Shortlist announced for Harden’s London Restaurant Awards 2017

Harden’s has released the final shortlist for this year’s definitive London Restaurant Awards, which takes place on 11 September at The Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square.

Nominations for the awards are derived statistically from Harden’s 27-year-old annual survey of UK restaurant-goers.  This year 8,500 people contributed 50,000 nominations within the categories specified by Harden’s. The awards shortlist reflects the number of nominations within each category, with two places in each category reserved for up-and-coming names that have opened in the last 2-3 years.

Vying for the Nyetimber award for Top Gastronomic Experience are Brett Graham’s renowned Notting Hill restaurant The Ledbury, together with Shoreditch’s now world-famous Clove Club, the tiny yet exceptional Marianne on the fringes of Notting Hill, and Phil Howard’s latest venture Elystan Street in Chelsea. 

Last year the award went to London’s most expensive restaurant The Araki in Mayfair. Dining at the tiny but “peerless” sushi spot is a “stunning, intimate, authentic, and completely unique experience”.

Meanwhile Notting Hill’s 108 Garage, pop-up-turned-permanent Kricket in Soho, Fitzrovia’s Honey & Smoke, and Jamavar in Mayfair are all in the running to become London’s Top Newcomer. In 2016 the honour went to Lee Tiernan’s “mind-glowingly good” Black Axe Mangal on Highbury Corner – where strong spices meet heavy metal.

This year sees the addition of a brand new category, Best for Fish & Seafood, sponsored by Exmoor Caviar. On the shortlist: Richard Caring’s “so-classy” Covent Garden institution J Sheekey, as well as his “sumptuous” Mayfair star-magnet Scott’s, alongside Rick Stein’s London newcomer, Rick Stein, which occupies a picturesque riverside site in Barnes, and the West End’s glamorous Estiatorio Milos.

And City newcomers La Dame de Pic (from Anne-Sophie Pic, three-star chef from Maison Pic (est. 1889) in Valence, SE France) and Cabotte (from sommelier Xavier Rousset) are the only restaurants to be nominated in two separate categories. La Dame de Pic is shortlisted for both Best for Business and Best for Romance, while Cabotte is also in the running for Best for Business, as well as London’s Wine List of the Year.

Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden’s and host of the awards, commented: “Street-food vendors will rub shoulders with London’s most famous chefs and restaurateurs, as we recognise all types of restaurant – from the budget rising stars to veteran celebrity kitchens – which make London the world’s most diverse, and increasingly its best, restaurant city.”

The awards ceremony, presented by the BBC’s Nigel Barden, will take place at The Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square on 11 September 2017. 

In addition to the awards based on the survey, a special Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by The Hippodrome Casino, will be presented to an industry figure whose ventures have performed exceptionally well in the Harden’s survey over many years. Last year this prestigious honour went to Bruce Poole, chef-patron of Balham’s “unfailingly outstanding” neighbourhood classic, Chez Bruce.

 

The Shortlist in Full

 

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TOP GASTRONOMIC EXPERIENCE

Sponsor: Nyetimber English sparkling wine

The Clove Club

Elystan Street

The Ledbury

Marianne

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TOP NEWCOMER

Honey & Smoke

Jamavar

Kricket

108 Garage

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TOP CHEAP EAT

Berber & Q

Kiln

Padella

Tayyabs

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BEST FOR BUSINESS

Sponsor: Exmoor Caviar

Aquavit

The Bleeding Heart

Cabotte

La Dame de Pic

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BEST STEAKS & GRILLS

Goodman City

Hawksmoor WC2

Knife

Zelman Meats W1

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BEST STREET FOOD

Baba G’s Bhangra Burgers

Belpassi Bros

Kappacasein Dairy

Luardos

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WINE LIST OF THE YEAR

Cabotte

110 de Taillevent

Enoteca Turi

German Gymnasium

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TOP BAR OR PUB

Sponsor: Duvel

The Anchor & Hope

The Bull & Last

The Lighterman

The Lady Mildmay

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BEST FOR ROMANCE

Andrew Edmunds

La Dame de Pic

Luca

La Poule au Pot

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BEST FOR BREAKFAST OR BRUNCH

45 Jermyn Street

The Ivy Chelsea Garden

Sunday N1

The Wolseley

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TOP COFFEE HOUSE

Bageriet

Kaffeine

Monmouth Coffee

Ozone

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BEST AFTERNOON TEA

Sponsor: Fentimans

Collins Room, The Berkeley

Conservatory, The Chesterfield

Diamond Tea Rooms, Fortnum & Mason

The Ritz

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BEST FOR FISH & SEAFOOD

Sponsor: Exmoor Caviar

J Sheekey

Rick Stein

Scott’s

Estiatorio Milos

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LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Sponsor: Hippodrome Casino

The ceremony will conclude with the recognition of exceptional achievement in the London restaurant scene, as judged by performance in the Harden’s survey over many years.

About the Awards

The Harden’s London Restaurant Awards comprises a total of 13 categories – with nominees taken from those who performed best in the annual Harden’s restaurant survey. This year, more than 8,500 foodies contributed 50,000 reviews.

Each category consists of four nominees, two selected purely on the strength of diners’ votes, and a further two selected on a similar basis, but solely from newer restaurant openings of the last 2-3 years. From the four candidates, the Harden’s editors pick the final winner, with a bias to recognising rising talent that possesses the potential to emerge as some of London’s very best in any given category.

The awards ceremony, presented by the BBC’s Nigel Barden, will take place at The Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square on 11 September 2017.

For more information on the awards visit www.restaurantawards.london.

For any press enquiries please contact karen@hardens.com.


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