A family-run restaurant in Redland has been named among some of the best venues in the country. The team at Wilson's on Chandos Road has said they're "a little bit dazed" after making it into the lauded top 100 list at the National Restaurant Awards 2023.
The Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards is an annual list of the top 100 restaurants in the UK as decided by the industry's leading chefs, restaurateurs and food writers. There has not been representation for Bristol at the awards since the now closed Casamia reached number 28 back in 2021.
Wilson's, which is owned by partners Jan Ostle and Mary Wilson and holds a Green Michelin Star, has placed at number 55 in the countdown. The 24-cover neighbourhood restaurant was praised by the judges for its value and for curating a weekly menu based on what the kitchen has harvested from its own gardens or preserved from earlier in the year.
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The NRA judges said: "Home-grown produce is supplemented by high-quality ingredients sourced from a small network of like-minded produces, including beef from biodynamic farm Three Pools; poultry from Woolley Park Farm; venison from Grove Game Larder; and pigs from the Belmont Estate."
Wilson's offers a six-course tasting menu alongside an even more good value ‘menu du jour’ including a glass of wine. Last year, the pair opened Wilson's Bread Shop just two doors down from the restaurant serving bacon rolls with fresh bread, pastries and surplus produce from the restaurant's two-acre garden.
Sharing the news on Twitter, the restaurant said: "So yesterday this happened. We came 55th in @The_NRAs. We’re all a little bit dazed but incredibly happy and grateful for the support of our colleagues and wonderful city! Thank you."
The top spot at the National Restaurant Awards 2023 went to Ynyshir in Powys once again. In the South West as a region, Osip in Bruton climbed to number 24 as well as The Seahorse in Dartmouth and Paul Ainsworth at No.6 in Padstow reaching 28 and 33 respectively.
Casa, the regeneration of top restauranteur Peter Sanchez-Iglesias's Casamia, was also shortlisted for a separate award for best opening of the year.
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