Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2019: as it happened
The attendees were greeted by some of Restaurant magazine's covers from the past year, luckily the rain mostly held off...
The guests began to arrive, including the teams behind the Top 100 restaurants in the list and nominees for the special awards
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Fashion watch...
The awards kicked off with the One to Watch category, which went to Emilia in London's Mayfair - the latest opening from the team behind Quality Chop House and Portland. Chef Stuart Andrew was on hand to accept the award.
There were standing ovations for two giants of the UK restaurant industry. Chef John Williams of The Ritz received the Lifetime Achievement award, and there was also a tribute to the late Andrew Fairlie, who passed away in January this year. Andrew frequently made the trip down to the awards from Scotland and his eponymous restaurant at Gleneagles hotel featured on the list on numerous occasions - this year in 83rd place.
A fine night at #NationalRestaurantAwards where Chefs John Williams of the Ritz was honoured, & Andrew Fairlie of Gleneagles remembered. Standing ovations for both pic.twitter.com/XBwiDqN4oY
— Nigel Barden (@NigelBarden) June 11, 2019
There was another up and coming award for chef Sally Abé, who has been cooking at The Harwood Arms since 2017. Her impressive CV includes The Savoy and Claridge’s with Gordon Ramsay, The Ledbury, and Elystan Street.
Others celebrated their place in the list...
Finally the Top 100 countdown reached its conclusion, with Moor Hall in Lancashire taking the number one spot and title of the Best Restaurant in the UK. A (very suprised) Mark Birchall was on hand to accept the award.
The winners took to the stage...
To view the full Top 100 list and for more information visit our new National Restaurant Awards website by clicking here. Also keep an eye out for more pictures and details in the next issue of Restaurant magazine.
Congratulations to all the winners - and see you next year!
