Tom Kerridge's The Hand and Flowers wins National Restaurant of the Year 2013

Tom Kerridge pub The Hand & Flowers has been named as the National Restaurant of the Year 2013.

The award was presented as part of the three-day long Restaurant Show which runs until tomorrow at Earls Court in London. The Hand & Flowers in Marlow also collected the honour of Gastropub of the Year to further showcase the progress Tom and his wife Beth have made since opening the pub in 2005.

Having already earned a first Michelin star in 2006, The Hand & Flowers became the first pub in history to win two stars when the Michelin guide was released in 2011. This result sees London’s The Ledbury miss out on the National Restaurant of the Year award for the first time in four years. Over 400 industry guests were in attendance as guest of honour Joan Roca presented Tom with his award on Monday evening.

Among the other winners on the night were Stephen Harris of The Sportsman in Kent who was named as the Chefs’ Chef of the Year while The Clove Club in London’s Shoreditch was the Highest New Entry after slotting in at number five in the list of the top 100 UK restaurants despite only being launched in March this year. The Kitchin collected the Best Restaurant in Scotland award, The Hardwick was named the best in Wales and Belfast’s Shu picked up the Northern Ireland equivalent.

Grain Store in London’s Kings Cross was named as the Sustainable Restaurant of the Year, 10 Greek Street was chosen as having the best Wine List and Manchester House was picked as the Restaurant magazine One to Watch.

All the awards are voted for by 150 industry experts spread across the country including chefs, food critics and restaurateurs who help to build up a list of the top places to eat in the UK.