Northern restaurants increased their presence at this year’s National Restaurant Awards
Moor Hall has just been named best restaurant in the UK in the twelfth Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards, which were announced during a ceremony at London’s Hurlingham Club earlier this week.
Moor Hall is an almost immaculate experience. Mark’s food is clever and inventive but also delicious
A diverse panel of 150 judges, comprising industry experts, chefs, restaurateurs and food writers, voted for the highly esteemed National Restaurant Awards after scouring the UK, visiting everything from top tapas bars to fancy fine dining rooms, barnstorming bistros and great gastropubs.
It is the latest in a string of prestigious awards for the Grade II listed restaurant with rooms in Aughton, near Ormskirk, West Lancashire, which was awarded a Michelin star only six months after opening and given a second star last October. Moor Hall also reached number two in the inaugural Top 100 Restaurants in the north guide.
Chef patron Mark Birchall, renowned for creating imaginative and beautiful dishes using seasonal ingredients – many of which have been grown in their own onsite kitchen garden, heads Moor Hall’s kitchen team.
"We are absolutely thrilled to be number one in this year's National Restaurant Awards, “ he said. It’s such a huge achievement, and really shows the hard work and commitment the whole team have put in and we are delighted to continue to fly the flag for the North. We have had an amazing two years since our opening and we are determined to keep moving, the hard work continues!”
Stefan Chomka, the editor of Restaurant Magazine, said, “Mark is an incredibly talented chef who has a clear ambition to not just create one of the best restaurants in the UK but in the world. Moor Hall is an almost immaculate experience. Mark’s food is clever and inventive but also delicious, the service is exceptional and the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. It’s an outstanding restaurant that deserves its title as the best in the UK.”
There was a noticeable increase in restaurants in the Top 100, which are based in the north west and Yorkshire, with 46 based outside London.
Forest Side in Grasmere, Cumbria, made it into the top twenty at number 18. Mana in Ancoats also made its debut entry at number 73 and is the only restaurant on the list based in Manchester city centre. Another new entry was The Angel at Hetton, near Skipton, one of the first gastro pubs in the UK, which was recently taken over by chef Michael Wignall formerly of Michelin starred Gidleigh Park and Pennyhill Park.
Popular Lancashire pub The Parker’s Arms made a massive leap this year to 38 th position, up almost forty places from last year’s 76th place. L’Enclume in Cartmel, where Mark Birchall was formerly executive head chef, placed at number six, one down from last year’s fifth position.
A number of highly rated establishments featured in 2018’s list, including Fraiche on the Wirral, Stockport’s Where The Light Gets In, Lancashire’s Michelin-starred Northcote, Liverpool’s Wreckfish or it’s sister restaurant Hispi in Didsbury, did not make this year’s list at all.
The full top 100 UK restaurants 2019 (North West restaurants are highlighted):
1. Moor Hall, Lancashire
2. Brat, Shoreditch
3. Cornerstone, Hackney Wick
4. Core by Clare Smyth, Notting Hill
5. Sabor, Mayfair
6. L’Enclume, Cumbria
7. Mere, Fitzrovia
8. Claude Bosi at Bibendum, Chelsea
9. Ynyshir, Powys
10. The Ledbury, Notting Hill
11. A Wong, Victoria
12. The River Café, Hammersmith
13. The Sportsman, Kent
14. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
15. Kiln, Soho
16. Paul Ainsworth at No 6, Padstow
17. Lyle’s, Shoreditch
18. Forest Side, Grasmere
19. Casamia, Bristol
20. House of Tides, Newcastle
21. Nathan Outlaw, Cornwall
22. Roganic, Marylebone
23. The French House, Soho
24. Elystan Street, Chelsea
25. The Ritz, Piccadilly
26. Frenchie, Covent Garden
27. Brawn, Hackney
28. Noble Rot, Bloomsbury
29. The Black Swan at Oldstead
30. The Fordwich Arms, Kent
31. Chez Bruce, Wandsworth
32. Hide, Mayfair
33. Ikoyi, St. James
34. Trinity, Clapham
35. The Crown at Burchetts Green, Maidenhead
36.The Coach, Marlow
37. The Hand & Flowers, Marlow
38. The Parkers Arms, Clitheroe
39. Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire
40. Skosh, York
41. The Elephant, Torquay
42. Roots, York
43. The Clove Club, Shoreditch
44. Frog by Adam Handling, Covent Garden
45. Roux at Parliament Square
46. Burlington at the Devonshire Arms, Skipton
47. Cora Pearl, Covent Garden
48. Hicce, King’s Cross
49. Ondine, Edinburgh
50. The Quality Chop House, Clerkenwell
51. Black Axe Mangal, Islington
52. Pollen St Social, Mayfair
53. Whatley Manor, Malmesbury
54. Coombeshead Farm, Cornwall
55. St. John, Clerkenwell
56. The Angel at Hetton
57. The Dairy, Clapham
58. The Fat Duck, Bray
59. The Palomar, Soho
60. Hélène Darozze at The Connaught
61. Kym’s, The City, London
62. Social Eating House, Soho
63. The Kitchin, Leith
64. Bright, Hackney
65. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Knightsbridge
66. Etch, Hove
67. Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxford
68. Timberyard, Edinburgh
69. Midsummer House, Cambridge
70. Rochelle Canteen, Shoreditch
71. Two Lights, Shoreditch
72. 40 Maltby Street, London Bridge
73. Mana, Manchester
74. The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny
75. Indian Accent, Mayfair
76. Kitchen Table by Bubbledogs, Fitzrovia
77. Yüga, Belfast
78. Restaurant Story, London Bridge
79. The Little Chartroom, Edinburgh
80. The Laughing Heart, Hackney
81. Mash Inn, Radnage,
82. The Raby Hunt, Darlington
83. Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Edinburgh
84. The Woodspeen, Newbury
85. Wine & Brine, Moira, Co. Down
86. Holborn Dining Room, Holborn
87. The Harwood Arms, Fulham
88. Brigadiers, The City, London
89. Perilla, Newington Green
90. The Little Fish Market, Hove
91.Man Behind the Curtain, Leeds
92. Carter’s of Moseley, Birmingham
93. Darjeeling Express, Soho
94. Jöro, Sheffield
95. Le Cochon Aveugle, York
96.TheWhite Swan at Fence, Lancashire
97. Spring, Holborn
98. Hobeck Ghyl, Windermere
99. Trullo, Islington
100. The Ninth, Fitzrovia
