Forget London – why foodies are flocking to the North

If you only read restaurant reviews, you might be forgiven for thinking that the North is a culinary wasteland: despite a few intrepid reviewers venturing further than the Watford gap, restaurant reviewing remains firmly London-centric.

But there is life (and culinary prowess) beyond the outer zones of the London underground. Last month Moor Hall in Lancashire was named ‘National Restaurant of the Year’ at the prestigious Estrella Dam National Restaurant Awards.

When it comes to the top spot, this is nothing new: Moor Hall has retained the top spot since 2019, when the last awards took place. The awards are voted for by UK chefs, restaurateurs and food writers, and following a break in 2020, during a year in which the pandemic forced restaurants to close, reopen, close again, and perform whiplash pivots, the awards returned for 2021.

_Moor_Hall_guinea_hen_sweetcorn_beetroot_and_blackberry.jpg — Guinea hen with sweetcorn, beetroot and blackberry, Moor Hall

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Despite Moor Hall’s previous top ranking, the 2019 awards were dominated by London restaurants. But the tide has turned. For the first time, there are more restaurants in the north of England on the prestigious list than from London. Of the top five restaurants in this year’s awards, only one isn’t Northern – Clare Smyth’s Core in Notting Hill came in at number three. In second place is The Angel at Hetton in North Yorkshire, headed up by Michael Wignall; at number four is Kenny Atkinson’s House of Tides on Newcastle’s quayside, and at five, is Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume in Cartmel.

For those of us living (and eating) in the North of England, this success is probably no surprise: the Northern culinary scene has been going from strength to strength – and none of these restaurants are new.