Caractère scoops Top Newcomer at Harden’s London Restaurant Awards

Emily Roux and Diego Ferrari’s Caractère in Notting Hill has scooped the Top Newcomer Award at Harden’s London Restaurant Awards 2019.

 

A total of 15 awards were handed out this afternoon to the crème de la crème of London’s dining scene at the Langham London hotel.

 

The Outstanding Achievement Award was presented to JKS Restaurants, owned by Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi; while the Top Gastronomic Experience award went to the Michelin-starred Five Fields restaurant in Chelsea. Gauthier Soho was the first to win the newly added category of Best Vegan or Vegetarian restaurant.

 

Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden’s, said: “The Sethi siblings, with their amazing collection of winning ventures in recent years, have helped to shape London as an innovative force in the world restaurant business in a way that few other people have, especially in such a short period of time.

 

“And with today’s awards recognising both Marguerite Keogh at Five Fields and Emily Roux at Caractère, it is also evident the immense contribution of female chefs and restaurateurs to the capital’s dining scene.

 

“It is entertaining that these honours come just a couple of weeks after Marco Pierre White made his prehistoric comments to the press about women chefs. Hopefully these awards will go some way to the full acceptance of sex-equality in the hospitality workplace.

 

“We are also delighted today to highlight the vital issues of sustainability through the introduction of a new Top Vegan or Vegetarian Award. Alexis Gauthier is a worthy winner for the groundbreaking steps he’s taken for showcasing meat-free cuisine at the highest level.”

 

The full list of winners included:

 

**Outstanding Achievement Award **JKS Restaurants

 

**Top Gastronomic Experience **Five Fields, Chelsea

 

**Top Newcomer **Caractère, Notting Hill

 

**Best for Fish and Seafood **Cornerstone, Hackney Wick

 

**Best Vegan or Vegetarian **Gauthier Soho

 

**Top Cheap Eat **Bancone, Covent Garden

 

**Best for Business **The Goring, Belgravia

 

**Best Steaks and Grills **Hawksmoor, Spitalfields

 

**Best Street Food **Duck Truck, Spitalfields

 

**Wine List of the Year **Noizé, Fitzrovia

 

**Top Bar or Pub **The Wigmore, Marylebone

 

**Best for Romance **Poule au Pot, Belgravia

 

**Best Breakfast or Brunch **Dishoom, Covent Garden

 

**Top Coffee House **Tab X Tab, Westbourne Grove

 

**Best Afternoon Tea **The Ritz Palm Court, Mayfair

 

Harden’s takes nominees for its awards from those restaurants and chefs who performed best in its annual restaurant survey. This year 7,500 people contributed 50,000 nominations.