National Restaurant Awards 2021: Yorkshire's top restaurants named

Chef Michael Wignall’s Angel at Hetton has been named Gastropub of the Year in the National Restaurant Awards – leading a cracking field of Yorkshire’s best places to eat

Michael Wignall (Image: The Angel)Billed as ‘the definitive guide to the UK’s best restaurants’, the awards are judged by an elite academy of chefs, restaurateurs and food writers nationwide

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Michael Wignall's lemon sole at The Angel (Image: The Angel)The Angel at Hetton, which has a Michelin star, was named number 2 in the top 100 best places to eat in the country.

Chef Tommy Banks was named Restaurateur of the Year (Image: Andrew-Hayes-Watkins)Chef Tommy Banks was named Restaurateur of the Year and his Michelin-starred Black Swan at Oldstead came in at number 10 in the top 100. His York restaurant Roots was number 51.

Dining out: Where Tommy Banks loves to eat in Yorkshire

Adding more Yorkshire glory to the list were The Moorcock at Norland at number 14, Skosh in York at 18 and Michael O’Hare’s Michelin-starred Man Behind the Curtain in Leeds at 19.

There was glory for the team at Joro in Sheffield at number 32 and Josh Overington at Le Cochon Aveugle in York which came in at number 41.

Chefs’ delight at their placings – after a miserable year for the hospitality industry - was clear.

‘Wow, wow, wow. We're absolutely blown away to be placed number 2 in The National Restaurant Awards Top 100 UK restaurants! And this year’s Gastropub of the Year’, said Wignall, who run the Angel with his wife Johanna.

‘Our team, who are working so hard at the moment, are just absolutely thrilled to bits,’ he said.

For Le Cochon’s Josh Overington, it was time for celebration, having moved up the ratings.

‘What.an.achievement! Well done to all team for working so hard and pushing forward in everything they do. Pushing from No.95 last year to No.41 this year. Thank you as always to all our guests who support us and keep us striving to bring bigger and better things to the table year on year.’

For Restaurateur of the Year Tommy Banks, it was all about teamwork.

‘It has been a very different year but we have been proactive and made a success of it. It is my name on the trophy but it belongs to everyone. Good organisations are built on strong teams and good culture and I am very lucky to be a part of that,’ he said.

The Moorcock near Sowerby Bridge was number14 in the awards (Image: n/a)For the Moorcock, their number 14 placing was a surprise,

‘Never in a million years did we see this coming, but we are extremely grateful - and utterly humbled- that we were chosen to be a part of a pretty ridiculous top 20. We're a bit in shock really. Thank you so much for including us in such massive company, and to the team for making it happen every day,’ they said on Instagram.

The team at Skosh in York added, ‘To be included in this prestigious list is an incredible achievement in its own right but to be placed in the top 20 is just amazing.’