Where to eat in 2008

The winners of the Remy Martin Restaurant Awards 2008 are announced

Reigate in Surrey has probably not figured on most foodies’ lists of “must-visit” destinations. It’s a nice enough place, but with respect to the restaurateurs of Reigate, it is hardly Bray. But that may be about to change with the announcement that The Westerly, in Reigate has been named as the overall winner of the Remy Martin Restaurant Awards 2008, produced in association with restaurant guide Harden’s.
While The Westerly’s owners, Jon and Cynthia Coomb, know all about top-end fancy dining, having previously run the Michelin star rated Stephan Langton near Dorking, their new venture is all about quality ingredients matched to decent wines without much of the fuss and at affordable prices.

This mantra of keeping things simple and doing the simple things, combined with a pared-down environment (the Westerly has famously ditched its tablecloths) is a theme running through many of the 2008 winners.

Eileen Livingston, marketing manager for Remy Martin in the UK, claims this is about people eating out more often. “People eating out are placing more emphasis on taste rather than ceremony.”

With three of the winners offering tapas (Barrafina and El Faro in London and El Gato Negro in Ripponden), the emphasis on a greater quantity of smaller dishes also looks set to continue.

The full list of winners is:

London Award Winners:
Acorn House
Barrafina
El Faro
Magdalen
Scott’s

Regional Award Winners:
The Glasshouse at Eskmills in Musselburgh
Zutshi’s at the Toll Bar in Cornwall
El Gato Negro, Ripponden, Yorkshire
Hipping Hall in Lancashire
Shanghai 30s in Oxford

The 10th Edition of Harden’s is out now.