GFG competition regional winners

[malcolmwilliamson]

Which? online/ GFG have just published this list of the regional winners in their UK Restaurant of the Year competiion. Voters were GFG readers and online subscribers.:

Wales – Tyddyn Llan

Scotland –Linen Room

Northern Ireland – James Street South

The North West – Ramsons

The North East – Yorke Arms

The Midlands(East and West Midlands) – Perkins

The South West(including the Channel Islands) – Culinaria

The South East – The Plough, Bolnhurst

The East(including Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridge) – The Swan Inn (Monks Eleigh)

London – Canteen (Spitalfields)

To qualify, restaurants had to be independently owned and offer regional dishes and/or use locally sourced produce. The overall winner will be revealed at a dinner on June 27th.

Only one or two of these restaurants get (scant) reference on eGullet. Does anyone have any unreported experience of eating at any of them?

Should eGulleters be dining out more?

[BertieWooster]

The North West – Ramsons

The North East – Yorke Arms

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To be fair ye olde 'Yorkie' gets a bit of coverage.

I'm terribly, terribly shallow, so while I've heard of Ramsons, I was put off by their website. And particualrly by this line--

contact & information

I am Chris Johnson;

love me or hate me (about 50/50 chance!)

I'm wacky, me...

[Gary Marshall]

yes, the yorke arms is a well known 1* and very good it is too, middle of no-where mind which slightly dampens my enthusiasm for repeated visits ie mrs m won't drive me back from there!

other than canteen, not heard of the rest.

ransoms looks quite interesting but site does look a bit over the top, better send bapi out to investigate it more his neck of the woods....

[RDB]

I have always heard good reports about Ramsons, think it also has a bib. They actually source some good Italian products for Northern Harvest where I get my weekly food shop from. They also supply some excellent original Italian wines, which I believe you can buy direct from the restaurant or again at a discount through Northern Harvest. Also, I know Northern Harvest supply some of their local produce to the restaurant, so although I have never been I can certainly say that the ingredients they use will be top class.

[Sturge]

I've been to Ramson's, but it was with a friend of Chris's so the experience was obviously skewed in our favour. Everything (mackerel with gooseberries I think, and something involving beetroot - it was a while ago) was delicious apart from the bread, which he tasted, was horrified by and started vowing all sorts of remedial action.

It's been refurbed fairly recently and has a nice feel to it, everyone gets prosecco when they arrive and there's some good wine.

Chris is what you might call a divider of opinion, not 'zany' so much as sternly idiosyncratic, and he's got a real thing about salt and not having it on the table - you can ask and you will get it but you may have to discuss the issue at length first.

He is totally devoted to the restaurant, Italy and lovely food, though, and not in a gushy quarter-finals of Masterchef way. He means it.

I'd say try it. And conceal some salt about your person.

[Bapi]

ransoms looks quite interesting but site does look a bit over the top, better send bapi out to investigate it more his neck of the woods....

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Funnily enough Slacker and I wanted to try Ramsoms last year- but it had closed down. I thought for good - but obviously it was for a refurbishment. Rather oddly, it's not really on the radar of any any of the people I know who eat out regularly, in that I have never heard any other bugger bar me actually mention the place.

I have however tried the Swan Inn in Suffolk a few times, as it's not too far from my where my Mother-in-law lives. It's a pleasant enough place, though quite a narrow room inside. I seem to remember good rilletes and smoked prawns from Orford on offer the last time we were there. A great country local -but the best in what is a fantastic region for food? Blimey.

I get the feeling that the GFG is trying very hard to bring new places to the fore as I too have not heard of many of the places listed.

[malcolmwilliamson]

FWIW The Yorke Arms was recently announced as the winner.