Out Of The Frying Pan: July 2015

The National Restaurant Awards were held at the end of June and as one of the few remaining standards here, below is a summary of the London portion of the list. London has always had a fairly transient restaurant scene but the 23 new entries make for some fairly surprising reading. The highest of these is a bit of a bolter, with the Hart brothers' new Barrafina venture in Covent Garden taking the crown less than a year after opening. Last year's new entry number one, Gymkhana, moves down to fourth place overall.

The Ledbury maintains its excellent record amongst the country's elite, with notable climbs also for The Dairy, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Restaurant Story and 40 Maltby Street. Conversely, significant falls occur elsewhere for Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Le Gavroche, Quo Vadis, Chiltern Firehouse, Marcus and most notably, Pollen Street Social and St John.

As well as the big new entry at number one, the rest of the list sees other significant fresh venues as well as re-entries. Lyle's in Shoreditch proves the latest trend of down-scaled, simplified British food still remains, with local neighbour The Typing Room further down the list for the first time. Mayfair is all of a sudden an exciting place to eat again, with Kitty Fisher's, Fera and Scott's all present. The Middle East is also well-represented this year, with the Kings Cross branch of Dishoom, Honey & Co and The Palomar adding a little variation to the list.

Once again, over half the best places to eat remain in London; if you believe this list. Even though the overall number is a little lower than last year, the fact that we have such variety, excitement and change in London is only ever a good thing. Restaurants have to adapt and keep customers interested and, as ever, there are a huge array of places to eat, enjoy and celebrate.

1 Barrafina Adelaide Street - New Entry

3 The Ledbury (3)

4 Gymkhana (1)

6 Lyle's - New Entry

9 The Dairy (24)

10 Restaurant Gordon Ramsay (59)

11 The Clove Club (2)

12 Hedone (7)

13 Restaurant Story (26)

15 The Palomar - New Entry

16 Kitty Fisher's - New Entry

17 Fera at Claridge's - New Entry