‘Grotty Rundown Pub’ Is Best UK Restaurant – Again
For the second year in a row, a self-confessed ‘grotty rundown pub by the sea’ in Seasalter, near Whitstable in Kent, has been named the UK’s best restaurant. The Sportsman, run by self-taught chef-patron Stephen Harris, retained the award at Restaurant Magazine’s 2017 Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards. The Michelin-starred pub beat off stellar competition from London and across the country.
And here’s the full list of 100, with last year’s position in brackets:
1. The Sportsman, Seasalter (1)
2. The Ledbury, London (3)
3. A Wong, London (19)
4. Som Saa, London
5. Barrafina Adelaide Street, London (2)
6. Casamia, Bristol (12)
7. The Clove Club, London (6)
8. Elystan Street, London
9. Kiln, London
10. Hedone, London (4)
11. The River Café, London (10)
12. Lyle’s, London (9)
13. Hoppers, London (17)
14. The Palomar, London (42)
15. The Fat Duck, Bray (68)
16. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham (14)
17. L’Enclume, Cartmel (8)
18. Coombeshead Farm, Lewannick
19. The Dairy, London (13)
20. The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny (11)
21. The Waterside Inn, Bray (23)
22. Gymkhana, London (45)
23. Claude Bosi at Bibendum, London
24. The Elephant, Torquay (32)
25. The Raby Hunt, Darlington
26. Midsummer House, Cambridge (43)
27. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac (5)
28. Brawn, London (53)
29. Bulrush, Bristol
30. 64 Degrees, Brighton (16)
31. Primeur, London (73)
32. The Coach, Marlow (59)
33. 108 Garage, London
34. Temper, London
35. Chez Bruce, London (71)
36. Noble Rot Restaurant & Wine Bar, London (21)
37. Frenchie, London (20)
38. Le Gavroche, London (18)
39. Padella, London
40. Clipstone, London
41. The Hand & Flowers, Marlow (33)
42. 40 Maltby Street, London (30)
43. The Quality Chop House, London (25)
44. The Little Fish Market, Hove
45. The Man Behind the Curtain, Leeds (27)
46. Trinity, London
47. Sticky Walnut, Chester (74)
48. Bocca di Lupo, London (62)
49. The Smoking Goat, London (55)
50. Lake Road Kitchen, Ambleside (15)
51. The Crown, Burchetts Green
52. Adams, Birmingham
53. Gidleigh Park, Chagford
54. Hispi, Manchester
55. Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton (39)
56. Jikoni, London
57. P Franco, London
58. The Black Swan at Oldstead
59. Typing Room, London
60. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London (34)
61. Margot, London
62. Timberyard, Edinburgh
63. Black Axe Mangal, London (24)
64. Blacklock Soho, London
65. El Pastor, London
66. Holborn Dining Room, London
67. Pollen Street Social, London (46)
68. StreetXO, London
69. Bao Soho, London (44)
70. Moor Hall, Ormskirk
71. Paul Ainsworth at Number 6, Padstow (51)
72. Quo Vadis, London
73. The Marksman, London
74. The Pony & Trap, Bristol
75. Rochelle Canteen, London
76. The Seahorse, Dartmouth (47)
77. Freemasons at Wiswell, Clitheroe
78. El Gato Negro, Manchester (81)
79. Hawksmoor Air Street, London
80. Kricket, London
81. Sosharu, London
82. The Star Inn, Harome
83. The Hardwick, Abergavenny (40)
84. Wine & Brine, Moira
85. Box-E, Bristol
86. Morito, London
87. Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Gleneagles (22)
88. Norn, Edinburgh
89. Ondine, Edinburgh (60)
90. Portland, London (41)
91. Lorne, London
92. Murano, London
93. The Beehive, White Waltham
94. The Kitchin, Edinburgh (75)
95. St John Bread and Wine, London
96. Simpsons, Birmingham (56)
97. Forest Side, Grasmere
98. Pizarro, London
99. The Pig, Brockenhurst
100. Gunpowder, London