Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac
- The Clove Club, London
- Piquet, London (Highest New Entry)
- L’Enclume, Cartmel
- Lyle’s, London
- The River Café, London
- The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny
- Casamia, Bristol
- The Dairy, London
- Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
- Lake Road Kitchen, Ambleside
- 64 Degrees, Brighton
- Hoppers, London
- Le Gavroche, London
- A Wong, London
- Frenchie, London
- Noble Rot, London
- Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Auchturader
- The Waterside Inn, Bray
- Black Axe Mangal, London
- The Quality Chop House, London
- Bells Diner and Bar Rooms, Bristol
- The Man Behind the Curtain, Leeds
- Fera, London
- Duck & Waffle, London
- 40 Maltby Street, London
- Hibiscus, London
- The Elephant, Torquay
- The Hand and Flowers, Marlow
- Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London
- Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London
- Hawksmoor Seven Dials, London
- Birch, Bristol
- Northcote, Blackburn
- Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
- The Hardwick, Abergavenny
- Portland, London
- The Palomar, London
- Midsummer House, Cambridge
- Bao, London
- Gymkhana, London
- Pollen Street Social, London
- The Seahorse, Dartmouth
- Ellory, London
- Alyn Williams at The Westbury, London
- Manchester House, Manchester
- Paul Ainsworth at Number 6, Padstow
- Pitt Cue, London
- Brawn, London
- Otto's, London
- Smoking Goat, London
- Simpsons, Birmingham
- The Manor, London
- Oldroyd, London
- The Coach, Marlow
- Ondine, Edinburgh
- The Ninth, London
- Bocca Di Lupo, London
- Kitchen Table, London
- Social Eating House, London
- Fraiche, Oxton
- Restaurant Story, London
- Marcus, London
- The Fat Duck, Bray
- The Wolseley, London
- Wright’s Food Emporium, Llanarthney
- Chez Bruce, London
- Lurra, London
- Primeur, London
- Sticky Walnut, Chester
- The Kitchin, Edinburgh
- Tyddyn Llan, Corwen
- Colony Grill Room, London
- Castle Terrace, Edinburgh
- The French, Manchester
- Darsham Nurseries, Darsham
- El Gato Negro, Manchester
- Snaps and Rye, London
- Deanes EIPIC Restaurant, Belfast
- The Wild Rabbit, Kingham
- Ynyshir Hall, Machynlleth
- Theo Randall at The InterContinental, London
- Bentleys Oyster Bar & Grill, London
- The Parkers Arms, Newton in Bowland
- The Chilli Pickle, Brighton
- The Pipe and Glass Inn, Beverley
- Carters of Moseley, Moseley
- The Flitch of Bacon, Dunmow
- Silo, Brighton
- MeatLiquor Marylebone, London
- Sartoria, London
- Wilks Restaurant, Bristol
- Berners Tavern, London
- Café Murano St James, London
- House of Tides, Newcastle
- Driftwood Hotel
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