The Ledbury reclaims the title of UK’s Best Restaurant

The restaurant was crowned the UK’s Best Restaurant and also the Best Restaurant in England at Restaurant magazine’s annual National Restaurant Awards, held tonight (10 June).

The Ledbury launched in 2005 and held the title of the UK’s Best Restaurant between 2010 and 2012. It closed during the pandemic and reopened in 2022 after a two-year hiatus.

Aussie-born Graham and his kitchen team are known for their seasonal cooking and using high quality ingredients, showcasing technique and originality in each dish.

“Brett Graham leads by example in the kitchen and is one of the hardest working chefs cooking at this level in the country,” says Restaurant editor Stefan Chomka.

“The Ledbury is revered for its produce-led dishes that arrive strikingly plated but also for the refreshing down-to-earth nature of its cooking, with the team always prioritising deliciousness over culinary showboating.

“It’s an outstanding restaurant, one that fully deserves to be recognised as the Best in the UK.”

Tomos Parry’s critically acclaimed Soho restaurant Mountain claimed second place on this year’s list and is the Highest New Entry. Following his success with Brat (ranked at 47 this year), Parry brings together his Welsh heritage and love for Basque cuisine with a focus on open-fire cooking and small-scale Spanish winemakers. 

Adejoké Bakare, founder and head chef at Chishuru, took home the Chef of the Year title with her West African restaurant entering the list at number 31. It comes after Bakare became the first black woman in the UK to be awarded a Michelin star earlier this year, and only the second black female chef in the world to have achieved this.

For the first time, a pub has been crowned Opening of the Year with the recent launch of The Devonshire in Soho. Run by Oisín Rogers, Charlie Carroll and Ashley Palmer-Watts, The Devonshire houses an ambitious wood-fired restaurant upstairs, showcasing exemplary butchery with cuts of meat cooked on a wood-ember grill. The Devonshire was also named Gastropub of the Year.

Stuart Ralston’s new Edinburgh restaurant Lyla received The Service Award, while Ayo Adeyemi of Akoko, who has led the kitchen since October 2022, won the Chef to Watch award, bringing greater attention to West African cuisine. 

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former chef-patron at Le Gavroche Michel Roux. As a member of the Roux family, a dynasty that has profoundly influenced the UK’s culinary landscape, Michel Roux has continued the legacy of his father Albert Roux and his late great-uncle Michel and upheld Le Gavroche’s status as a cornerstone of classical French cuisine in London until its closure at the start of this year.

The Bull Inn in Totes won the Estrella Damm Sustainability Award. Judged by the Sustainable Restaurant Association, The Bull Inn is an organic, ethical gastropub and hotel and was recognised for its commitment to sustainability across many elements of the business, which include publicly communicated policies like the ‘No-Bull Rules to Dine, Trade, and Work By’ that ensures transparency; investment in an Employee Assistance Programme; and the use of a heat recapture system in the kitchen and uses solar energy panels.

This year’s list shows the return of the capital’s dominance in the restaurant scene, with a total of 53 restaurants from London in the top 100 list and only three in the top 10 located outside of London.

The winners were announced on Monday 10^th June at a ceremony held at Magazine London. The full list of the UK’s Top 100 Restaurants can be found on the National Restaurant Awards website. 

The National Restaurant Awards is Restaurant’s annual countdown of the top 100 restaurants in the UK as voted for by the UK’s leading chefs, restaurateurs and food writers.