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
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.
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).
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