Soho’s Kiln named Best Restaurant in the UK

By Joe Lutrario

- Last updated on GMT

Soho’s Kiln named Best Restaurant in the UK

Related tags Restaurant Awards

Thai restaurant Kiln has been named the UK’s best restaurant in the 2018 Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards, which were held at The Hurlingham Club in London tonight (11 June).

The stripped back and affordable Soho restaurant is owned by Ben Chapman and Brian Hannon and focuses on the cooking of the south-east Asian country’s Northern borderlands, where Thai culinary traditions intersect with those of Myanmar, Laos and China’s Yunnan province.

Chapman works with head chef Nick Molyviatis to develop Kiln’s small, high-impact plates of bracingly authentic Thai food and goes to great lengths to secure high quality produce with line-caught fish sourced from Cornwall and specialist Asian herbs grown specially for the restaurant in Dorset. The menu includes langoustines, kaffir lime and sweet mint; and clay pot baked glass noodles pork belly and brown crab meat.

The 50-cover Brewer Street restaurant has an open kitchen upstairs with a counter for walk-ins only, while the downstairs dining room does take bookings. The drinks list is focused on natural wines and unusual beers.

Recently opened Spanish restaurant Sabor, in Mayfair, was the highest new entry in this year’s list of the UK’s top 100 restaurants, ranking at number two (see below for the full run down). Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant A Wong placed third and Core by Clare Smyth, which opened last year, came in fourth. Smyth’s Notting Hill restaurant was also recognised for its front of house excellence, receiving The Service Award.

This year’s list again highlights the eclecticism of today’s restaurant scene with high-end venues rubbing shoulders with more affordable ones. The annual awards, which are now in their 11th year, are voted for top chefs, restaurateurs, food writers, critics and other food experts and gastronomes from across the UK.

Other big winners on the night included Raymond Blanc, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of the enduring flawlessness of the Belmond le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxford as well as his work on sustainability and the training of future restaurant industry talent.

Karam, Sunaina and Jyotin Sethi - the trio behind hit London restaurants Gymkhana, Trishna and the recently opened Brigadiers, among others - were named Restaurateurs of the Year.

Nieves Barragán Mohacho of the aforementioned Sabor also won the coveted Chefs’ Chef Of The Year award while Tom Brown celebrated a double win, being named both Chef to Watch and seeing his debut restaurant Cornerstone, in Hackney Wick, named One to Watch.

2016 and 2017 winner The Sportsman, in Seasalter, Kent, was named Gastropub of the Year, while Bloomsbury’s Noble Rot and Soho’s Temper were given awards for the quality of their wine and cocktail offerings respectively.

The Top 100 List in full: 

