The 14-seat restaurant, run by chef-patron Marianne Lumb, beat nominated finalists The Clove Club, Elystan Street and The Ledbury to claim the top award at the ceremony, held yesterday (11 September) at Leicester Square’s The Hippodrome Casino.
Other winners included Indian restaurant Jamavar, in Mayfair, which was named Top Newcomer and Borough Market’s Kappacasein Dairy, named the capital’s Best Street Food vendor.
The Wolseley and The Delaunay restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King were recognised with a Lifetime Achievement award and Ben Chapman and Brian Hannon’s Soho restaurant Kiln was named London’s Top Cheap Eat.
“Marianne’s performance was so strong this year, we felt she deserved to be recognised at the pinnacle of London cuisine,” says the guide’s editor Peter Harden.
Nominations for the awards are based on Harden’s annual survey of UK restaurant-goers, with 8,500 people contributing 50,000 reviews in this year’s guide. Each category consists of four nominees, two selected on the strength of diners’ votes, and a further two selected on a similar basis from restaurants that have opened in the past two to three. From the four candidates, the Harden’s editors pick the final winner.
The full list of winners:
Top Gastronomic Experience
Marianne, Westbourne Green
Top Newcomer
Jamavar, Mayfair
Top Cheap Eat
Kiln, Soho
Best for Business
Cabotte, City
Best Steaks & Grill
Zelman Meats, Soho
Best Street Food
Kappacasein Dairy, Borough Market
Wine List of the Year
Enoteca Turi, Belgravia
Top Bar or Pub
The Lighterman, King’s Cross
Best for Romance
Luca, Clerkenwell
Best for Breakfast or Brunch
Sunday, Islington
Top Coffee House
Ozone, Shoreditch
Best Afternoon Tea
Collins room, The Berkeley, Mayfair
Best for Fish & Seafood
Estiatorio Milos, St James’s
Lifetime Achievement Award
Chris Corbin & Jeremy King