National Restaurant Awards 2017: The Sportsman once again named UK's best

By Stefan Chomka

- Last updated on GMT

The Sportsman best 2017 National Restaurant Awards
The Sportsman in Kent has once again been named the UK’s best restaurant in the 2017 Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards. 

The Michelin-starred pub restaurant in Seasalter, which is run by chef-patron Stephen Harris, retained the number one spot at Restaurant magazine’s awards, held at The Hurlingham Club in London tonight (12 June).

Entirely self-taught, Harris is one of the few chefs in the UK to practise true terroir cooking and jokingly describes his world-famous establishment as a ‘grotty boozer by the sea’.

Air-dried hams hang in the pub’s cellar, the butter is churned in house and the team even boils down the seawater to make salt.

The Ledbury in Notting Hill came in second place in the list of the UK’s top 100 restaurants (see below for the full run down) and also took home The Service award. A Wong in Victoria in London was placed at number three while last year’s One to Watch, Som Saa, in Shoreditch, came in at number four.

The list also shows the rise of new wave Asian restaurants. From no Asian restaurants at all in last year’s top ten, there are now three (A Wong, Som Saa and Kiln). Som Saa was the One to Watch last year and is now fourth, while A Wong has jumped to third place from 19. All are casual and - relatively speaking - affordable. In the 2016 list, there were six Asian restaurants in total; in the 2017 list, there are 10, rising to 12 if you count Jikoni and Street XO, which have a considerable Asian influence.

The annual awards, which are now in their 10th year, recognise the top 100 restaurants in the UK as voted for by some 180 top chefs, restaurateurs, food writers, critics and other food experts and gastronomes.

Other award winners on the night included Jason Atherton, who was named Restaurateur of the Year, and Claude Bosi, who took home the Chefs’ Chef of the Year award. Shaun Hill, chef-patron at The Walnut Tree in Abergavenny, which was voted the Best Restaurant in Wales, was given a Lifetime Achievement award.

Chef Elizabeth Haigh, who will open her first solo project, Shibui, later this year, was named Chef to Watch.

The awards in full

The Estrella Damm National Restaurant of the Year:​ The Sportsman

The Service Award, sponsored by Liberty Wines and Champagne Devaux:​ The Ledbury

Lifetime Achievement, sponsored by Lavazza:​ Shaun Hill

Sustainable Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by Norwegian Seafood:​ Lake Road Kitchen

