Wales' Ynyshir Wins UK Restaurant of the Year

Ynyshir might be a remote property just south of Snowdonia National Park on the western edge of mid Wales, but it has beaten out its big city counterparts in the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2022.

Helmed by chef Gareth Ward, the restaurant in a country house hotel in Machynlleth took out the UK Restaurant of the Year and Best Restaurant in Wales awards at a ceremony at London’s Hurlingham Club last night.

The "uncompromisingly edgy Welsh gem" brings together "punchy, Asian-influenced food with 90s hip hop", topping this year’s top 100 restaurant list, the award's organisers said.

Ynyshir's food itself is described as "ingredient led, flavour driven, fat fuelled and meat obsessed", with its website noting that it does not cater for any dietary requirements or offer substitutions for any dishes.

It's not the restaurant's first award – in 2018, 2019, 2021 it won Best Restaurant in Wales but it is the first time a non-English restaurant has taken out the top UK restaurant award.

Fire power

Lancashire restaurant Moor Hall, set in five acres of gardens with its own lake, came in second place in the UK and took out the Best Restaurant in England 2022 award. Chef Mark Birchall offers only tasting menus, with four and eight courses described as "ambitious and brilliant cooking" by the judges.

Brat in London's Shoreditch led by Welsh chef Tomos Parry, modelled on family-run, fire-powered restaurants of the port town of Getaria in northern Spain, came in third and The Ritz in fourth place. Simon Rogan from three-Michelin star Cumbria restaurant L'Enclume won Chef of the Year.

Launched in 2007, the 100 best restaurants in the UK are voted for by an academy of chefs, restaurateurs and food writers.

Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2022

1. Ynyshir, Machynlleth, Wales
2. Moor Hall, Aughton, Lancashire
3. Brat, Shoreditch, London
4. The Ritz, Mayfair, London
5. BiBi, Mayfair, London
6. The Ledbury, Notting Hill, London
7. A Wong, Victoria, London
8. Core By Clare Smyth, Notting Hill, London
9. Ikoyi, St James's, London
10. L’Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria

For a full list of the awards, click here