A capital spot: Evelyn’s Table in Soho
(Picture: Press handout)The 2023 edition of the Harden’s Restaurant Guide has named Evelyn’s Table, the basement spot beneath the Rupert Street Blue Posts, as London’s best restaurant.
The listing is particularly notable as the restaurant was not in the 2022 guide. It is run by the Selby brothers, though Luke Selby — arguably the best known among his siblings — left late year to join Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons as executive chef.
The latest Harden’s today revealed the “Top 100 Best UK Restaurants”, as decided by diners. The number one spot was claimed by Andrew Fairlie at The Gleneagles Hotel, which holds two Michelin stars. The restaurant is named for its former chef-patron, the late Andrew Fairlie, who died of a brain tumour three years ago this month. Behind it was Evelyn’s Table, with the Waterside Inn in Bray placing third. The Waterside Inn, which has held three Michelin stars for 47 years, is run by Alain Roux, son of the late Michel.
The guide, now on its 32nd edition, ranks restaurants according to more than 30,000 individual reports submitted by some 3,000 diners. Its rankings are derived entirely from what it calls “normal diners”, as opposed to critics or professional inspectors.
Other London restaurants in the guide included Endo at The Rotunda at number four, Core by Clare Smyth at six, and Maru, an omakase spot in Mayfair, making its Harden’s debut at nine. Just outside the top 10 was Bethnal Green’s Da Terra at number 11, a drop from number three in last year’s guide.
A number of London restaurants made an appearance in the top 100 guide this year, though they had not been in the 2022 edition. These include Plu in St John’s Wood, which came in at 18, Marylebone’s Araki at 19, Estiatorio Milos at 22, the relaunched Ledbury at 39, Sven-Hanson Britt’s Oxeye at 49, Roketsu at 51 and Umu at 67. Surprisingly, BiBi and the Ritz — which in critic’s circles are generally held to be two of London’s top spots — placed at 88 and 91 respectively. Similarly, the Lecture Room and Library in sketch came in at 93, though it holds three Michelin Stars.
With a total of 40 restaurants on the list, the capital astonishingly outperformed the rest of the country; tied second for the cities with the most number of restaurants were Birmingham and Edinburgh, with three a piece.
Peter Harden, who cofounded the guide with his brother Richard in the late Nineties, said of this year’s guide: “Chef Andrew Fairlie may sadly no longer be with us but his spirit lives on in this restaurant which bears his name. Reaching the top spot this year is a huge credit to his long-time lieutenants, head chef Stephen McLaughlin and general manager Dale Dewsbury.”
He added: “Evelyn’s Table at The Blue Posts being runner up is certainly something to celebrate from the Selby brothers as our diners were quick to point out that they are demonstrating ‘levels of skill and technique to compete with much better known places that leave you with a far higher bill’ — a point that has been further reinforced by the recent appointment of Luke Selby to Executive Chef at Le Manoir.”
