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A restaurant near a small market town in rural Wales has beaten the vast competition to claim the top spot as the best restaurant in the UK – the first eatery outside of England to do so.
Ynyshir, in Machylleth, Powys, was crowned the winner at this year’s annual National Restaurant Awards and is the first non-English restaurant to achieve the feat in the ceremony’s 16 year history.
Voted the best restaurant in Wales for four of the last five years, the two-Michelin-starred Ynyshir jumped up from its 15th place finish last year.
Despite being set in a traditional country house hotel at the heart of the Welsh countryside, Ynyshir is far from your traditional country dining experience as judges praised its combination of a ‘thumping soundtrack with a succession of tiny plates of punchy, Japan influenced cuisine cooked over fire’.
Stefan Chomka, editor of Restaurant by BigHospitality, which organises the awards, praised chef Gareth Ward for creating ‘without doubt one of the most unique and exciting places to eat in the UK at the moment, possibly in the world’.
London venues still dominated the top 100, claiming 60 spots and seven of the top 10 best restaurants in the UK.
The awards were held at London’s Hurlingham Club this week, with a total of 60 restaurants from the capital finding a place in the top 100.
They aim to celebrate the ‘brilliance and vibrancy of the UK’s eating out scene’ according to the National Restaurant Awards website.
The list is created by a panel of more than 200 experts drawn from across the industry including food writers, chefs and restaurateurs.
Find out more about the top 10 restaurants in the UK below or to see the entire list and check if your local made the cut.
1: Ynyshir – Machynlleth, Powys
Described by judges as ‘uncompromisingly edgy’, Ynyshir says its food is ‘flavour driven, fat fuelled and meat obsessed’
Ynyshir, in Machylleth, Powys, has beat tough competition to be named the top restaurant at the National Restaurant Awards
Despite its rural location in the heart of Wales, Ynyshir offers a menu of ‘uncompromisingly edgy’, Asian-influenced food.
Its website describes the food as ‘ingredient led, flavour driven, fat fuelled and meat obsessed’.
Since 2013 it has been ran by chef Gareth Ward, who was once so angry in 2014 that everyone in his kitchen quit and left him to manage a service by himself.
Though he has come a long way since then and his restaurant was awarded its second Michelin star in February, the only Welsh restaurant ever to do so.
Judges described Ynyshir as ‘combining a thumping soundtrack with a succession of tiny plates of punchy, Japan-influenced cuisine cooked over fire’.
2: Moor Hall – Aughton, Lancashire
Just missing out on the top spot is Moor Hall in Aughton, Lancashire, which makes its own charcuterie and honey in house
Moor Hall was opened in 2016 in a stunning Grade II-listed building in Lancashire that dates back to the 13th century.
By 2018 the glass-fronted restaurant, that has an open kitchen and walk-in cheese room, had been awarded two Michelin stars.
The restaurant was knocked off the top spot at this week’s award ceremony, having been crowned the best venue for the past two years.
Run by head chef Mark Birchall, the restaurant makes its own charcuterie in house and uses honey from its five beehives located within its five acres of gardens.
The restaurant is tasting menu only, offering four and eight courses although judges said ‘guests can expect rather more than this in reality’.
3: Brat – Shoreditch, London
The best in London: Brat which opened in 2018 in Shoreditch was judged to be the best restaurant in the capital
Brat, which opened in 2018 and is named after the Old English word for turbot, prides itself on its no-frills, fire-led cooking
Taking the top spot in the capital, Brat boasts ‘no-frills, fire-led cooking’ according to the NRA’s review.
The restaurant opened in 2018 and is named after the Old English word for turbot, which is their signature dish when grilled directly on coals in a metal basket.
Judges said Brat’s menu was full of ‘simple but delicious ingredients’ cooked either on the stove or in the restaurant’s wood-fired oven.
Shoreditch chef Tomos Parry’s menu includes smoked cod’s roe, grilled peas and oysters roasted with seaweed.
4: The Ritz – Mayfair, London
Fourth place for the five-star hotel: The Ritz in Mayfair lives up to its reputation with a high-ranking position on the list
Expertise: Head chef John Williams (pictured above) has lead the team at The Ritz restaurant for more than two decades
One of the most recognisable restaurants in the country and one of the most highly rated, The Ritz made this year’s top five.
The famous restaurant is decorated with grand mirrors and ornate gold chandeliers and provides equally sophisticated dining experience.
