Nottingham's Restaurant Sat Bains has been crowned the best in the UK by an influential poll of diners.
The two Michelin starred restaurant - hailed "outstanding in every way" - has shot to the top spot in the 2022 edition of Harden's, the country's elite restaurant guide.
And with Alex Bond's Alchemilla, listed at number 14 it means Nottingham is the only city outside London to have two establishments in the national top 20.
Ratings and reviews in the guide are based on 30,000 reports from Harden's annual survey of 3,000 regular diners.
Restaurant Sat Bains, in Lenton Lane, has gone from fourth place in the previous 2020 list to first in Harden’s Top 100 of the UK’s best dining destinations, knocking Purnell’s in Birmingham off top spot
Sat Bains, who opened the restaurant with his wife Amanda in 2002, said: "We're very proud of all the team - what a great start to the year after such uncertainty for two years.
"Harden's is based on people who have spent their hard-earned money and that's always important.
"It's brilliant for Nottingham with Alex there as well. Any news about Nottingham that is positive is really good and we should celebrate Nottingham. I love it here."
The restaurant attracts food lovers from near and far to sample his adventurous 10-course tasting menus – and young chefs from around the world seek to work in his kitchens, with some going on to forge careers in Los Angeles, Japan and Australia.
The Harden’s guide says: "Just outstanding in every way. It is a testament to Sat Bains and wife Amanda’s hospitality that they have created one of the country’s best-rated gastronomic destinations in a former motel amidst the flyovers on the edge of the city.
"Once you find it, you will keep going back for more – superb cuisine and correspondingly varied wine list, full of surprises.”
For all the refinement of his cuisine, Mr Bains – who grew up in Derby in a Punjabi Sikh family – describes his venture as a “working-class restaurant”.
During lockdown he launched a home-delivery curry kit with his 72-year-old mother, Tarsem, called Momma Bains.
Diners have just started to return after a month-long closure while the the bar, restaurant and wine station lay-out were redesigned by Amanda.
A number of changes have been implemented to enhance the customer experience.
The number of covers has been reduced from 44 to 36.
Weekday lunches have been scrapped, meaning lunch will only be available on a Saturday.
Dinner continues to be served Wednesday to Saturday and staff have been working on new dishes, presentation and service elements.
"Lunch was very busy but I want my team to be fresh, I don't want them rushing in, getting lunch ready and then doing dinner service. It's a risk but we always take risks," said Mr Bains.
The cost of the ten-course menu featuring dishes such as scallop XO, rose, nori, radish and seaweed emulsion has risen to £195 or £225 pounds per person to sit at the chefs' table and kitchen bench - the rise due to a mixture of Brexit, Covid and wanting to give diners a superior experience.
Peter Harden, the co-founder of the guide, said: "Sat Bains has been a leader of the national restaurant scene for more than a decade now, and his lockdown curry service is a great example of the resilience and creativity shown by the sector in the face of the pandemic – qualities the best restaurants will need as we emerge from this national trauma .”
Alchemilla, opposite the Park Estate in Derby Road, was founded by former Sat Bains' chef Alex Bond five years ago, and is also making an impact on the restaurant scene.
The guide says: “Chef Alex Bond’s wonderful natural and plant-focused eatery rates mention alongside that of his former mentor nowadays and again wins raves for its fabulous food.”
The restaurant, which boasts one Michelin star, serves five, seven and ten course menus from £55 to £95 a head with dishes of pigeon sausage, soured onion and pickled rose and blackcurrant wood ice cream sandwich.
Another Restaurant Sat Bains' chef who has gone onto great things is Gareth Ward, who runs Ynyshir in rural Wales and ranks seventh in the guide.
Mr Bains added: "Me and Amanda are very proud of them. We have trained some of the best chefs in the country that have travelled all over the world now."
Purnell’s, Adam’s and Opheem in Birmingham and Hambleton Hall in Rutland also feature in Harden’s 100 making the Midlands a powerhouse of culinary achievement.
