The highest ever rate of new restaurant openings in the capital is recorded in the 25th edition of Harden’s London Restaurants, whose 2016 book was published on 5 November. The guide has tracked restaurant openings since 1991.
The 2016 editionʼs tally of 179 newcomers easily exceeds both the 2008 pre-financial-crash level of 158, and 2015ʼs figure of 148. Although the number of closings, 56, was slightly higher than last yearʼs (at 47, the lowest this century), it is still a modest amount, continuing a 3-year trend of very limited closures. The resulting net openings of 123 (179-56=123) beat last yearʼs high of 101.
The ratio of openings to closings stood at 3:2 to 1, a ratio beaten only once in the guideʼs history (in 1996). In only five of the last 25 years has Hardenʼs recorded a ratio that exceeded 2:4 to 1.
Jaw-dropping growth
The guideʼs co-founder, Peter Harden, said:
“The growth of Londonʼs restaurant scene is jaw-dropping in comparison to its recent past, never mind the ʻDark Agesʼ in which we founded our guide 25 years ago. It is wonderful to be celebrating the guideʼs silver anniversary in what is a golden age for restaurant-goers.”
Winners & losers in the 2016 survey of restaurant-goers
Ratings and reviews in the guides are based on one of the UK’s most detailed annual polls of restaurant goers, with some 6,750 people contributing over 60,000 reports for the 2016 edition.
Winners
- Michel Roux Jr’s “flawless and indulgent” Mayfair bastion Le Gavroche was for the second time in the guideʼs 25-year history voted Londonʼs Top Gastronomic experience, toppling Brett Grahamʼs cuisine at The Ledbury to re-gain the top spot . However Notting Hill’s foodie mecca, backed by Nigel Platts-Marin, still clung on to the capitalʼs highest average food-rating, due to Graham’s “adventurous” culinary creations “executed with panache”.
- Simon Rogan’s year-old Claridge’s dining room – Fera at Claridge’s – was a newcomer in the Top 10 Gastronomic Experience, voted the capital’s fourth best gastronomic experience, with “wizard” tasting menus and “astonishingly good wine pairings”.
- Also new to the top Gastronomic Experience list this year, two Scandi-inspired venues: Tom Sellers’s Restaurant Story (9) near Tower Bridge, where the multi-course menu is “akin to a trip to the Fat Duck, but at under half the price”; and Mikael Jonsson’s open kitchen venture Hedone (10) in Chiswick, thanks to its “unique technical mastery” of “the best ingredients in London”.
- Bruce Poole’s (also backed by Platts-Martin) iconic neighbourhood restaurant Chez Bruce was yet again voted London’s Favourite Restaurant – for the 11th year running. Make the pilgrimage to Wandsworth and you’ll find “no fads – just classic, interesting, perfectly executed cooking” and a cheeseboard that’s “probably visible from space”.
- Gordon Ramsay continued to make something of a comeback in the survey this year. His flagship Restaurant Gordon Ramsay appeared on the top 10 Gastronomic Experience list (6) again after dropping off two years ago.
Losers
- Topping the Most Disappointing Cooking list this year was paparazzi hotspot the Chiltern Firehouse. Nuno Mendesʼs hotel dining room has the dubious pleasure of taking this title from the Oxo Tower restaurant, which has finally managed to escape the number 1 spot on the ʻlist of shameʼ (now at number two) after 15 years. The Hardenʼs survey not only awarded the Chiltern Firehouse bottom marks for food, reporters also decried the place as “full of Z-listers, models and wannabe movers-and-shakers” and “so over-hyped itʼs hilarious” – none of this is helped by “silly” prices and service thatʼs “confused (going on obnoxious)”.
