Nominations for London Restaurant Awards

Nominations for the ninth Tio Pepe ITV London Restaurant Awards were announced this week, and it seems that the capital's Oriental and Asian restaurants are set to make a big impression this year.

Four of the six nominations for New Restaurant of the Year also appear in the Oriental and Indian Restaurant categories: Roka (Japanese), Yauatcha (Chinese), Amaya (Indian) and Rasoi Vineet Bhatia (Indian).

Despite being destroyed by fire in November, Pied à Terre on Charlotte Street was nominated for French Restaurant of the Year and its chef, Shane Osborn, received a nomination for Outstanding London Chef.

Restaurant critic Fay Maschler, who is chairman of the judging panel, said the restaurant and chef were "so impressive last year that a shortlist of restaurants and chefs of this calibre would not be complete without them".

Marco Pierre White's first joint venture with jockey Frankie Dettori, Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill, also galloped on to the shortlist. It will be competing with the Savoy Grill and Angela Hartnett's Menu at the Connaught for Outstanding Front of House Team.

Restaurants competing for Fish Restaurant of the Year include J Sheekey, FishWorks, Le Suquet, One-O-One, Rasa Samudra and Sweetings.

The full list of nominations follows below. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner at the Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, on Monday 4 April.

by Emily Manson

SHORTLIST 2005

British Restaurant of the Year

• Bluebird Dining Room
• Franklins
• The Goring
• Inn the Park
• Rivington Grill, Bar, Deli
• St John

French Restaurant of the Year

• Morgan M
• Petit Max
• Pied à Terre
• Racine
• Le Roussillon
• Tom Aikens

Italian Restaurant of the Year

• Al Duca
• Assaggi
• Enoteca Turi
• Locanda Locatelli
• Passione
• Riva

Oriental Restaurant of the Year

• Cay Tre
• Hakkasan
• Roka
• Royal China (Bayswater)
• Sushi-Say
• Yauatcha

Indian Restaurant of the Year

• Amaya
• Cinnamon Club
• Five Hot Chillies
• Madhu's
• Painted Heron
• Rasoi Vineet Bhatia

Fish Restaurant of the Year

• Fishworks
• J Sheekey
• One-O-One
• Rasa Samudra
• Le Suquet
• Sweetings

New Restaurant of the Year

(Restaurants opened between December 2003 and November 2004.)

• Amaya
• Cipriani
• Inn the Park
• Rasoi Vineet Bhatia
• Roka
• Yauatcha

Most Exceptional Restaurant Wine List

(This award is given for a well-balanced wine list that best matches the style and cuisine of the restaurant while encouraging customers to expand their interest.)

• Bleeding Heart
• Chez Bruce
• Enoteca Turi
• Fino
• The Greenhouse
• Putney Bridge

London Gastropub of the Year

• The Anchor and Hope
• The Fox
• The Gun
• The Hartley
• The Havelock
• The White Swan

Outstanding London Chef

• Tom Aikens - Tom Aikens
• Rainer Becker - Roka
• Vineet Bhatia - Rasoi Vineet Bhatia
• Tong Che Hwee - Hakkasan
• Rowley Leigh - Kensington Place
• Shane Osborn - Pied à Terre

Outstanding Front of House Team

(This award is not so much for an individual front of house leader, as for the whole service team in a restaurant)

• Clarke's
• Frankie's
• Le Gavroche
• Angela Hartnett's Menu at the Connaught
• Racine
• Savoy Grill

London Restaurant Academy Award of Excellence

• Cambio de Tercio
• Fino
• Nobu
• Racine
• St John
• Tom Aikens

Outstanding Contribution

(This is to a person or a supplier. There is no shortlist for this award)

Evening Standard London Tonight Awards

Tio Pepe ITV London Restaurant of the Year

(The shortlist for this award includes all the winning restaurants in this year's awards)

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