Two-strong chops restaurant Blacklock was named Best New Scaleable Concept while Flat Iron, the steak restaurant group founded by Charlie Carroll in 2012, took home the prize for the Best Value Restaurant Operator with fewer than 20 sites.
Pizza restaurant Franco Manca took home the Best Value Restaurant Operator award for a group with more than 20 sites and Wagamama was crowned Best Restaurant Operator with more than 20 sites.
The Ned, the ambitious multi-million pound hotel, members club and selection of restaurants that opened in the City earlier this year, was named Opening of the Year.
The awards were announced yesterday (6 November) at a lunch at Hawker House and are based on votes from members of Restaurant magazine’s R200 Club. The club, founded in 2008, is an industry networking group of the top 200 multi-site restaurant operators in the UK.
Other winners on the day included Dishoom, which has just opened its latest restaurant in Kensington, which was named Best Restaurant Operator – under 20 sites; and Bill’s, which took home the Best Family Restaurant Operator award.
Paul Moran, group managing director of northern-based restaurant group Living Ventures, was named Unsung Hero in a new award for this year.
The winners in full:
Most Effective Restaurant Design, in partnership with LiveRes
Gaucho, Birmingham
Best New Scaleable Concept, in partnership with Venners
Blacklock
Best Restaurant Drinks Offer, in partnership with Daura Damm
The Alchemist
Best Value Restaurant Operator – under 20 sites, in partnership with Wireless Social
Flat Iron
Best Value Restaurant Operator – over 20 sites, in partnership with Natwest
Franco Manca
Food-Led Pub Company of the Year, in partnership with Flypay
ETM Group
Opening of the Year, in partnership with Shelley Sandzer
The Ned
Best Family Restaurant Operator, in partnership with Reynolds
Bill’s
Best Restaurant Operator – under 20 sites, in partnership with Zonal Retail Data Systems
Dishoom
Best Restaurant Operator – over 20 sites, in partnership with Chapman Ventilation
Wagamama
Unsung Hero Award, in partnership with Just Eat
Paul Moran
The R200 programme focuses on those who have made a success of running a restaurant business, and is regularly attended by founders, MDs, CEOs, operations directors, marketing directors and buyers of its member groups as well as key industry investors and commentators. For more information on the R200 or to partner the events, email luke.mould@wrbm.com