Gastropub of the Year, sponsored by Estrella Damm:​ The Sportsman

The Best Restaurant in Wales, sponsored by Hildon:​ The Walnut Tree

The Best Restaurant in Scotland, sponsored by Hildon:​ Timberyard

The Best Restaurant in Northern Ireland, sponsored by Hildon:​ Wine & Brine

OpenTable Fit For Foodies award:​ The Lickfold Inn

Restaurateur of the Year, sponsored by Aspall:​ Jason Atherton

Chefs’ Chef of the Year, sponsored by RitterFresh:​ Claude Bosi

Chef to Watch, sponsored by Harvey & Brockless:​ Elizabeth Haigh

Cocktail List of the Year:​ Hawksmoor

Wine List of the Year:​ Noble Rot

One to Watch, sponsored by Schweppes:​ Red Rooster 

1

The Sportsman

Seasalter, Kent

2

The Ledbury

Notting Hill, London

3

A Wong

Victoria, London

4

Som Saa

Shoreditch, London

5

Barrafina Adelaide Street

Covent Garden, London

6

Casamia

Bristol

7

The Clove Club

Shoreditch, London

8

Elystan Street

Chelsea, London

9

Kiln

Soho, London

10

Hedone

Chiswick, London

11

The River Café

Hammersmith, London

12

Lyle's

Shoreditch, London

13

Hoppers

Soho, London

14

The Palomar

Soho, London

15

The Fat Duck

Bray, Berkshire

16

Restaurant Sat Bains

Nottingham

17

L'Enclume

Cartmel, Cumbria

18

Coombeshead Farm

Launceston, Cornwall

19

The Dairy

Clapham, London

20

The Walnut Tree

Abergavenny, Monmouthshire

21

The Waterside Inn

Bray, Berkshire

22

Gymkhana

Mayfair, London

23

Claude Bosi at Bibendum

Kensington, London

24

The Elephant

Torquay, Devon

25

The Raby Hunt

Darlington, County Durham

26

Midsummer House

Cambridge

27

Restaurant Nathan Outlaw

Port Isaac, Cornwall

28

Brawn

Bethnal Green, London

29

Bulrush

Cotham, Bristol

30

64 Degrees

Brighton, East Sussex

31

Primeur

Hackney, London

32

The Coach

Marlow, Buckinghamshire

33

108 Garage

Notting Hill, London

34

Temper

Soho, London

35

Chez Bruce

Wandsworth, London

36

Noble Rot

Bloomsbury, London

37

Frenchie

Covent Garden, London

38

Le Gavroche

Mayfair, London

39

Padella

Borough, London

40

Clipstone

Fitzrovia, London

41

The Hand & Flowers

Marlow, Buckinghamshire

42

40 Maltby Street

Bermondsey, London

43

The Quality Chop House

Clerkenwell, London

44

The Little Fish Market

Hove, East Sussex

45

The Man Behind the Curtain

Leeds, West Yorkshire

46

Trinity

Clapham, London

47

Sticky Walnut

Chester, Cheshire

48

Bocca di Lupo

Soho, London

49

Smoking Goat

Soho, London

50

Lake Road Kitchen

Ambleside, Cumbria

51

The Crown

Burchetts Green, Berkshire

52

Adams

Birmingham

53

Gidleigh Park

Chagford, Devon

54

Hispi

Didsbury, Manchester

55

Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons

Great Milton, Oxfordshire

56

Jikoni

Marylebone, London

57

P Franco

Hackney, London

58

The Black Swan at Oldstead

North Yorkshire

59

Typing Room

Bethnal Green, London

60

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Knightsbridge, London

61

Margot

Covent Garden, London

62

Timberyard

Edinburgh

63

Black Axe Mangal

Islington, London

64

Blacklock Soho

London

65

El Pastor

Borough, London

66

Holborn Dining Room

London

67

Pollen Street Social

Mayfair, London

68

Street XO

Mayfair, London

69

Bao Soho

London

70

Moor Hall

Aughton, Lancashire

71

Paul Ainsworth at Number 6

Padstow, Cornwall

72

Quo Vadis

Soho, London

73

The Marksman

Hackney, London

74

The Pony & Trap

Chew Magna, Somerset

75

Rochelle Canteen

Bethnal Green, London

76

The Seahorse

Dartmouth, Devon

77

Freemasons at Wiswell

Clitheroe, Lancashire

78

El Gato Negro

Piccadilly, Manchester

79

Hawksmoor Air Street

London

80

Kricket

Soho, London

81

Sosharu

Clerkenwell, London

82

The Star Inn

Harome, North Yorkshire

83

The Hardwick

Abergavenny, Monmouthshire

84

Wine & Brine

Moira, County Armagh

85

Box-E

Bristol

86

Mortito

Hackney, London

87

Restaurant Andrew Fairlie

Auchterarder, Perthshire

88

Norn

Leith, Edinburgh

89

Ondine

Edinburgh

90

Portland

Marylebone, London

91

Lorne

Victoria, London

92

Murano

Mayfair, London

93

The Beehive

White Waltham, Berkshire

94

The Kitchin

Leith, Edinburgh

95

St John Bread and Wine

Shoreditch, London

96

Simpsons

Edgbaston, Birmingham

97

Forest Side

Grasmere, Cumbria

98

Pizarro

Bermondsey, London

99

The Pig

Brockenhurst, Hampshire

100

Gunpowder

Shoreditch, London

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