The Good Food Guide have been having their say on British’s top restaurants for over 70 years, and this is of course no different in 2024. The awards, which will take place in London at the end of the month, aim to celebrate the very best in the business, and ultimately crown the winner of seven very prestigious awards; including ‘Restaurant of the Year’, ‘Chef to Watch’, and ‘Best New Restaurant’.
For us Mancs though, the one we’ll be on the edge of our seats for is ‘Best New Restaurant’, because our very own Higher Ground is hoping for top spot. It’s up against fierce contenders Tomos Parry’s Mountain and Max Coen’s Dorian, both in London; Noble Rot Mayfair, also in London; Mýse and The Abbey Inn in North Yorkshire; and Lark in Suffolk. But Higher Ground have a good chance of winning, on account of their gorgeous menu that changes every single day. They champion seasonal vegetables in their dishes, which they source from Cinderwood Market Garden in Cheshire, hand-roll their pasta and cook fresh fish and seafood over coal. I mean, can you do that? Probably not as well as these guys.
The British bistro, just off of Portland Street, also boasts a banging wine list that encourages people to discover new things, and again, champions small-scale, low intervention winemakers from around Europe.
Higher Ground started off as a pop-up in an old security cabin at Kampus, but blossomed into an award-winning brick and mortar site in February 2023 up for the ‘Best New British Restaurant’ award. It has since been added to the Michelin Guide, ranked in the National Restaurant Awards top 100 list, and made The Good Food Guide’s ‘Best Local Restaurant‘ list. So here’s crossing our fingers for another worthy accolade!
Over the past two years, inspectors at The Good Food Guide have been anonymously reviewing hundreds of restaurants all over the country. They pay in full for their meals in order to maintain integrity and enable honest, unbiased criticism. And they have established a solid rating system, which involves categorising spots as Local Gem, Good, Very Good, Exceptional and World Class. After all is said and done, only 39 restaurants across Britain will hold the rating of ‘Exceptional’ or ‘World Class’, so it’s kind of a big deal.
Elizabeth Carter, Editor of the Guide for the past 17 years, said of the Awards: “The Good Food Guide Awards 2024 are all about the sheer pleasure of good food in all its diversity. Our shortlisted restaurants are setting the standard by which all others should be measured.”
The Good Food Guide Awards 2024 will take place at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane on January 30, 2024.
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