The Ritz offers classic French dishes with a modern touch thanks to the direction of chef John Williams, who has worked at the restaurant for more than two decades.
Judes said diners have the choice of eating à la carte or the five or seven-course Epicurean menu where they can ‘sample some of the most finely-tuned French cuisine this country has to offer’.
5: BiBi – Mayfair, London
Top five: BiBi in Mayfair is a contemporary Indian restaurant serving chaat and grills
Inside Bibi: Also winning the best opening award, BiBi blends traditional subcontinental cookery with a produce-led approach
The progressive Indian restaurant is the third best rated restaurant in London and won the best opening award.
BiBi blends traditional subcontinental cookery with a development and produce-led approach according to the NRA.
It is ran by Chet Sharma, who previously worked at Moor Hall and before that he gained a doctorate in physics from Oxford.
His studies have helped his career as a scientifically-minded development chef, with the NRA saying the team at BiBi put in an ‘unusual level of effort’ to secure ingredients from small-scale UK suppliers and artisan produce from India.
6: The Ledbury – Notting Hill, London
The Ledbury, Notting Hill, has been rated in world’s 50 best restaurants before and made the top 10 after it reopened in 2022
The Ledbury reopened in 2022, after a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic, with a ‘more moody, more modern’ look.
Judges said the Notting Hill restaurant has an ‘obsession with top quality produce’ and an approach to cooking that ‘blends classical and contemporary elements seamlessly’
Ran by chef Brett Graham, the service was also described as ‘unusually warm and flexible’.
7: A Wong – Victoria, London
Judges described A Wong, in Victoria, London, as ‘unremarkable looking’ from the outside but but ‘one of the capital’s most interesting and progressive restaurants’ on the inside with a menu that offers popular classics as well as traditional dishes
Chinese restaurant A Wong was called ‘unremarkable-looking’ on the outside but ‘one of the capital’s most interesting and progressive restaurants’ on the inside.
Andrew Wong took over his parents’ common-or-garden Anglo Chinese eatery in 2012 following the death of his father.
Run by Wong’s wife Nathalie, the menu has familiar dishes like sweet and sour chicken and crispy duck with pancakes – but also serves Chinese flavours and dishes that are ‘virtually unknown in the UK’.
8: Core By Clare Smyth – Notting Hill, London
Clare Smyth became the first British woman to hold three Michelin stars and repeated the feat with her own restaurant Core
Clare Smyth, who became the first UK woman to hold three Michelin stars, made the top 10 at her restaurant in Notting Hill
Clare Smyth, who notably catered at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in 2018, became the first British woman to hold three Michelin stars while working at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and she repeated the feat with her own restaurant Core, in Notting Hill, in 2021.
The one-time World’s Best Female Chef offers two tasting menus – one with more classic dishes and another that’s more based around the seasons.
The NRA gave the restaurant, which opened in 2017, a top ten spot and described the dining experience as ‘decadent but fresh’.
9: Ikoyi- St James’s, London
Ikoyi, named after a district in the Nigerian capital, was described as ‘one of the capital’s most distinctive places to eat’
Ikoyi, named after a district in the Nigerian city Lagos, is ran by Jeremy Chan and his Nigerian-born friend and business partner Iré Hassan-Odukale.
The NRA described the restaurant as ‘one of the capital’s most distinctive places to eat’, offering a large collection of spices with a focus on sub-Saharan West Africa.
The restaurant offers squid, smoked scotch bonnet and fermented rice, plantain caramelised in ginger and kelp and more.
10: L’Enclume – Cartmel, Cumbria
This popular and modern restaurant in the heart of Cumbria has been serving locally sourced dishes for two decades
The Cumbrian restaurant’s menu varies seasonally, with chefs serving up produce grown at its farm in the Cartmel Valley
Rogan, who recently guided the restaurant to its third Michelin star, was also named Chef of the Year at the prestigious event
The NRA’s review said the three-Michelin-starred L’Enclume ‘is a standard bearer for modern, naturalistic cooking’
Clinching the final spot in the top ten L’Enclume, based in Cumbria, serves a ‘distinctive brand of modern yet naturalistic cooking’.
The Lake District restaurant was launched by Simon Rogan in 2002, it is nearly self sufficient, with most produce grown on Rogan’s nearby 12-acre farm.
The NRA’s review said the three-Michelin-starred L’Enclume ‘is a standard bearer for modern, naturalistic cooking’.
Rogan, who recently guided the restaurant to its third Michelin star, was also named Chef of the Year at the prestigious event this week.
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