Giaconda Dining Rooms named Time Out's best restaurant

Time Out London​ has awarded the Giaconda Dining Room​ the title of Best New Restaurant in its 2009 Eating and Drinking Awards.

The Soho bistro run by Australian couple Paul and Tracey Merrony ‘consistently impressed’ Time Out’s judges since it opened last year, with Guy Dimond, Time Out’s Food and Drink editor, describing the restaurant as ‘unpretentious’.

“The French-ish food is consistently good, the mark-ups on the excellent wine list are low, and the prices are very reasonable indeed despite its central London location,” he said.

Now in its 20th year, the 2009 awards saw the addition of four new categories: Best New Italian Restaurant (L’Anima); Best New Café (Lantana); Best Spanish Restaurant (Lola Rojo); and Best Spanish Wine List (Cambio de Tercio).

Other winners include the David Collins-designed Bob Bob Ricard for Best New Design, and Mike Robinson’s Harwood Arms for Best New Gastropub.

The winners of the 2009 Time Out London Eating and Drinking Awards:​

Best Bar
69 Colebrooke Row

Best New Café
Lantana

Best New Cheap Eats
Albion at the Boundary Project

Best New Design
Bob Bob Ricard

Best New Gastropub
Harwood Arms

Best New Italian
L’Anima

Best New Local Restaurant
The Exhibition Rooms

Best New Restaurant
Giaconda Dining Room

Best Spanish Restaurant
Lola Rojo

Best Spanish Wine List
Cambio de Tercio