The British Restaurant Awards were held in London this week with a host of places biding for the Best Restaurant in Newcastle title.
Several popular places in and around the city were in contention for the title and the Best Restaurant in Newcastle has been named at a prestigious awards ceremony in London this week.
This year marked the sixth British Restaurant Awards, with nominees gathering at the Crown hotel in the capital on Wednesday night5, as organisers promised 'an evening of culinary celebration that would leave an indelible mark on the food industry.'
As well as national accolades like the prestigious Restaurant of the Year - which one Newcastle venue was on the shortlist for, Best Chef and Best Luxury Restaurant, the BRAs also focus in on things at local level, with Restaurant titles up for grabs across a host of major cities. And the one for Newcastle was taken home by Aveika and not for the first time either.
The Quayside haunt, loved by locals and famous faces for its Asian cuisine, thirst quenching cocktails and stunning decor, is now a four time winner at the Restaurant Awards and, this year, saw off competition from nine other Tyneside businesses to take home the trophy.
The shortlist for Best in Newcastle also featured House of Tides, Solstice by Kenny Atkinson, Blackfriars Restaurant, Dobson and Parnell and The Broad Chare. The contenders were rounded out by Peace and Loaf, Jesmond, The Patricia, Six Baltic and Ophelia, but it was Aveika that emerged victorious on the night, after the public vote.
Aveika has welcomed plenty of celebrity diners over the last few years from Newcastle United stars like Joelinton and Miguel Almiron, movie legend Harrison Ford and boxer Floyd Mayweather. Commenting on the restaurant's latest triumph, Imran Khaliq, director of Gainford Group which runs Aveika and several other local bar/restaurants and hotels in Newcastle, said the team was 'delighted to receive' the award for Newcastle. He added: "This is the 4th time we have won such a prestigious award in our 9th year of operation, despite a number of new venues that have opened in the city over the years including some big name national brands. We would like to thank all our customers that voted for us."
Solstice, also on the Quayside made the cut for overall Restaurant of the Year, but that accolade ended up going to London's Happy Bar & Grill, with the two Newcastle nominees in Bar of the Year - The Alchemist and Revolucion de Cuba - also missing out to Archer Street in Soho.
