Sabor, Barrafina and Rambla Win in the Estrella Damm Restaurant Awards

The winners of the Estrella Damm Restaurant Awards were recently announced, and the final list includes several Spanish names. The winners were chosen based on voting by industry experts throughout the UK, among them critics, restaurateurs, chefs and food writers, among others. They cast their votes in accordance with their restaurant experiences during the last year, with the result that any kind of restaurant serving any kind of cuisine has a chance to win.

Among the Top 100, Spanish restaurant Sabor, in Mayfair, took second place. This is especially impressive given that Sabor opened its doors quite recently. Barrafina, in Covent Garden, came in at 41st place. Barrafina is known for its authentic Spanish fare, and it has been so well-received by Londoners that there are several outposts across the city. Rambla, in Soho, specializes in Catalan food (appropriately named after the famous pedestrian street in Barcelona), and was ranked 77th. 

Another distinction as part of the awards was the Chefs’ Chef of the Year, which went to Nieves Barragán Mohacho. Interestingly, she’s not only the Michelin-star chef that headed up the kitchen in Barrafina, but she’s also the brains behind Sabor. Barragán is no stranger to distinctions: in 2017, Debrett’s named her one of the 500 most influential people in the UK.