Glasgow restaurant group nominated for prestigious Good Food Guide Award 2025

The shortlist for The Good Food Guide Awards 2025 has been revealed including Restaurant of the Year and Chef to Watch, with one Glasgow restaurant group nominated for The Russell Norman Award for Restaurateur of the Year.

Celebrated at a glittering ceremony on Monday 3rd February at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in central London, The Good Food Guide Awards 2025, in partnership with OpenTable, are gearing up to name the best of emerging and established excellence in British dining in 2025.

The awards will be hosted by TV presenter and restaurant-goer, Richard Bacon.

The shortlist, which has been revealed ahead of the ceremony, comprises some of Britain’s most prolific restaurants with The Ritz Restaurant, St John and Opheem among the contenders for Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by OpenTable (awarded to The Sportsman in 2024).

Meanwhile, the Chef to Watch category is more hotly contested than ever with seven entrants considered to be the biggest talents of tomorrow.

The Best New Restaurant award showcases the smash-hit new openings of the past year, with Tom Barnes’ Skof in Manchester and Stuart Ralston’s Lyla in Edinburgh among the most exciting and ambitious destinations. And in a new category for 2025, The Good Food Guide is celebrating astonishing value in dining out with the Best Value Set Menu award. The night will also raise a glass to the best of Britain’s local dining scene with a presentation to Best Local Restaurant winners, Bavette.

Following Helmsley and the Howardian Hills taking the title of Most Exciting Food Destination in 2024, this year’s winning location will be kept tightly under wraps until the ceremony. The award, sponsored by Landmark Trust, is a culmination of the Guide’s unrivalled network of knowledge gathered from a year’s worth of anonymous in-person inspections.

Another new award introduced for 2025 is The Russell Norman Award for Restaurateur of the Year in memory of the late restaurateur behind Polpo and Brutto. Knife & Fork Media founder Adam Hyman commented: 'Russell was a hero of mine, a friend and mentor.

We wanted to pay respect to a man who was enormously influential in our industry and make sure his name is not forgotten. With the blessing of his family we’re delighted to name our Restaurateur of the Year award after Russell and his legacy of exceptional hospitality.’

Chloë Hamilton, co-editor of The Good Food Guide, commented: “This year’s shortlist is a magnificent mix of starry names alongside some brilliant lesser-known talent that anyone interested in restaurants should be taking note of. If last year’s ceremony is anything to go by, our return to Theatre Royal Drury Lane is set to be a huge night of celebration with some revelations to remember.”

The full shortlist for The Good Food Guide Awards 2025, in partnership with OpenTable, is as follows:

Restaurant of the Year sponsored by OpenTable

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

Best New Restaurant sponsored by Tripleseat

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

Drinks List of the Year sponsored by Richard Brendon

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

Chef to Watch sponsored by Champagne Billecart-Salmon

• 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

Most Beautiful Restaurant

• Grace & Savour, West Midlands
• The Dover, London
• Hearth, Hampshire
• The Park, London
• Woven by Adam Smith, Berkshire
• Wildflowers, 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 Exciting Food Destination 2025 sponsored by Landmark Trust

• Winning location announced on the night

The Good Food Guide Awards are by invitation only and will take place at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London on Monday 3rd February 2025.