⦿ The shortlists for the Harden’s London Restaurant Awards 2016 were announced today.

The Awards Ceremony itself will take place at The Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square on 12 September 2016.

The aim is for street-food stall owners and London’s most famous chefs to rub shoulders together to recognise both the budget rising stars and veteran celebrity kitchens of the world’s most diverse, and increasingly its best, restaurant scene

There are twelve categories. 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, our 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.

So don’t expect the winners necessarily to exactly match the ‘best 0f’ lists in our forthcoming 2017 guides, to be published in October (London) and November (UK). In many cases the result will indeed be the same. But if the editors feel that a rising star deserves recognition (or if in later years that it would be too boring to have the same winner as a previous year), the ultimate discretion will be theirs. The idea is to celebrate excellence, not to be tied purely to the survey results. That is what the league tables published in the guides themselves are for. For the awards, the survey creates the shortlist, and then it is for the editors to make the ultimate choice.

Awards Shortlist

TOP GASTRONOMIC EXPERIENCE
Sponsor: Chapel Down
• The Araki
• Le Gavroche
• The Ledbury
• Typing Room

TOP NEWCOMER
• Anglo
• Black Axe Mangal
• Frenchie
• Som Saa

TOP CHEAP EAT
• Bao
• Hoppers
• Lahore Kebab House
• Padella

BEST STEAKS & GRILLS
• Flat Iron
• Guinea Grill
• Hawksmoor
• Popeseye Highgate

BEST STREET FOOD
• Gourmet Goat
• Kappacasein Dairy
• The Rib Man
• Smokestak

WINE LIST OF THE YEAR
Sponsor: Chapel Down
• Les 110 de Taillevant
• Enoteca Turi
• Noble Rot
• Terroirs

TOP BAR OR PUB
Sponsor: Curious Brew
• Anchor & Hope
• The Harcourt
• Harwood Arms
• The Marksman

BEST FOR ROMANCE
• Clos Maggiore
• Ivy Chelsea Green
• Pidgin
• La Poule au Pot

BEST BREAKFAST OR BRUNCH
• Cecconis
• 45 Jermyn Street
• Milk
• The Wolseley

TOP COFFEE HOUSE
• Department of Coffee
• Doppio
• Monmouth Coffee
• Tamp

BEST AFTERNOON TEA
Sponsor: Fentimans
• The Goring
• Ham Yard
• The Ritz
• Ting

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Sponsor: The 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.