Restaurant review bible The Good Food Guide has today (Wednesday, July 24) announced its annual 100 Best Local Restaurants list – and two of the entries are from Hull.
Celebrating the very best of British dining, these hugely popular awards celebrate fabulous independent restaurants from Scotland to Cornwall, Norfolk to North Wales. This year, The Good Food Guide 2024 received an astonishing number of nominations from diners across the country, all keen to champion their favourite places to eat.
An unprecedented 60,000 votes were cast, leaving the Guide’s team of expert inspectors the tasty task of anonymously eating in a vast number of restaurants across the country. The result is a snapshot of extraordinary local creativity and talent, personal hospitality and genuine community spirit, the organisers said.
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Joining the ranks of the elite eating out places are Hearth, in King Street, and The Hispanist, in Paragon Arcade, Hull. For both dining spots, it is a happy return to the pages of the guide, having both earned a spot in 2023.
Responding to the news, Hearth, billing itself as “Hull’s home to open fire cooking and classic cocktails”, said: “It's official! We have been included in the @goodfoodguideuk for a second year!
“As always, we owe such a huge thank you to our amazing team, always giving their best in both the kitchen and front of house. We wouldn't be here without you lovely people.
“And also to our loyal customers that keep us going and pushing to get better with the constant support. It really does mean the world to us in the hard times everyone is facing right now, especially independent businesses.”
Followers of Hearth were quick to congratulate the crew, one saying: “That’s because your food is really good!” One commented: “Congratulations and very well deserved. It's always a joy to visit.” Another person said: “Fantastic … very well deserved.”
The Hispanist, specialising in “small plates, tequilas and mezcales”, first teased followers on social media ahead of the announcement by saying: “We have an amazing bit of news to announce next Wednesday [July 24]. So… to celebrate we’re releasing a new main menu! New dishes, new desserts, new cocktails! Those menus will go live on the following Friday (26/7) and they’re hot [described with flaming emojis]. Keep an eye out… #tapasisnotaflavour”
A spokesperson for The Hispanist said: "We’re really happy to be included again, especially considering there were 60.000 nominations this year. It’s been an extremely difficult year so to receive an award such as this goes a long way to taking the sting out of that.
" I think we’re included as we change our menus often, we keep our food and drink modern and interesting, and just try to be ourselves." The Hull eateries were among 13 winners in the North East England region.
A Yorkshire venue – Bavette in Leeds – was the winner of the overall Best Local Restaurant Award bestowed by the Guide. Its publishers said the nominations generally reflected Britain’s waning appetite for fine dining.
A relaxed restaurant where diners can eat well but eat simply too is the order of the day, according to feedback from The Good Food Guide readers, and many restaurants on the list feature chefs who have swapped fine dining kitchens for their own, more accessible restaurant with the same high standards of cooking. The Good Food Guide was first compiled by Raymond Postgate in 1951.
Much has changed since the first edition and it is now a fully digital publication featuring 1,200 restaurants, pubs, cafes and wine bars across Britain. The Best Local Restaurant Awards began as a minor accolade in the 2010 edition of The Good Food Guide; today it is a significant event in the hospitality calendar, being a celebration of the very best neighbourhood eating places in Britain.
The full list of winners will be available on The Good Food Guide website and via Instagram and X.
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