TWO Somerset restaurants have been shortlisted for several prestigious accolades as part of The Good Food Guide Awards 2025.
The nominations for the two Bruton-based restaurants, Briar and Osip, include Restaurant of the Year and Chef to Watch, along with awards for Best New Restaurant and Drinks List of the Year.
Set to be celebrated at a glittering ceremony on Monday, February 3, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in central London, The Good Food Guide Awards 2025, in partnership with OpenTable, is gearing up to name the best of emerging and established excellence in British dining in 2025. The awards will be hosted by TV presenter and restaurant-goer, Richard Bacon.
The shortlist, which has been revealed ahead of the ceremony, comprises some of Britain’s most prolific restaurants with Somerset’s Osip, The Ritz Restaurant, and St John, Smithfield, among the contenders for Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by OpenTable (awarded to The Sportsman in 2024).
Osip, the renowned farm-to-table restaurant, is also in the running for the Drinks List of the Year award. And in a new category for 2025, The Good Food Guide is celebrating astonishing value in dining out with the Best Value Set Menu award. The night will also raise a glass to the best of Britain’s local dining scene with a presentation to Best Local Restaurant winners, Bavette.
The Best New Restaurant award showcases the smash-hit new openings of the past year, with Sam Lomas’s Briar in Somerset and Stuart Ralston’s Lyla in Edinburgh among the most exciting and ambitious destinations. Meanwhile, the Chef to Watch category is more hotly contested than ever with seven entrants considered to be the biggest talents of tomorrow, including Briar’s Sam Lomas.
Following Helmsley and the Howardian Hills taking the title of Most Exciting Food Destination in 2024, this year’s winning location will be kept tightly under wraps until the ceremony. The award, sponsored by the Landmark Trust, is a culmination of the Guide’s unrivalled network of knowledge gathered from a year’s worth of anonymous in-person inspections.
Another new award introduced for 2025 is The Russell Norman Award for Restaurateur of the Year in memory of the late restaurateur behind Polpo and Brutto.
Knife & Fork Media founder Adam Hyman commented: “Russell was a hero of mine, a friend and mentor. We wanted to pay respect to a man who was enormously influential in our industry and make sure his name is not forgotten. With the blessing of his family, we’re delighted to name our Restaurateur of the Year award after Russell and his legacy of exceptional hospitality.”
Chloë Hamilton, co-editor of The Good Food Guide, commented: “This year’s shortlist is a magnificent mix of starry names alongside some brilliant lesser-known talent that anyone interested in restaurants should be taking note of. If last year’s ceremony is anything to go by, our return to Theatre Royal Drury Lane is set to be a huge night of celebration with some revelations to remember.”
The full shortlist for The Good Food Guide Awards 2025, in partnership with OpenTable, is as follows:
Restaurant of the Year (sponsored by OpenTable)
Osip, Somerset
Restaurant Jericho, Leicestershire
St John (Smithfield), London
Opheem, Birmingham
The Ritz Restaurant, London
Best New Restaurant (sponsored by Tripleseat)
Skof, Manchester
Lyla, Edinburgh
Briar, Somerset
Row on 5, London
Albatross Death Cult, Birmingham
Native, Worcestershire
Drinks List of the Year (sponsored by Richard Brendon)
KOL & Fonda, London
Timberyard & Montrose, Edinburgh
Osip, Somerset
Cornus, London
Chef to Watch (sponsored by Champagne Billecart-Salmon)
Jake Dolin - Manteca, London
Elliot Hashtroudi - Camille, London
Sam Lomas - Briar, Somerset
Kyu Jeong Jeon and Duncan Robertson - Dongnae, Bristol
Maria Close - Rockliffe Hall, County Durham
Meedu Saad - Super8 Restaurants, London
Philip Mcenaney and Katie Austin - Boath House, Nairn
Best Value Set Menu
Josephine Bouchon, London
The Palmerston, Edinburgh
Dilsk, Brighton
Pompette, Oxford
Wilsons, Bristol
The Devonshire, London
Most Beautiful Restaurant
Grace & Savour, West Midlands
The Dover, London
Hearth, Hampshire
The Park, London
Woven by Adam Smith, Berkshire
Wildflowers, London
The Russell Norman Award for Restaurateur of the Year
David Carter, DCCO group
Jason & Irha Atherton, The Social Company
James Gummer, Olivier van Themsche & Phil Winser, Public House Group
Guirong Wei, Master Wei, X’ian Impression, Dream X’ian
Florence Mae Maglanoc, Maginhawa Group
Dom Hamdy, Ham Group
Jonathan MacDonald and Daniel Spurr, Scoop Restaurants
The award for Most Exciting Food Destination 2025, sponsored by Landmark Trust, will be announced on the night.
The Good Food Guide Awards are by invitation only and will take place at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London on Monday, February 3 2025.