Michelin-starred excellence, creative new dining ventures and stylish success stories were celebrated at the Nottingham Restaurant & Bar Awards.
The finale of the newly branded event at Colwick Hall Hotel saw city venue Bar Iberico win the Restaurant of the Year title and Nottingham food icon Sat Bains win the Critics’ Choice title.
Wednesday night’s event also saw Sexy Mamma Love Spaghetti, Hockley, get the Best New Restaurant title.
Nominees and winners were celebrated for their talent, creativity, skill and importance to the local economy at the ceremony.
A panel of judges which included national experts, alongside online votes, helped decide the winners.
Bar Iberico, Carlton Street, opened last August to run alongside the successful restaurant Iberico World Tapas. Sat Bains is the man behind two-Michelin star Restaurant Sat Bains, Lenton. Sexy Mama Love Spaghetti, Heathcoat Street, is an Italian restaurant famed for its food and lack of online presence.
Kerry Mathie, co-founder of Big Table PR and the awards, said: “There’s no doubt competition is important in raising standards, but we also need to promote what Nottingham has to offer, and the Nottingham Restaurant & Bar Awards do just that.”
The event is a re-launched and re-branded version of the Nottingham Restaurant Awards.
The awards were announced in September at St Mary’s Church in the Lace Market, just ahead of the start of voting.
A record breaking 48,609 votes were received from the public during the month, after which, the nominees were passed to independent judges representing the world of food and drink; journalists and critics, industry experts and assessors, in order to deliver a final verdict.
Notts nosh: A taste of what some of the judges had to say…
“I was blown away by the nightlife scene in Nottingham, and its secret watering holes waiting to be discovered – though, judging by the crowds, and the queues outside, the secret is already out,” Tim Cooper, London Evening Standard
“It was a pleasure to judge this year’s Nottingham Restaurant & Bar Awards. Visiting the finalists proved what a vibrant and pioneering on-trade scene Nottingham currently has,” Tristan O’Hana, Editorial Director, H2OPublishing
“The best restaurants in Nottingham right now could hold their own in any city – its residents are lucky to have them,” Carina Simon, national freelance food and drink writer
Various industry awards have been held since the end of the voting; Best Young Talent – Back of House, Best Young Talent – Front of House and Best Cocktail, with the finalists being assessed at their place of work or indeed, in the case of Back of House, through a tense head-to-head cook-off held atNottingham College. All of these winners collected their awards, alongside the other winning venues, at the Awards Ceremony.
The winners and runners-up in each category were;
Best New Restaurant (opened March 2016 – August 2017) sponsored by FHP Property Consultants
Winner: Sexy Mamma Love Spaghetti
Runners-up: Bar Iberico, Cod’s Scallops (Carrington), Cuzina, Gusto, Masala Junction
Best New Pub, Bar or Gastro Pub (opened March 2016 – August 2017) sponsored by licensing specialists, Poppleston Allen
Winner: The Railway at Lowdham
Runners-up: Be At One, The Brewhouse & Kitchen, The Gedling Inn & Kitchen, The Herbert Kilpin, Tier
Best Restaurant Chain sponsored by Colwick Hall Hotel
Winner: Wagamama
Runners-up: Bistrot Pierre, Browns Brasserie & Bar, Turtle Bay
Best Design sponsored by Steven Christopher Design
Winner: Bar Iberico
Runners-up: George’s Great British Kitchen, Hockley Arts Club, Zaap
Best Gastro Pub sponsored by Freedom Brewery
Winner: The Ruddington Arms
Runners-up: Larwood & Voce, The Lord Nelson, The Old Volunteer Caythorpe, The White Horse Ruddington
Best Young Talent, Front of House sponsored by Eden Public Relations Consultants
Winner: Daiva Steponaviciute – La Rock, Sandiacre
Other Finalists: Guy Jamson of Langar Hall, Hannah Lees of Perkins Bar & Bistrot and Joseph Peck of World Service
Best Cocktail sponsored by Enotria&Coe
Winner: World Service (Pina Kol-Lided)
Other Finalists: Alchemilla (The Hunger of the Pines), Last Chance Saloon (Fleur de Lis), Tom Browns of Gunthorpe (Mary’s Berry)
Best Bar or Pub sponsored by Insurance Brokers & Risk Management specialists, Russell Scanlan
Winner: Hockley Arts Club
Runners-up: Junkyard, Revolucion de Cuba, The Boiler Maker
Best Independent City Restaurant sponsored by national law firm, Gateley Plc
Winner: Iberico World Tapas
Runners-up: Annie’s Burger Shack, Baresca, Bar Iberico
Best Independent Out of Town Restaurant sponsored by local broadcasters, Notts TV
Winner: Tom Browns
Runners-up: Escabeche, Langar Hall, Masala Junction
Best Front of House Restaurant Team sponsored by health and safety software specialists, ACMS UK
Winner: Memsaab
Runners-up: Bar Iberico, Tom Browns, World Service
Best Kept Secret sponsored by chartered accountants, Keith Willis Associates
Winner: Lost Property
Runners-up: 400 Rabbits, Hockley Arts Club, The Bakehouse
Best Young Talent, Back of House sponsored by award winning catering and retail butcher, Owen Taylor & Sons
Winner: Callum Dovey, Iberico World Tapas
Other Finalists: Nino Alvarez, Iberico World Tapas / Thomas Brown, Escabeche / Kailam Arrowsmith, The Old Volunteer
Critics’ Choice
Winner: Sat Bains
Other Finalists: John Molnar of Cod’s Scollops & Moleface Pub Co., Tim Hart of Hart’s (& Hambleton Hall), Langar Hall
Nottingham Restaurant of the Year sponsored by web design and digital marketing experts, Adtrak
Winner: Bar Iberico
Runners Up: Bistrot Pierre, Langar Hall, MemSaab
