Moor Hall wins Restaurant of the Year for a second year

Listen. Do you hear that? That’s the sound of North West restaurant websites crashing as people scramble to book tables after the events of yesterday evening.

The National Restaurant Awards 2021 was a biggy for the North of England as restaurants and chefs from the North West and Yorkshire placed highly in the Top 100 with Moor Hall, The Angel at Hetton and chef Tommy Banks coming away with major awards.

Elsewhere the Top 100 reads like a culinary tour of Lancashire and Yorkshire

Angel At Hetton Exterior Close Up
The Angel at Hetton in West Yorkshire can expect a few more visitors

Two years in a row for Mark Birchall and Moor Hall

Moor Hall in Aughton, Lancashire topped the national rankings for the second year in a row winning Restaurant of the Year. A title for each Michelin Star. Banks meanwhile, whose Black Swan at Oldstead and Roots came in at tenth and fiftieth respectively on the rankings. The Angel at Hetton, which placed second (up like a rocket from position 56 in 2019) also won Gastropub of the Year.

The awards ceremony in association with Restaurant Magazine, held this year at the Stratford Hotel in London, is voted for by an academy of chefs, restaurateurs and food writers from across the UK with a presentation of the annual Top 100 on the night as well as special awards including the coveted Restaurant of the Year.

Due to the pandemic, 2019 was the most recent edition of The Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards which were first established in 2007.

Chef Tommy Banks Picks Fruit From A Tree On The Farm That Serves His Restaurant The Black Swan At Oldstead
Tommy Banks won Restaurateur of the Year with both The Black Swan and Roots climbing the rankings

North on the map, north in the rankings

This year the North, with emphasis on the North West especially, did extremely well. Four of the top five restaurants, as well as nine of the top 20, were all from the North with Manchester’s Mana the city’s highest-ranked in eleventh place. Erst in Ancoats made its debut on the list coming in at 47.

Elsewhere the Top 100 reads like a culinary tour of the North West.

This is a dramatic contrast to last year’s list which was dominated by London and the South. The Parkers Arms (23), Northcote (34), The White Swan at Fence (36) and Freemasons at Wiswell (38) were all flying the flag for the Lancashire in the top 50 whilst Merseyside and Cheshire were also represented by Fraiche (43) and Sticky Walnut (62) respectively.

Yorkshire also did extremely well with dramatic rises up the rankings for The Angel at Hetton (56 to 2), Skosh in York (40 to 18), The Man Behind The Curtain in Leeds (91 to 19), Sheffield’s Jöro (94 to 32) and York's Le Cochon Aveugle (95 to 41). Tommy Banks' Roots which won a Michelin Star this year moved down a few places (42 to 51) and The Moorcock Inn (14) near Halifax was a well deserved new entry this year. 

Cumbria boasted new entries from The Cottage In The Wood (24), Hrishi (39) and Lake Road Kitchen (78).

A Carling Ford Oyster Topped With Chilli Oil Served At Erst In Ancoats Manchester
Erst in Ancoats debuted in style, ranking at 47 in the Top 100

Kerridge and Rashford recognised

Other award winners on the night included Tom Kerridge who was recognised for his work in campaigning to end child poverty with Manchester United and England striker Marcus Rashford. The Bull & Bear chef was awarded an Outstanding Contribution Award for his Meals From Marlow initiative which has so far raised over £180,000 for NHS staff and people in need.

Andrew Wong of A Wong in London’s Victoria was awarded Chef of the Year whilst both drinks awards were Southern affairs with Soho’s Noble Rot winning Wine List of the Year and Mayfair’s Hide winning Cocktail List of the Year.

Well done to everyone that made the list and anyone that can manage to get a table anywhere on this list for the next six months. We couldn't be prouder.


The Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2021 Top 100 (with last year's NW rankings)

1. Moor Hall, Lancashire (1, 2019)

2. The Angel at Hetton, North Yorkshire (56, 2019)

3. Core by Clare Smyth, Notting Hill

4. House of Tides, Newcastle

5. L’Enclume, Cumbria (6, 2019)

6. Sabor, Mayfair

7. Brat, Shoreditch

8. A Wong, Victoria

9. Mere, Fitzrovia

10. The Black Swan at Oldstead, North Yorkshire (29, 2019)

11. Mana, Manchester (73, 2019)

12. 14 Maltby Street, Bermondsey

13. Davies and Brook, Mayfair

14. The Moorcock Inn, West Yorkshire

15. Ynyshir, Powys

16. The Sportsman, Kent

17. Hide, Mayfair

18. Skosh, York (40, 2019)

19. The Man Behind The Curtain, Leeds (91, 2019)

20. Noble Rot, Soho

21. The Quality Chop House, Clerkenwell

22. Ikoyi, St James’s

23. The Parkers Arms, Lancashire (38, 2019)

24. The Cottage in the Wood, Cumbria

25. Hjem, Northumberland

26. Frog by Adam Handling, Covent Garden

27. Silo, Hackney Wick

28. Casamia, Bristol

29. St John, Clerkenwell

30. Da Terra, Bethnal Green

31. The French House, Soho

32. Jöro, Sheffield (94, 2019)

33. Kol, Marylebone

34. Northcote, Lancashire

35. Frenchie, Covent Garden

36. The White Swan at Fence, Lancashire (96, 2019)

37. Claude Bosi at Bibendum, Chelsea

38. Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire (39, 2019)

39. Hrishi, Cumbria

40. Kiln, Soho

41. Le Cochon Aveugle, York (95, 2019)

42. Muse, Belgravia

43. Fraiche, Merseyside

44. The Ritz, Mayfair

45. Carters of Moseley, Birmingham

46. The Guinea Grill, Mayfair

47. Erst, Manchester

48. Paul Ainsworth at No6, Padstow

49. Flor, Borough

50. The River Café, Hammersmith

51. Roots, York (42, 2019)

52. The Seahorse, Dartmouth

53. SO|LA, Soho

54. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham

55. The Raby Hunt, Darlington

56. Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, Mayfair

57. Brawn, Bethnal Green

58. Opheem, Birmingham

59. The Fordwich Arms, Kent

60. Osip, Somerset

61. The Clove Club, Shoreditch

62. Sticky Walnut, Chester

63. Coombeshead Farm, Cornwall

64. Luca, Clerkenwell

65. Midsummer House, Cambridge

66. Perilla, Newington Green

67. The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny

68. The Crown at Burchetts Green, Berkshire

69. Gymkhana, Mayfair

70. Outlaw’s New Road, Cornwall

71. The Harwood Arms, Fulham

72. Ondine Oyster & Grill, Edinburgh

73. Maison Francois, St James’s

74. Trinity, Clapham

75. Etch, East Sussex

76. Lympstone Manor, Exmouth

77. Purnell’s Restaurant, Birmingham

78. Lake Road Kitchen, Cumbria

79. The Hand & Flowers, Buckinghamshire

80. The Grill at The Dorchester, Mayfair

81. Alchemilla, Nottinghamshire

82. Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, Mayfair

83. Pollen Street Social, Mayfair

84. Lyle’s, Shoreditch

85. Inver, Argyle & Bute

86. The Mash Inn, Buckinghamshire

87. The Dining Room at Whatley Manor, Wiltshire

88. Wander, Stoke Newington

89. Decimo, Kings Cross

90. Restaurant Gordon Ramsey, Chelsea

91. Ox, Belfast

92. Paraside, Soho

93. Launceston Place, Kensington

94. The Little Fish Market, East Sussex

95. Manteca, Soho

96. Café Deco, Bloomsbury

97. 7 Saints, Notting Hill

98. Chez Bruce, Wandsworth

99. Akoko, Fitzrovia

100. Caractère, Notting Hill