First Half Restaurant Awards

[Akiko]

I've been holding off responding because I wanted to think about this but I find that by the time I get around to thinking about it again, I've forgotten the ones that originally came to mind... so I might end up posting more than once....

Best Dim Sum - Hakkasan (thank you Simon you were very right about this, although Chris thinks the place is too clean and hip to be considered dim sum)

Best meatastic meal - BoDeans

Best absolutely great food - New Tayveb

Most overrated restaurant - Petrus

Best Foie Gras - Club Gascon

Best dinner for two - Clark's

Best lunching for business or nice lunch with the girls - Foliage

Best place to pretend you are having a 3-hour lunch in Paris - The Capitol

Best place to have sushi - unfortunately, I'm still looking

Best restaurant that you can always get a seat at - Mju (it really boggles my mind that it doesn't do better than it does)

Best finds at Borough Market - treacle and or honey bacon at the Ginger Pig, belly tuna (in the red box) - that olive oil (thankyou MissJ and John for the rec) - rosemary manchego - serrano ham bones to make stock out of from the Spanish place, tomatoes from the isle of wight, comte cheese, the new butter seller next to turnips, the tortilla chips from the chile guy, and the fact that besides the other wonderful things that the mushroom place sells - they also have things they keep in the refrigerator and if you can't find what you need all you have to do is ask and they magically bring your request to you... I was really happy the other week to find that they had bean sprouts.

[Andy Lynes]

Best New Brighton Restaurant - Bistro at Hotel Du Vin (3 excellent meals and a couple of days in the kitchen, still to be written about)

Most Missed Brighton Restaurant - Sun Bo Seng

Best Japanese/Thai/Malaysian/Pekingese All You Can Eat - Thai Elephant Two, Peacehaven

Best Established Restaurant I've Only Just Discovered - Putney Bridge

Best Celebrity Chef Restaurant - Locanda Locatelli

The "Still Hungry After All These Courses Award", and "The Longest Meal Award" goes to - Tom Aikens

Best Country House Hotel experience and Restaurant Most Underated in the guides - The Cotswold House Hotel (chef Simon Hulstone)

[Gavin Convery]

Here's my 2p:

Best restaurant in Peckham - Holly's

Best restaurant in the City - The Don

Best sommelier - The Don (honourable mention to the Capital but I haven't been there this year) - the wine list is also excellent and surprisingly cheap (relatively)

Best foie gras - Berkeley Square Cafe.

Best Friday night supper as cooked by my wife - Warm chicken salad sandwich

Best meal - Le Cinq (Paris), Pied a Terre

Best service - Le Cinq

Best value - The Jolly Sportsman (outside Brighton) - also wins the "most urban gastropub in the middle of nowhere" award

Restaurant I am most looking forward to visiting in the next 6 months - Tom Aikens, Savoy Grill and GR@RHR (if I can get in)