- Appearing on the Most Disappointing Cooking list for the first time is Jason Athertonʼs flagship Pollen Street Social (3). According to the survey, 2015 was the year the (until now) bullet-proof Atherton empire began to show signs of wear and tear. Complaints of “passionless”, “unmemorable meals” and “conveyor belt service” typified feedback and led to tumbling ratings. Has the restaurateur finally overstretched himself? The last 12 months have been busy – the opening of City Social (which got a name check in our Best for Business top 10 at number 4), the launch of Social Wine & Tapas and his forthcoming Japanese project on the former site of Turnmills, Sosharu. His Bernerʼs Tavern also took a nosedive in ratings this year, with food deemed to be “no more than competent”. Athertonʼs “trendy yet superb” Social Eating House in Soho remains a beacon of hope.
- It appears alongside Heston Blumenthalʼs hotel dining room Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental (6) and Bruno Loubetʼs Grain Store (5) – another new entry in the unenviable top 10. Dinnerʼs popularity continues to wane year-on-year in the survey and its Olde Worlde dishes which “first seemed novel and exciting now seems boring” and “oh-so overpriced”.
- When it comes to the Most Overpriced Restaurant list, The River Café, has the dubious honour of taking up that mantle for the second year in a row. For some survey reporters itʼs “eye-wateringly expensive, but brilliant”, to others the cost is “just insane for a bit of al dente pasta”
- A refit and re-launch for Marcus Wareingʼs Marcus at the Berkeley last year has done nothing to help its sliding survey ratings. It slipped out of the top 10 Gastronomic Experience list and graced the Most Overpriced top 10 (6) instead. Survey feedback cited far too many occasions of “pompous” cooking, “lacking wow-factor”. And the prices? Well, theyʼre just “outrageous”. Wareingʼs other ventures didnʼt fare much better. His attempt to do casual dining at Covent Garden yearling Tredwellʼs was deemed “a let-down after such high hopes”, the venue is “bizarre, not relaxing, not cool, not quirky”. And the MasterChef judgeʼs Gilbert Scott, while handy for St Pancras station, is “very average for its elevated price”.
The trend to Asian cuisines
The Guideʼs introduction notes the prevalence of outstanding Asian food of all kinds in the city. Four of the Guideʼs 10 most notable 2015 newcomers represent four different eastern cuisines – The Araki (Japanese), Bao (Taiwanese), Duck & Rice (Chinese) and Smoking Goat (Thai). This is indicative of a greater step-change in the sorts of establishments opening in London.
The introduction also records that almost 10% of restaurants opened this year were Japanese, making it the most popular cuisine for new openings, along with Italian eateries which accounted for a similar number of newcomers. The Araki enters into the survey this year as the most expensive restaurant per head by quite a margin, where diners easily spend £360+ each with drinks and service.
At the other end of the price scale, tiny Taiwanese outfit, Bao – a Hackney Netil Market stall-turned-permanent-Soho-restaurant (backed by the Sethi siblings – Gymkhana, Trishna) – was this yearʼs highest rated survey newcomer. Already reporters are hailing it as a “Soho legend in the making” serving “heavenly soft buns filled with tasty, slow-cooked meats” and “the best, crunchy fried chicken in London”.
Prices rise strongly in real terms
The average price of dinner for one at establishments listed in the 2016 guide is
£50.51 (compared to £49.46 last year). Prices have risen by 2.1% in the past 12 months. This is a little less than last yearʼs rise of 2.7%, however it significantly exceeds the current, very low rate of inflation (effectively zero). Therefore this yearʼs real level of restaurant price rises is significantly higher than last yearʼs (which broadly tracked inflation).
