Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner topped the 22nd annual Harden’s survey of regular restaurant-goers in nominations for their best meal of the year. The survey is based on some 75,000 reports from over 7,500 regularly restaurant-going ‘reporters’.
The molecular gastronomist ousts his near-neighbour, Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, which has topped ‘best meal of the year’ nominations for the past three years but falls to fourth position this year.
Peter Harden, co-editor of Harden’s London Restaurants, commented:
“Dinner was launched to an almost unprecedented wave of hype, and drew in many customers in its first year, most of whom were thrilled with their meal, hence the top position in the ‘Best Meal’ nominations list.
As the novelty wears off, though, the restaurant is also beginning to feature on the survey’s ‘lists of
shame’ – for overpricing or disappointment. If Heston wants to maintain his top ranking into future years he will have to work hard to disarm this growing undercurrent of dissatisfaction.”
Winners and losers in the 2013 survey: good year for –
• The Ledbury (Notting Hill) became the survey’s best-rated top-end restaurant overall, displacing last year’s winner, Le Gavroche (Mayfair) into second position.
• A stellar survey rating for food makes Ollie Dabbous’s “industrial-style debutant”, Dabbous (Fitzrovia), “London’s best newcomer in years”. His “brave (often Nordicinspired) combinations” form part of an ongoing “small-plate revolution” – now “entirely mainstream even for openings of the highest ambition”.
• Ex-Ramsay lieutenant Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social (Mayfair) is the only newly-opened restaurant to figure on the ‘Best Meal’ nominations list, at number 6.
• Despite its ‘local’ location, by Wandsworth Common, Bruce Poole’s Chez Bruce was the survey’s most often-nominated ‘Favourite’ restaurant… for the 8th year.
• The Wolseley (St James’s) was winner in ‘Best for Business’ nominations (6th year), followed by The Square (Mayfair) and The Don (City).
• The Wolseley – the survey’s top nomination for ‘Best for Breakfast’ (8th year) – was
supported, in number two position, by its new sister restaurant, The Delaunay (Covent Garden).
• Clos Maggiore (Covent Garden) was top for ‘Best for Romance’ nominations (2nd year). Runners up were La Poule au Pot (Pimlico) and Andrew Edmunds (Soho)
• The Anchor & Hope (South Bank) was top ‘Best Bar or Pub Food’ nomination (8th year), followed by Harwood Arms (Fulham) and the Bull & Last (Kentish Town).
Bad year for –
• As so often in the past, the Oxo Tower Restaurant (South Bank) again secured top place for both ‘Most Disappointing Cooking’ and ‘Most Overpriced Restaurant’ nominations.
• Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester (Mayfair) – according to Michelin, one of the two world-class restaurants in London – achieved no particular survey eminence, other than being ranked 8th in nominations for ‘Most Overpriced Restaurant’.
• After 15 years, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay drops out of the top-10 list for reporters’ nominations for ‘Best Meal of the year’. His group’s only appearance in the top survey top-10 nominations lists is for ‘Most Disappointing Cooking’ (Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, 2nd on list, and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, 8th) and ‘Most Overpriced Restaurant’ (Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, 3rd, and Gordon ramsay at Claridges , 4th). The best restaurant in the Ramsay group is now Pétrus, under chef,
Sean Burbidge, whose ratings exceed those of the internationally-acclaimed Restaurant Gordon Ramsay across the board.
• Wolfgang Puck’s “glitzy” Mayfair steakhouse Cut – only new entrant on the ‘Most Overpriced’ list (at 5th) – is attacked for its “hideous” prices and “non-existent” ambience.
• Although Antipodean chef Bill Granger’s new Notting Hill outpost, Granger & Co, has quickly became celebrated for its queues (especially for brunch), reporters rate the standard of food on offer as ‘disappointing’.
• For the first time, Jamie Oliver’s fast-expanding chain Jamie’s Italian is awarded the guide’s bottom ‘disappointing’ rating for its food, which is described as often “of airline quality”.
Openings, closings, prices and trends
Openings rise by 25% in vibrant market: over the last year, restaurant openings noted in the capital – 134 – were a quarter higher than the previous year (107). This rapid rebound puts openings in the top half of the ‘normal’ range (120-142) recorded this millennium.
Closings, at 74, are little changed from last year, and entirely normal by standards seen since 2000.
The guide notes that not only are openings numerous, but many are also notably ambitious. Brasser ie Zédel (Soho), for example, is a vast marbled chamber seating some 200. So many steakhouses – often large establishments, generally priced around £70 a head – are opening that they are increasingly not even regarded as newsworthy.
Rising prices reflect this seeming feeling of confidence. The average cost of dinner for one at establishments listed in the new guide is £46.55 (up from £45.01 last year). Prices are 3.5% higher than a year ago – a rate of increase slightly above inflation generally.
Styling: the introduction to this new edition of Harden’s notes that many new London
restaurants striving for fashionability owe their inspiration, whether in terms of cuisine
or styling, to the Americas, and in particular downtown New York.
Other trends
• After a slack period, interest on Japanese/Japanese-fusion styles is on the rise.
• The ‘new’ cuisine of the year is Peruvian, represented by Ceviche (Soho), Lima
(Fitzrovia) and Tierra Peru (Islington).
• Geographically, the distribution of newcomers continues the easterly drift which has
been apparent for two decades.
Harden’s first guide to rate sustainability in restaurants
In partnership with the Sustainable Restaurant Association, Harden’s new edition
becomes the first UK guide published to incorporate a numeric rating assessing the
degree of sustainability shown by restaurants.
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