Moor Hall pipped to top but still best in England, Rogan wins best chef
Oh what a night. The Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2022 has announced its annual Top 50 and awards. Whilst the likes of Mark Birchall at Moor Hall and Simon Rogan at L’Enclume made the top ten, the Top 100 as a whole is missing a fair few North West entries from last year.
No restaurant in the North West climbed a single place in this year’s rankings
Away from the power rankings, the awards were better, with the aforementioned Moor Hall, Simon Rogan and Where The Light Gets In’s Sam Buckley picking up plaudits. Mana and Erst are the restaurants flying the flag for Manchester in the rankings this year, whilst Merseyside was unrepresented and The Man Behind The Curtain kept Leeds on the list.
Top 100 proves mixed bag as London dominates
This year’s awards saw 2021 list toppers Moor Hall pipped by Welsh Japanese-inspired restaurant Ynyshire. Previously number one for two years in a row, the Mark Birchall-helmed Moor Hall remains the highest-ranked restaurant in England. Further down the list Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume, fifth in 2021, came in tenth, whilst The Angel at Hetton, second in 2021, dropped down to twelfth.
Mana (78) and Erst (54) were again the only two Manchester restaurants on the list this year with The Man Behind The Curtain (61) the only entry for Leeds. Fraiche (43 in 2021) didn’t feature this year leaving Merseyside off the list entirely.
Over in Lancashire The Parkers Arms (44) and Northcote (96) both featured on this year’s list, albeit dropping down it from last year. Over in Yorkshire The Cochon Aveugle (94) in York, JÖRO (77) in Sheffield and North Yorkshire’s Tommy Banks helmed The Black Swan at Oldstead (32) all placed on the list. The Old Stamp House (87) in Ambleside joined fellow Cumbrians The Cottage in the Wood (81).
No restaurant in the North West climbed a single place in this year’s rankings whilst eight restaurants from the region fell off the list. York’s Roots (51 in 2021) and Skosh (18 in 2021), Lancashire’s The White Swan at Fence (36 in 2021) and Freemasons at Wiswell (38 in 2021), Cumbria’s Hrishi (39 in 2021) and Chester’s Sticky Walnut (62 in 2021).
London is represented by 61 restaurants on the list, Birmingham by two. Scotland has five on the list and Northern Ireland one, whilst Wales arguably won the whole thing with its one entry topping the list.
Better luck in the awards
Good news if you like restaurants from the North West winning awards though. Simon Rogan, whose L’Enclume was this year awarded its third Michelin star, won Chef of the Year. An award that makes his drop in the rankings somewhat baffling. Moor Hall won Best Restaurant in England and last year’s second-placed Angel at Hetton won Gastropub of the Year.
Stockport’s Where The Light Gets In won the sustainability award with judges commending Sam Buckley and co for sourcing produce from their own urban farm in order to understand what it means to work the land. The award comes in the wake of the restaurant being awarded another Michelin green star earlier in the year but wasn’t enough to get them a spot on the list.
And that wraps up another year of the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards, an awards event voted for by “an elite and authoritative judging academy, using a panel of more than 200 experts drawn from across the industry including food writers, chefs and restaurateurs.”
Keep an eye out for Gastropub and Cocktail Bar versions later in the year.
The Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2021 Top 100 (with last year's NW rankings)
1. Ynyshir, Machynlleth, Powys
2. Moor Hall, Aughton, Lancashire (1, 2021)
3. Brat, Shoreditch, London
4. The Ritz, Mayfair, London
5. Bibi, Mayfair, London
6. The Ledbury, Notting Hill, London
7. A Wong, Victoria, London
8. Core by Clare Smyth, Notting Hill, London
9. Ikoyi, St James's, London
10. L'enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria (5, 2021)
11. Manteca, Shoreditch, London
12. The Angel At Hetton, North Yorkshire (2, 2021)
13. Fallow, St James's, London
14. House of Tides, Newcastle
15. Sabor, Mayfair, London
16. Perilla, Newington Green, London
17. The Fordwich Arms, Kent
18. Da Terra, Bethnal Green, London
19. Kiln, Soho, London
20. Kol, Marylebone, London
21. Noble Rot Soho, Soho, London
22. Brawn, Bethnal Green, London
23. Inver, Strachur, Argyll & Bute
24. Lyle's, Shoreditch, London
25. Trinity, Clapham, London
26. The River Cafe, Hammersmith, London
27. Tony Parkin at The Tudor Room, Egham, Surrey
28. Kitchen Table, Fitzrovia, London
29. Claude Bosi at Bibendum, Chelsea, London
30. Sessions Arts Club, Clerkenwell, London
31. St John, Clerkenwell, London
32. The Black Swan at Oldstead, North Yorkshire (10, 2021)
33. Chez Bruce, Wandsworth, London
34. Restaurant Story, Bermondsey, London
35. Mangal 2, Hackney, London
36. Planque, Hackney, London
37. Restaurant Gordon Ramsey, Chelsea, London
38. 40 Maltby Street, Bermondsey, London
39. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
40. The French House, Soho, London
41. Bright, Hackney, London
42. The Guinea Grill, Mayfair, London
43. Frog by Adam Handling, Covent Garden, London
44. Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire (23, 2021)
45. Pollen Street Social, Mayfair, London
46. Silo, Hackney Wick, London
47. The Sportsman, Seasalter, Kent
48. Pine, East Wallhouses, Northumberland
49. Maison François, St James's, London
50. Native at Browns, Mayfair, London
51. Evelyn's Table, Soho, London
52. Hjem, Hexham, Northumberland
53. Allegra, Stratford, London
54. Erst, Manchester (47, 2021)
55. The Clove Club, Shoreditch, London
56. The Seahorse, Dartmouth, Devon
57. Elystan Street, Chelsea, London
58. Etch, Hove, East Sussex
59. SOLA, Soho, London
60. Trattoria Bruto, Clerkenwell, London
61. The Man Behind The Curtain, Leeds (19, 2021)
62. Frenchie, Covent Garden, London
63. Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, Mayfair, London
64. Kudu, Peckham, London
65. Osip, Bruton, Somerset
66. Midsummer House, Cambridge
67. The Bridge Arms, Canterbury
68. The Grill at the Dorchester, Mayfair, London
69. Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill, Mayfair, London
70. Alchemilla, Nottinghamshire
71. Gymkhana, Mayfair, London
72. Raby Hunt, Darlington, County Durham
73. The Quality Chop House, Clerkenwell, London
74. Rochelle Canteen, Shoreditch, London
75. Café Deco, Bloomsbury, London
76. Decimo, King's Cross, London
77. JÖRO, Sheffield (32, 2021)
78. Mana, Manchester (11, 2021)
79. Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, Padstow, Cornwall
80. Carters of Moseley, Birmingham
81. The Cottage in the Wood, Keswick, Cumbria (24, 2021)
82. Hide, Mayfair, London
83. Orasay, Notting Hill, London
84. Ondine, Edinburgh
85. Ox, Belfast
86. Trivet, Bermondsey, London
87. The Old Stamp House, Ambleside, Cumbria
88. Opheem, Birmingham
89. Sargasso, Margate
90. The Little Chartroom, Edinburgh
91. Tallow, Tunbridge Wells
92. Aizle, Edinburgh
93. Chishuru, Brixton, London
94. The Cochon Aveugle, York (41, 2021)
95. Muse, Belgravia, London
96. Northcote, Langho, Lancashire (34, 2021)
97. The Palmerston, Edinburgh
98. Benares, Mayfair, London
99. La Dame De Pic, City, London
100. Endo at The Rotunda, Shepherd's Bush, London
