Good Food Guide Awards 2025: Which London Restaurants Made The Shortlist?

Awards season is in sight – not just for the movies, but for the culinary world too. The 2025 Michelin Stars will be announced in a ceremony in February, and now the Good Food Guide has revealed the shortlist for its prestigious annual awards. So how did the capital fare this year?

Good Food Guide Announces 2025 Awards Shortlist

Each year, the Good Food Guide crowns a whole host of restaurants across the UK leaders in their field. Awards categories include Best New Restaurant, Restaurant of the Year, and Best Set Menu – as well as a Chef to Watch category. 

London has put on a strong showing in the 2025 shortlist. Two eateries are in the running for Restaurant of the Year: city stalwart St John, a pioneer in nose-to-tail cooking, and The Ritz Restaurant, which offers fine dining amid one of the capital’s most iconic hotels. Jason Atherton’s Row on 5, meanwhile, could be crowned Best New Restaurant. Taking over two floors on Savile Row, the concept here involves a multi-course dining experience, with a focus on British gastronomy. 

Two hotspots have been shortlisted for the Best Set Menu category: The Devonshire in Soho, London’s hottest gastropub right now, which offers two courses for £25, and Josephine Bouchon, Claude Bosi’s neighbourhood bistro in Fulham.

In the Most Beautiful Restaurant category, meanwhile, The Dover in Mayfair, The Park in Queensway (Jeremy King’s latest venture), and Wildflowers in Pimlico could all take home the award. The Dover oozes golden-age glamour with velvet curtains and red and pink hues; The Park has a fresh, brasserie aesthetic; and Wildflowers features Mediterranean-inspired decor to pair with the sunny food.

Manteca

A handful of London chefs have been shortlisted for the top award, too: Manteca’s Jake Dolin, Elliot Hashtroudi of Camille, and Meedu Saad of Super8 Restaurants.

The Good Food Guide was first compiled by Raymond Postgate back in 1951, helped by a group of volunteers who went around anonymously inspecting restaurants. His aims were ‘to raise the standard of cooking in Britain’ and ‘to do ourselves all a bit of good by making our holidays, travels and evenings-out in due course more enjoyable’. Last year, the guide changed from a ranked list to an awards system format, although the original ethos remains the same.

When Will The Winners Be Announced?

The winners will be revealed in a ceremony on 3 February 2025 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London.

Full Shortlist

Restaurant of the Year

• Osip, Somerset
• Restaurant Jericho, Leicestershire
• St John (Smithfield), London
• Opheem, Birmingham
• The Ritz Restaurant, London

Best New Restaurant

• Skof, Manchester
• Lyla, Edinburgh
• Briar, Somerset
• Row on 5, London
• Albatross Death Cult, Birmingham
• Native, Worcestershire

Drinks List of the Year

• Kol & Fonda, London
• Timberyard & Montrose, Edinburgh
• Osip, Somerset
• Cornus, London

Chef to Watch

• Jake Dolin – Manteca, London
• Elliot Hashtroudi – Camille, London
• Sam Lomas – Briar, Somerset
• Kyu Jeong Jeon and Duncan Robertson – Dongnae, Bristol
• Maria Close – Rockliffe Hall, County Durham
• Meedu Saad – Super8 Restaurants, London
• Philip Mcenaney and Katie Austin – Boath House, Nairn

Best Value Set Menu

• Josephine Bouchon, London
• The Palmerston, Edinburgh
• Dilsk, Brighton
• Pompette, Oxford
• Wilsons, Bristol
• The Devonshire, London

The Russell Norman Award for Restaurateur of the Year

• David Carter, DCCO group
• Jason & Irha Atherton, The Social Company
• James Gummer, Olivier van Themsche & Phil Winser, Public House Group
• Guirong Wei, Master Wei, X’ian Impression, Dream X’ian
• Florence Mae Maglanoc, Maginhawa Group
• Dom Hamdy, Ham Group
• Jonathan MacDonald and Daniel Spurr, Scoop Restaurants

Most Beautiful Restaurant

• Grace & Savour, West Midlands
• The Dover, London
• Hearth, Hampshire
• The Park, London
• Woven by Adam Smith, Berkshire
• Wildflowers, London

Find out more at thegoodfoodguide.co.uk