North East restaurant recognised in good Food Guide’s Top 100 Local Restaurants for second the year in a row.
Ophelia has been included in The Good Food Guide’s list of Britain’s Best 100 Local Restaurants for the second year in a row.
The Gosforth restaurant is one of three restaurants included in the list from Newcastle and among only 13 listed from across the entire North East region.
Ophelia chef-owner Nick Grieves said: ‘’The whole team is pretty overwhelmed, to be honest. To be included in the list of Britain’s Best 100 Local Restaurants, for the second year in a row is totally amazing. The whole team puts absolutely everything into what we do, and this acknowledges all their hard work and dedication. We do our best to deliver excellent food and service to every single one of our guests, and that won’t ever change we look forward to seeing our guests coming back time and time again.’’
Venues featured in the list were divided into eight regional categories: Central & East of England, London, North East, North West, Scotland, South East, South West, and Wales.
Members of the public nominated each of the 100 restaurants to feature in the list, who in the process registered over 60,000 nominations for their favourites. The tally was confirmed by inspectors from The Good Food Guide, who in turn also visited each restaurant to determine which deserved a place on the final shortlist.
Starting some 14 years ago the list is designed to celebrate the places that are central to the communities they serve across the UK. Recognising kitchens that cook fresh to order, and offer creative, memorable dishes based on high-quality seasonal and local produce. In other words, a celebration of venues serving up first-class food cooked from ingredients deeply rooted in the region, backed up by staff offering brilliant and personal hospitality to their guests, as well as having a committed chef or a hands-on proprietor at the helm, with an instinctive feel for food, value for money, and good, down-to-earth service.
A spokesperson from The Guide said: ‘’Our Best Local Restaurant award began as a minor accolade in the 2010 edition of The Good Food Guide. Today it is a significant event in the hospitality calendar – a celebration of the very best neighbourhood eating places in the UK, all driven by our readers and members who have responded in huge numbers to our requests.
“This year, we received an unprecedented 60,000 nominations over the six-week research period and our inspectors have been busy assessing all the main contenders for our final 100-strong list. The result is a snapshot of extraordinary local creativity and talent, personal hospitality and genuine community spirit in a host of establishments across the land, ranging from bistros and brasseries to pubs and cafés.”
As well as Ophelia, Long Friday and The Small Canteen – also from Newcastle – were featured in the list.
For the full list of Best Local Restaurant winners, visit: thegoodfoodguide.co.uk
