Harden’s has released the final shortlist for this year’s definitive London Restaurant Awards, which takes place on 11 September at The Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square.

Nominations for the awards are derived statistically from Harden’s 27-year-old annual survey of UK restaurant-goers.  This year 8,500 people contributed 50,000 nominations within the categories specified by Harden’s. The awards shortlist reflects the number of nominations within each category, with two places in each category reserved for up-and-coming names that have opened in the last 2-3 years.

Vying for the Nyetimber award for Top Gastronomic Experience are Brett Graham’s renowned Notting Hill restaurant The Ledbury, together with Shoreditch’s now world-famous Clove Club, the tiny yet exceptional Marianne on the fringes of Notting Hill, and Phil Howard’s latest venture Elystan Street in Chelsea. 

Last year the award went to London’s most expensive restaurant The Araki in Mayfair. Dining at the tiny but “peerless” sushi spot is a “stunning, intimate, authentic, and completely unique experience”.

Meanwhile Notting Hill’s 108 Garage, pop-up-turned-permanent Kricket in Soho, Fitzrovia’s Honey & Smoke, and Jamavar in Mayfair are all in the running to become London’s Top Newcomer. In 2016 the honour went to Lee Tiernan’s “mind-glowingly good” Black Axe Mangal on Highbury Corner – where strong spices meet heavy metal.

This year sees the addition of a brand new category, Best for Fish & Seafood, sponsored by Exmoor Caviar. On the shortlist: Richard Caring’s “so-classy” Covent Garden institution J Sheekey, as well as his “sumptuous” Mayfair star-magnet Scott’s, alongside Rick Stein’s London newcomer, Rick Stein, which occupies a picturesque riverside site in Barnes, and the West End’s glamorous Estiatorio Milos.

And City newcomers La Dame de Pic (from Anne-Sophie Pic, three-star chef from Maison Pic (est. 1889) in Valence, SE France) and Cabotte (from sommelier Xavier Rousset) are the only restaurants to be nominated in two separate categories. La Dame de Pic is shortlisted for both Best for Business and Best for Romance, while Cabotte is also in the running for Best for Business, as well as London’s Wine List of the Year.

Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden’s and host of the awards, commented: “Street-food vendors will rub shoulders with London’s most famous chefs and restaurateurs, as we recognise all types of restaurant – from the budget rising stars to veteran celebrity kitchens – which make London the world’s most diverse, and increasingly its best, restaurant city.”

The awards ceremony, presented by the BBC’s Nigel Barden, will take place at The Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square on 11 September 2017. 

In addition to the awards based on the survey, a special Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by The Hippodrome Casino, will be presented to an industry figure whose ventures have performed exceptionally well in the Harden’s survey over many years. Last year this prestigious honour went to Bruce Poole, chef-patron of Balham’s “unfailingly outstanding” neighbourhood classic, Chez Bruce.

The Shortlist in Full

TOP GASTRONOMIC EXPERIENCE

Sponsor: Nyetimber English sparkling wine

The Clove Club

Elystan Street

The Ledbury

Marianne

TOP NEWCOMER Honey & Smoke Jamavar Kricket 108 Garage

TOP CHEAP EAT Berber & Q Kiln Padella Tayyabs

BEST FOR BUSINESS Sponsor: Exmoor Caviar Aquavit The Bleeding Heart Cabotte La Dame de Pic

BEST STEAKS & GRILLS Goodman City Hawksmoor WC2 Knife Zelman Meats W1

BEST STREET FOOD Baba G’s Bhangra Burgers Belpassi Bros Kappacasein Dairy Luardos

WINE LIST OF THE YEAR Cabotte 110 de Taillevent Enoteca Turi German Gymnasium

TOP BAR OR PUB Sponsor: Duvel The Anchor & Hope The Bull & Last The Lighterman The Lady Mildmay

BEST FOR ROMANCE Andrew Edmunds La Dame de Pic Luca La Poule au Pot

BEST FOR BREAKFAST OR BRUNCH 45 Jermyn Street The Ivy Chelsea Garden Sunday N1 The Wolseley

TOP COFFEE HOUSE Bageriet Kaffeine Monmouth Coffee Ozone

BEST AFTERNOON TEA Sponsor: Fentimans Collins Room, The Berkeley Conservatory, The Chesterfield Diamond Tea Rooms, Fortnum & Mason The Ritz

BEST FOR FISH & SEAFOOD Sponsor: Exmoor Caviar J Sheekey Rick Stein Scott’s Estiatorio Milos

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Sponsor: Hippodrome Casino The ceremony will conclude with the recognition of exceptional achievement in the London restaurant scene, as judged by performance in the Harden’s survey over many years.

About the Awards

The Harden’s London Restaurant Awards comprises a total of 13 categories – with nominees taken from those who performed best in the annual Harden’s restaurant survey. This year, more than 8,500 foodies contributed 50,000 reviews.

Each category consists of four nominees, two selected purely on the strength of diners’ votes, and a further two selected on a similar basis, but solely from newer restaurant openings of the last 2-3 years. From the four candidates, the Harden’s editors pick the final winner, with a bias to recognising rising talent that possesses the potential to emerge as some of London’s very best in any given category.

The awards ceremony, presented by the BBC’s Nigel Barden, will take place at The Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square on 11 September 2017.

For more information on the awards visit www.restaurantawards.london.

For any press enquiries please contact karen@hardens.com.