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Five to try: Prize-winning restaurants in London
Evening Standard 03.09.08
Book in advance: Tayyabs
Satisfaction: Theo Randall
Finger on pulse: Sam's Brasserie
Look here too
From The Greenhouse to Theo Randall, here's the pick of some of those who triumphed at this week's London Restaurant Awards.
THEO RANDALL
Inter-Continental Hotel, 1 Hamilton Place, W1 (020 7409 3131) £70 (set lunch cheaper).
Italian Restaurant of the Year.
After 17 years in the company of Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers at The River Café — with a year off with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse — Theo Randall was ready to go it alone. His preferred style of simple, rustic cooking sits oddly in a Park Lane hotel but, fortunately, ingredients and cooking transport you to sunny climes and profound satisfaction.
TAYYABS
83-89 Fieldgate Street, E1 (020 7247 6400) £20 (BYO).
Indian Restaurant of the Year.
Char-grills at this large bustling Pakistani restaurant in Whitechapel are legendary. Skewers of shami kebab and seekh kebab are terrific starters and karahi (a wok-like metal pan) main courses include one made with quail. Ask about daily specials. Mondays deliver long-cooked nihari (the “breakfast curry”) and paya made with lamb's trotters. Book to avoid queuing.
THE GREENHOUSE
27a Hays Mews, W1 (020 799 3331) £90.
Award of Excellence and also Outstanding Restaurant Service.
Fortuitously the pursuit of excellence is what drives Marlon Abela, owner of The Greenhouse. No expense has been spared in finding a chef, Antonin Bonnet, who can delight customers while impressing Michelin inspectors. Flights of fancy reflect Bonnet's experience working for Michel Bras in Laguoile. An astonishing wine list.
SAM'S BRASSERIE & BAR
11 Barley Mow Passage, W4 (020 8987 0555) £30.
Evening Standard 60 under £60 Award.
Now that the credit crunch is biting, establishments such as this one belonging to courteous Sam Harrison, where two courses of enjoyable food are amiably served in laid-back surroundings for about £30 a head, are all the more precious. Chef Rufus Wickham has his finger on the pulse of what people like to eat.
GALVIN BISTROT DE LUXE
66 Baker Street, W1 (020 7935 4007) £44.
French Restaurant of the Year.
The sort of bourgeois cooking that brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin have perfected here is becoming increasingly difficult to find in restaurants in France. The serious look of the room fits well with dishes such as Pithivier of pigeon with glazed chestnuts; wing of skate Grenobloise; oeuf à la neige. Canny buying and fair pricing extend to the wine list.
Prices indicate the cost of a meal with wine for one.
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