7 of top 100 UK restaurants are pubs

14-Jun-2022 - Last updated on 14-Jun-2022 at 07:53 GMT

Pub entry: the Angel at Hetton in Skipton, North Yorkshire was the highest placing pub on the list at number 12

Under a tenth of the UK’s best restaurants are pubs, according to the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2022.

The list was announced yesterday (Monday 13 June) at London’s The Hurlingham Club by Restaurant by BigHospitality.

The top spot was taken by Ynyshir in Wales with last year’s number one – Moor Hall in Lancashire named second best restaurant in the UK and the title of Best Restaurant in England.

Third place was awarded to Brat in Shoreditch, east London and the Ritz in Mayfair, west London climbed to number four.

The highest new entry was number five – high-end restaurant BiBi in Mayfair, west London, which was also named Opening of the Year.

Award winners

Other winners this year included chef-patron of L’Enclume in Cumbria Simon Rogan, who was proclaimed Chef of the Year.

Furthermore, the Angel at Hetton was named Gastropub of the Year for the second time, while The Ritz took home The Service Award and its head chef Spencer Metzger was awarded the Chef to Watch accolade.

Operators of the Fordwich Arms and the Bridge Arms, near Canterbury, Kent – numbers seven and 87 on the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list – Dan and Natasha Smith were named Restaurateurs of the Year.

Stockport restaurant Where The Light Gets Inn was presented with The Sustainability Award, which was judged by the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

Meanwhile, the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Ruth Rogers – chef-owner of London’s The River Café.

Pubs on the list

For the first time in the award’s history, the public was asked to vote on their favourite restaurant in the UK and the Food Lovers Award went to Beach House in Oxwich, Swansea.

While no pubs were named in the top 10, the Angel at Hetton (number three on Top 50 Gastropubs) in Skipton, North Yorkshire was the highest pub entry at number 12, with the Fordwich Arms in Kent coming in at number 17.

The number of pubs featured in this year’s list is down from 2021 when 14 were included in the reveal.

Pubs in the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2022:

12. The Angel at Hetton, Skipton, North Yorkshire

17. The Fordwich Arms, Fordwich, Kent

32. The Black Swan at Oldstead, North Yorkshire

42. The Guinea Grill, Mayfair, west London

44. Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire

47. The Sportsman, Seasalter, Kent

67. The Bridge Arms, Canterbury, Kent

The full list of the UK’s Top 100 restaurants can be found on the National Restaurant Awards website.