Belfast eatery named ‘best restaurant in NI' and ranked among top 100 in UK awards
©Evening Standard
The Muddlers Club in Belfast has been named one of the UK's 100 best restaurants – for the second year running.
The restaurant in the Cathedral Quarter was placed number 76 on the list of the best places to dine in the UK in the National Restaurant Awards (NRAs).
It was also named as the Best Restaurant in Northern Ireland.
The Michelin starred restaurant led by chef Gareth McCaughey, is tucked away between Waring Street & Exchange Place in the city with a focus on modern dining using local produce.
Meanwhile, The Ritz in London was named the UK's best restaurant at the National Restaurant Awards.
Four months after executive chef John Williams steered the restaurant to two Michelin stars — many believed the accolade to be long overdue — the glamorous Mayfair dining room has climbed to the top of the list for the first time.
Founded in 1906, the restaurant predates the title behind the awards, Restaurant magazine, by almost a century. It is arguably London's most glamorous place to dine and serves a menu of French haute cuisine, inspired in part by the dishes of the legendary Auguste Escoffier.
It is also now the only one where men must wear a jacket and tie, while women are asked to arrive in evening wear.
'As a bastion of fine French food served in unashamedly refined surroundings, the Ritz stands alone in the UK,' said Restaurant editor Stefan Chomka.
'The top 100 restaurants list reflects the diverse nature of our eating out scene and the changing trends within it, whether they be less formality, more farm to fork menus, or embracing new cuisines, but it's also wonderful to see a restaurant unwavering in its focus finally get the recognition it merits. The Ritz is an exemplary restaurant.'
Watch: Popular Belfast entry gets insta-worthy summer makeover
In second place this year is Mark Birchall's Moor Hall in Lancashire, the most recent restaurant in the UK to be awarded three Michelin stars. In third place is the Ledbury, which was last year's winner.
The list shows the continuation of the capital's dominance in the country's dining scene, with a total of 56 restaurants from London in the top 100 list. Other big London winners include Trinity (4), Bouchon Racine (5), Oma (6), Anglothai (7) and Dorian (10).
The restaurateur of the year was named as David Carter, the man behind Oma, 2025's highest new entry, and Agora, the more casual restaurant below it, which is at 51.
Restaurant group Super8's continued success is reflected in the list, with Mountain at number 11, Kiln at 13, and Brat at 54 — meaning only one of their operations, Smoking Goat, did not make the cut.
Claude Bosi, meanwhile, achieved similar success with Bibendum re-entering the list at 39; his restaurant at the Peninsula hotel, Brooklands, made 20, and Chelsea's Josephine — formerly Josephine Bouchon — was announced at number 23. Bosi owns the latter with his wife Lucy.
A restaurant now closed also features on the list: Lyle's, James Lowe's former restaurant in Shoreditch that ran for 11 years, sits in 21st place.
Skye Gyngell, the Aussie chef behind Spring at Somerset House, was given the lifetime achievement award, recognising her contribution not just to the British culinary scene but also her work tapping into the confluence of food and culture, all the while overcoming a battle with rare skin cancer.
The winners were announced at a lively ceremony at Magazine London in Greenwich on June 9.
The National Restaurant Awards is Restaurant's annual countdown of the top 100 restaurants in the UK as voted for by the UK's leading chefs, restaurateurs, critics and food writers.
Awards in full
The full list of the UK's top 100 restaurants
The Ritz
Moor Hall
The Ledbury
Trinity
Bouchon Racine
OMA
AngloThai
Osip
Ynyshir
Dorian
Mountain
The Devonshire
Kiln
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Woven by Adam Smith
Ikoyi
Lyla
A Wong
Da Terra
Brooklands by Claude Bosi
Lyle's
Kitchen Table
Josephine Bouchon
Endo at the Rotunda
Paul Ainsworth at No.6
Restaurant Pine
Canteen
The Unruly Pig
Sabor
Row on 5
Restaurant Sat Bains
BiBi
Kolae
The Sportsman
L'Enclume
Higher Ground
Camille
Core by Clare Smith
Claude Bosi at Bibendum
Chishuru
The Glenturret Lalique
Frog by Adam Handling
JÖRO
Grace & Savour
Updown Farmhouse
Dongnae
Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
Opheem
Restaurant Interlude
KOL
AGORA
Akoko
Chez Bruce
Brat
The Forest Side
Gorse
Humble Chicken
Cornus
Morchella
Skof
Sollip
Cedar Tree by Hrishikesh Desai
Starling
Plates
Wilson's
The Kinneuchar Inn
Solstice
Annwn
The Clove Club
Wildflowers
The French House
Mýse
Restaurant Hjem
Sola
The Angel at Hetton
The Muddlers Club
Heft
Inver
The Little Chartroom
The Fordwich Arms
The Black Swan at Oldstead
Upstairs by Tom Shepherd
The Grill by Tom Booton
Hide
The Parkers Arms
Solo
Fallow
Forge at Middleton Lodge
Lita
The Quality Chophouse
Planque
Gymkhana
Lisboeta
Crocadon
Luca
The Seahorse
The Palmerston
Trivet
St. John
Maison François
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