Cateys 2025: Newcomer Award: Sonnet Restaurant

Sonnet Restaurant in Alnwick, Northumberland, is the absolute epitome of a Newcomer Award winner that has taken a risk and seized an opportunity.

The location is not the most obvious place to open a restaurant that only serves a 14-course tasting menu, but the concept, created by couple Gary McDermott and Claudia Mazareanu, has already won considerable praise since opening in early 2024.

The 16-cover restaurant is named after the term for a 14-line poem and as such it offers 14 courses. The pair say they serve the food they love to eat themselves, with big flavours often created by cooking over fire using the finest ingredients the land and sea have to offer.

At £105 for the full menu, Sonnet offers real value for money, making it a relatively accessible way for Northumberland locals and those who make the trip to enjoy some outstanding cooking. Alnwick has no other tasting menu restaurants, so opening Sonnet wasn’t without its risks and McDermott and Mazareanu were advised it wouldn’t work, but their passion and determination to create something different in what is a former bathroom shop has been justified.

The menu itself is simply presented, with dishes such as potted peas, barbecue monkfish and cheese sandwich – simple explanations for technically impressive cooking. Though guests enjoy the guessing game of what is to come based on the description, the pair have introduced a chef notes section with more detail for those looking for it.

For instance, for sticky beef pie, McDermott says: “Being a northern man we had to include some pastry, so this is my gran’s puff pastry recipe. We then stuff it with our house pickle, pulled slow-braised beef feather blade in all different spices, caramelised onion and topped with a Parmesan crumble with Gruyère.”

The pair incorporate techniques from both their backgrounds. Mazareanu brings a wealth of preservation knowledge to bear, including methods such as ‘salata de vinete’, which is typically a barbecued aubergine served with toast and sliced tomato, interpreted here with locally sourced lamb.

The determination of McDermott and Mazareanu to be authentic while offering a rarefied experience has put Sonnet on the culinary map in a short period of time. It was named in the Michelin Guide in January and given the inspectors’ choice accolade, and in March it was named the UK’s favourite by readers of Condé Nast Traveller, which announced the accolade at its Top New Restaurant Awards. The publication described it as “one of the friendliest, least pretentious, yet fabulously accomplished fine dining offerings to open in the last year”.

All this has been achieved while delighting diners – it is rated as the number one restaurant in Northumberland on TripAdvisor – and being a commercial success, with turnover in the first year far exceeding budget.

What the judges said

“This pair took a big risk opening in a relatively quiet are with no passing trade. It’s impressive that they have already won recognition and made excellent profit.” Tom Shepherd

“This restaurant is sure to become an institution in the north of England. A clear winner.” Pascal Aussignac

“An exciting and ambitious restaurant with an innovative approach that is full of imagination and quality.” Richard Ball

The shortlist

• Pignut, York
• Skof, Manchester
• Sonnet Restaurant, Alnwick
• Sune, London

The judges

• Pascal Aussignac, Club Gascon
• Richard Ball, Calcot Collection
• Tom Brown, Tom Brown at the Capital
• Paul Foster
• Thomas Pass, Culinera
• James Robson, Fallow, Roe, Fowl
• Tom Shepherd, Upstairs by Tom Shepherd

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