Zuma wins best restaurant at Tatler awards
Zuma was voted restaurant of the year at the fourth annual Tatler restaurant awards, held last night at the Four Seasons hotel in London's Park Lane.
According to Tatler restaurant editor Jeremy Wayne, Rainer Becker's Japanese venue had "lived up to the hype and consolidated its position as an extremely good restaurant."
Restaurateur of the year went to Camellia and Nameeta Panjabi and Ranjit Mathrani for the five-strong London-based Masala World chain.
They topped a short-list of five that included Marlon Abela, Nick Jones, Rainer Becker, and Tom Etridge.
Wayne said: "They were rewarded for pushing forward the frontiers of good eating. Masala World is genuinely doing something different."
The event was open to restaurants from across the UK but was dominated by sites in the capital. A Tatler spokesman said: "The awards are judged by a Tatler editorial team and we're not experts in out-of-town restaurants."
A best out-of-town award went to Lucknam Park, Wiltshire, where the head chef is Hywel Jones.
The luxury hotel and restaurant beat off competition from Chewton Glen (Hampshire), Summer Lodge (Dorset), Thackeray's (Kent) and The Glasshouse at the Grove (Hertfordshire).
Best newcomer was London's 35-seat Rasoi Vineet Bhatia Indian restaurant.
The prize for most consistently excellent restaurant went to Racine, which specialises in French cuisine.
The 2005 Tatler restaurant guide, now in its eighth year, comes with the February issue of Tatler magazine.
Full list of winners:
Restaurant of the year: Zuma
Restaurateur of the year: Camellia and Nameeta Panjabi and Ranjit Mathrani
Best out of town: Lucknam Park, Wiltshire
Most consistently excellent restaurant: Racine, London
Newcomer: Rasoi Vineet Bhatia, London
Best room: Cipriani, London
Best kitchen: The Square, London
Best set lunch: Aubergine Park, London
Best sommelier: Massimiliano Sali, Locanda Locatelli, London
Best maitre d': Eric Kebbab, Umu, London
by Tom Bill
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