Shortlist for London Restaurant Awards unveiled

The shortlist for the London Restaurant Awards, which returns this September after a two-year break, was unveiled last night at ITV's studios in the capital.

For the first time in the 10-year history of the awards, all six nominees for "Outstanding London Chef" are British: Anthony Demetre, Chris Galvin, Jason Atherton, Mark Hix, Rowley Leigh and Theo Randall.

Hix was also nominated for "British Restaurant of the Year" and "New Restaurant of the Year".

Newly relocated restaurant Hibiscus is competing alongside some of London's most established restaurants for "French Restaurant of the Year" as well as "New Restaurant of the Year".

Other names among the front runners include Scott's and Great Queen Street, each receiving three nominations.

This will also be the first time restaurants outside the capital will be recognised at the awards, with the introduction of "Top 10 Restaurants Outside London" accolade.

Award judge, Charles Campion, the Evening Standard food critic, said: "Given the calibre of nominees, the London Restaurant Awards will be a highly contested competition this year. As a judge, it's an incredibly daunting task to choose the city's best from such an amazing selection."

Winners of the 18 categories at the awards, sponsored by property investment firm AAIM, will be announced on 1 September at Grosvenor House hotel on Park Lane and shown on ITV1 London on 4 September at 10:35pm.

The full list of nominees will be available on the London Restaurant Awards website.

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By Daniel Thomas

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