Giaconda Dining Room is Time Out’s Best New Restaurant

The Giaconda Dining Room in Soho has been named Best New Restaurant in Time Out London’s Eating and Drinking Awards 2009.

The restaurant on London’s Denmark Street, which opened last year to rave reviews, is run by Australian couple Paul and Tracey Merrony, serves bistro-style food and beat Richard Corrigan’s restaurant in Mayfair to receive the accolade.

Giaconda Dining Room was praised for its consistency and reasonable prices, with Time Out’s food critic Guy Dimond saying that it has “consistently impressed” the judges of the awards since it opened.

He continued: “It’s unpretentious, the French-ish food is consistently good, the mark-ups on the excellent wine list are low, and the prices are very reasonable indeed despite its central London location.”

Italian chef Francesco Mazzei’s L’Anima picked up the award for Best New Italian Restaurant in this new category, beating Angela Hartnett’s Murano in the process, with Bob Bob Ricard picking up the prize for Best New Design.

The Best New Gastropub award went to the Harwood Arms  in Fulham, with Sir Terence Conran’s budget eatery Albion winning the city guide’s coveted Cheap Eats award.

The winners list is as follows:

Best Bar
69 Colebrooke Row, 69 Colebrooke Row, N1

Best New Café (new category)
Lantana, 3 Charlotte Place, W1T

Best New Cheap Eats
Albion at the Boundary Project, 2-4 Boundary St, E2

Best New Design
Bob Bob Ricard, 1 Upper St James St, SW1

Best New Gastropub
Harwood Arms, 27 Walham Grove, SW6

Best New Italian (new category)
L’Anima, 1 Snowden St, EC2A

Best New Local Restaurant
The Exhibition Rooms, 69-71 Westow Hill, SE19

Best New Restaurant
Giaconda Dining Room, 9 Denmark St, WC2

Best Spanish Restaurant in association with Wines from Spain (new category)
Lola Rojo, 78 Northcote Rd, SW11

Best Spanish Wine List in association with Wines from Spain (new category)
Cambio de Tercio, 163 Old Brompton Rd, SW5

2009 Michelin Guide names 21 new restaurants as Bib Gourmands >>

Giaconda Dining Room forced to close after Paul Merrony breaks his arm >>

Ramsay misses another top spot in Time Out awards >>

By Rosie Birkett

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