SURVEY RESULTS
Most mentioned
1 J Sheekey(1)
2 Clos Maggiore(4)
3 Le Gavroche(3)
4 The Ledbury(5)
5 Chez Bruce(7)
6 Scottʼs(2)
7 Gymkhana(12)
8 The Delaunay(6)
9 Fera at Claridgeʼs(-)
10 The Wolseley(10)
11 Brasserie Zédel(11)
12 Dinner(9)
13 The Cinnamon Club(13)
14 Pollen Street Social(8)
15 Galvin La Chapelle(14)
16 La Trompette(19)
17 The Square(15)
18 The River Café(17)
19 La Poule au Pot (22)
20 20= Gordon Ramsay(33)
20= The Chiltern Firehouse(-)
22 Gauthier Soho(28)
23 Le Caprice(30)
24 The Palomar(-)
25 Pied à Terre(20)
26 26= Benares(24)
26= Galvin Bistrot de Luxe(26)
28 Medlar(21)
29 Amaya(40)
30 Zuma(32)
31 Bleeding Heart Restaurant(16)
32 Marcus(22)
33 Andrew Edmunds(35)
34 City Social(-)
35 35= Moro(-)
35= Bar Boulud(-)
37 Grain Store(30)
38= Spring(-)
38= Terroirs(38)
40 Zucca(27)
Top gastronomic experience | Best breakfast/brunch |
1 Le Gavroche(2) | 1 The Wolseley(1) |
2 The Ledbury(1) | 2 The Delaunay(2) |
3 Chez Bruce(4) | 3 Duck & Waffle(3) |
4 Fera at Claridgeʼs(-) | 4 Riding House Café(4) |
5 Dinner(3) | 5 Roast(5) |
6 Gordon Ramsay(7) | 6 The Grazing Goat(-) |
7 Pied a Terre(6) | 7 Cecconi s(7) |
8 Pollen Street Social(5) | 8 Colbert(6) |
9 Story(-) | 9 Dean Street Townhouse(-) |
10 Hedone(-) | 10 Balthazar(10) |
Favourite | Best bar/pub food |
1 Chez Bruce(1) | 1 The Anchor & Hope(1) |
2 Clos Maggiore(3) | 2 Harwood Arms(3) |
3 The Wolseley(10) | 3 Bull & Last(2) |
4 Le Gavroche(5) | 4 The Ladbroke Arms(7) |
5 J Sheekey(2) | 5 The Jugged Hare(4) |
6 Gauthier Soho(-) | 6 The Truscott Arms(9) |
7 Le Caprice(8) | 7 Princess Victoria(-) |
8 La Trompette(-) | 8 Pig & Butcher(8) |
9 The Ledbury(4) | 9 The Camberwell Arms(-) |
10 Moro(-) | 10 The Eagle(-) |
Best for business | Most disappointing cooking |
1 The Wolseley(1) | 1 Chiltern Firehouse(-) |
2 The Delaunay(2) | 2 Oxo Tower (Restʼ)(1) |
3 The Square(3) | 3 Pollen Street Social(-) |
4 City Social(-) | 4 Colbert(3) |
5 Galvin La Chapelle(4) | 5 Grain Store(-) |
6 LʻAnima(9) | 6 Dinner(2) |
7 Coq dʼArgent(7) | 7 Gordon Ramsay(5) |
8 The Don(6) | 8 Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester(9) |
9 Scottʼs(8) | 9 Dabbous(10) |
10 Bleeding Heart Restaurant(5) | 10 The Wolseley(-) |
Best for romance | Most overpriced restaurant |
1 Clos Maggiore(1) | 1 The River Café(1) |
2 La Poule au Pot(2) | 2 Oxo Tower (Rest )(2) |
3 Andrew Edmunds(3) | 3 The Chiltern Firehouse(-) |
4 Bleeding Heart Restaurant(4) | 4 Dinner(3) |
5 Chez Bruce(6) | 5 Gordon Ramsay(4) |
6 Le Gavroche(5) | 6 Marcus(5) |
7 Galvin La Chapelle(8) | 7 Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester(6) |
8 Fera at Claridgeʼs(-) | 8 Pollen Street Social(10) |
9 Le Caprice(-) | 9 Aqua Shard(-) |
10 Gauthier Soho(10) | 10 Savoy Grill(-) |
Hardenʼs content is available in guidebook format, and in apps for iPhone; and also here
Hardenʼs London Restaurants 2015, £12.99, is available in allgood bookshops, including Waterstoneʼs and Amazon.com, and from here