1

Kiln

Soho, London

2

Sabor

Mayfair, London

3

A Wong

Victoria, London

4

Core by Clare Smyth

Notting Hill, London

5

L'Enclume

Cartmel, Cumbria

6

Moor Hall

Aughton, Lancashire

7

Lyle's

Shoreditch, London

8

Restaurant Sat Bains

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

9

The Sportsman

Seasalter, Kent

10

Nathan Outlaw

Port Isaac, Cornwall

11

Bibendum

Chelsea, London

12

The Coach

Marlow, Buckinghamshire

13

Coombeshead Farm

Launceston, Cornwall

14

Brat

Shoreditch, London

15

Padella

Borough, London

16

Quality Chop House

Clerkenwell, London

17

The Ledbury

Notting Hill, London

18

Freemasons at Wiswell

Clitheroe, Lancashire

19

Wreckfish

Liverpool

20

The Black Swan

Oldstead, North Yorkshire

21

River Cafe

Hammersmith, London

22

Indian Accent

Mayfair, London

23

No 6, Paul Ainsworth

Padstow, Cornwall

24

El Pastor

Borough, London

25

Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons

Great Milton, Oxfordshire

26

Ondine

Edinburgh

27

Casamia

Bristol

28

Ynyshir

Machynlleth, Powys

29

Som Saa

Spitalfields, London

30

House of Tides

Newcastle, Tyne and Wear

31

The Clove Club

Shoreditch, London

32

The Fat Duck

Bray, Berkshire

33

Chez Bruce

Wandsworth, London

34

Elystan Street

Chelsea, London

35

The Crown at Burchetts Green

Maidenhead, Berkshire

36

Trinity

Clapham, London

37

Little Fish Market

Hove, East Sussex

38

The Walnut Tree

Abergavenny, Wales

39

Quo Vadis

Soho, London

40

The Seahorse

Dartmouth, Devon

41

Barrafina

Covent Garden, London

42

Lorne

Victoria, London

43

The Waterside Inn

Bray, Berkshire

44

Brawn

Bethnal Green, London

45

Raby Hunt

Darlington, County Durham

46

Hispi

Didsbury, Greater Manchester

47

Hoppers

Soho, London

48

Midsummer House

Cambridge

49

Noble Rot

Bloomsbury, London

50

Gymkhana

Mayfair, London

51

Nuala

Shoreditch, London

52

Hedone

Chiswick, London

53

Alchemilla

Nottingham

54

Kricket

Soho, London

55

Pollen St Social

Mayfair, London

56

Tyddyn Llan

Corwen, Denbighshire

57

Root

Bristol

58

St John Bread & Wine

Spitafields, London

59

The Star Inn Harome

Harome, North Yorkshire

60

Farang

Highbury, London

61

Holborn Dining Room

Holborn, London

62

The Hand & Flowers

Marlow, Buckinghamshire

63

Wilson's

Bristol

64

40 Maltby Street

Bermondsey, London

65

Black Axe Mangal

Islington, London

66

Carter’s

Birmingham

67

The Palomar

Soho, London

68

Smoking Goat

Shoreditch, London

69

The Beehive

White Waltham, Berkshire

70

The Hardwick

Abergavenny, Monmouthshire

71

Timberyard

Edinburgh

72

Xu

Soho, London

73

The Dairy

Clapham, London

74

Le Gavroche

Mayfair, London

75

Paco Tapas

Bristol

76

The Parker's Arms

Clitheroe, Lancashire

77

Rambla

Soho, London

78

Wine & Brine

Moria, County Down

79

The Frog by Adam Handling

Covent Garden, London

80

Where The Light Gets In

Stockport, Greater Manchester

81

Bonhams

Mayfair, London

82

Andrew Fairlie

Auchterarder, Perthshire

83

Fraiche

Oxton, Wirral

84

Restaurant Story

Bermondsey, London

85

Sardine

Hoxton, London

86

The Ritz

Piccadilly, London

87

Kitchen Table

Fitzrovia, London

88

Inver

Strachur, Argyll & Bute

89

Lima

Fitzrovia, London

90

The Fordwich Arms

Sturry, Kent

91

Frenchie

Covent Garden, London

92

The Elephant Restaurant

Torquay, Devon

93

Barbary

Covent Garden, London

94

Neo Bistro

Mayfair, London

95

Mark Greenaway

Edinburgh

96

Morston Hall

Morston, Norfolk

97

Northcote Manor

Langho, Lancashire

98

Westerns Laundry

Highbury, London

99

Perilla

Newington Green, London

100

Ikoyi

St. James's, London

The special awards in full:

Estrella Damm National Restaurant of the Year: Kiln, Soho

Chef to Watch, sponsored by Woods Foodservice: Tom Brown

Chefs’ Chef of the Year, sponsored by Ritter Fresh: Nieves Barragán Mohacho

One to Watch, sponsored by Schweppes: Cornerstone

The Service Award, sponsored by Liberty Wines and Champagne Devaux : Core by Clare Smyth

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

Restaurateur of the Year, sponsored by Harvey and Brockless: JKS Restaurants

Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Lavazza: Raymond Blanc

Sustainable Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by Aubrey Allen: ODE true food

Wine List of the Year: Noble Rot

Cocktail List of the Year, sponsored by Seedlip: Temper

OpenTable Diners’ Choice ‘Fit for Foodies’ Award: The Chef’s Table

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

Best Restaurant in Wales, sponsored by Hildon: Ynyshir, Machynlleth

Best Restaurant in Scotland, sponsored by Hildon: Ondine, Edinburgh

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