Five restaurants have been expertly whittled down from an impressive list, and duly recognised for their outstanding level of food and service.
The New Restaurant Award shortlist was developed from significant new restaurant openings in 2017 and required no public nomination, with suggestions being made from within the industry.
Each of the restaurants were visited and dined at by a team of expert judges who were responsible for deciding the finalists - judging each restaurant on quality of food, service and experience.
Steve Munkley, vice president Craft Guild of Chefs, and a judge in this award commented: “The search for our 25th New Restaurant of the Year has been a challenging yet exciting process. The five finalists on the shortlist proved to be tremendously impressive, with each one representing a unique set of culinary talents.
“The intelligent creations we discovered in our journey to finalise the shortlist was both inspiring and stimulating, and we can expect to see more in the future from each and every one of these talented establishments.”
This year, the majority of restaurants shortlisted are run by women chefs, with three out of the five being female chef-owners. The first to make the shortlist was Core by Clare Smyth, followed by Anne-Sophie Pic at La Dame de Pic and Monica Galletti for her new restaurant, Monica Galletti at Mere.
Alongside them are two restaurants by male chefs - Phil Howard at Eylstan Street and Claude Bosi at Bibendum.
All of the new shortlisted restaurants offer their own unique take on providing best-in-class dining. Claude Bosi at Bibendum, which is resident in South Kensington’s iconic Michelin building, offers fine dining with signature contemporary and light-hearted flair.
Core by Clare Smyth conjures up an elegant and informal fine dining experience with an emphasis on natural, sustainable food, sourced from the UK’s most dedicated farmers and food producers.
Phil Howard at Elystan Street aims to deliver culinary pleasure through serving pure, seasonal, ingredient-led and “gimmick-free” dishes which are full of vitality and flavour.
Anne-Sophie Pic at La Dame de Pic meanwhile invites diners to discover a taste of Valence (France) - known for the different ingredients, flavours, aromas and memories reflected and reimagined on each plate.
Last but not least, Monica Galletti at Mere is said to produce dishes that celebrate the passion and heritage of Galletti herself, while blending classical French with South Pacific influences.
Last year’s New Restaurant of the Year was awarded to Vineet Bhatia London, with Chris White of The White Spoon taking home the title in 2016.
White said: “We were over the moon and couldn’t quite believe it when they announced that we (The White Spoon) had won. We were so humbled considering the stiff competition we were up against.
“Although the award may have my (White’s) name on it, it is truly a team effort and down to the hard work and dedication of the management, kitchen and front of house team as a collective.”
The full shortlist of all Craft Guild of Chefs 25th awards will be announced in April 2018 with the awards taking place 4 June 2018.
New Restaurant of the Year shortlist in full
- Claude Bosi at Bibendum
- Core by Clare Smyth
- Phil Howard at Elystan Street
- Anne-Sophie Pic at La Dame de Pic
- Monica Galletti at Mere