Announced before the awards ceremony and the unveiling of the new list of top 100 restaurants in the UK, which is being held tonight (16 August), Noble Rot Soho has been awarded Wine List of the Year with Hide taking home the Cocktail List of the Year award.
Noble Rot’s Mark Andrew and Dan Keeling have been the recipient of the award on numerous occasions. The wine list at their Soho restaurant is extensive without being overwhelming, offering a huge selection of by the glass wines thanks to a policy of having more bottles open than most restaurants would. Its wider cellar is sensibly priced with notably low mark ups throughout (especially at the top-end) and is unashamedly reflective of Andrew and Keeling’s own tastes.
Hide has been recognised for its modern and creative approach to mixology with a cocktail list that leans towards lighter and fresher flavours with often unusual ingredients being paired with lesser-known spirits and liqueurs. Served in the restaurant’s The Bar Below basement bar cocktails are made using ingredients that change seasonally to ensure that ingredients are always used at their best.
A dry martini is stirred with frozen birch sap instead of ice to give it a silky mouthfeel and soft finish, for example, while mead is paired with madeira, pisco and meadowsweet for the Mead of Poetry cocktail, and Diplomatico Planas rum is blended with Cocchi Rosa, strawberries, milky oolong, lemon balm and clarified milk in the Strawberries and Cream.
The Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards are being held tonight at The Stratford hotel in London, where the UK’s top 100 restaurants will be revealed.