At last night's National Restaurant Awards the North outshone its London rivals with the strongest showing for the region to date. In recent years, the North has seen steady growth in the awards with both the number of restaurants in the top 100 and restaurants in the top ten and top five, all increasing.

For the second year running, Lancashire's Moor Hall took the number 1 spot. Chef patron Mark Birchall (pictured above) champions food from his home county and in 2019 headlined the Chef Live stage at NRB. Four of the top five spots were won by Northerners. The top five were:

1. Moor Hall, Lancashire, Mark Birchall (appeared at NRB in 2019)

2. The Angel at Hetton, North Yorkshire, Michael Wignall (appeared at NRB in 2015 & 2019)

3. Core by Clare Smyth, London

4. House of Tides, Kenny Atkinson, Newcastle (appeared at NRB in 2015)

5. L'Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria, Simon Rogan (appeared at NRB in 2016 and NRB Top 50 winner)

Michael Wignall at NRB 2019

NRB CEO Thom Hetherington said 'Its been a brutal year for hospitality, but surely the story of this year's NRAs is the huge increase in restaurants from outside the capital, and specifically the North, taking places in the top 100, top 40, and top 5. The key factors for me as to why many of the most ambitious chefs and operators in the country are choosing to live and work in our region instead of moving to London are the quality of life, both visiting and local audiences, the standard of local produce, sensible financials and the availability of sites.'

As well as Moor Hall winning the National Restaurant of the Year top prize, Tommy Banks, chef patron at The Black Swan at Oldstead, won Restaurateur of the Year and The Angel at Hetton took home the prize for Gastropub of the Year. For the first time in the awards history, 50 percent of the top 100 were outside London. Completing the top 100 from the North were:

10. The Black Swan at Oldstead, North Yorkshire, Tommy Banks (appeared at NRB in 2017)

11. Mana, Manchester, Simon Martin

12. The Moorcock Inn, West Yorkshire, Alisdair Brooke-Taylor

18. Skosh, York, Neil Bentinck

19. The Man Behind the Curtain, Leeds, Michael O'Hare (appeared at NRB in 2015 and NRB Debate 2017)

23. The Parkers Arms, Lancashire, Stosie Madi (appeared at NRB in 2019 & 2016)

24. The Cottage in the Wood, Cumbria, Ben Wilkinson

25. Hjem, Northumberland, Alex Nietosvuori

32. JÖRO, Sheffield, Luke French (appeared at NRB 2018)

34. Northcote, Lancashire, Lisa Goodwin-Allen (appeared at NRB 2018)

Lisa Goodwin-Allen at NRB 2018

36. The White Swan at Fence, Lancashire, Tom Parker (appeared at NRB in 2019)

38. Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire, Steven Smith (appeared at NRB in 2018)

39. Hrishi, Cumbria, Hrishikesh Desai

41. Le Cochon Aveugle, York, Josh Overington (appeared at NRB in 2019)

43. Fraiche, Merseyside, Marc Wilkinson (appeared at NRB in 2014)

47. Erst, Manchester, Patrick Withington

51. Roots, York, Tommy Banks (appeared at NRB in 2017)

55. The Raby Hunt, County Durham, James Close

62. Sticky Walnut, Chester, Gary Usher (appeared at NRB in 2017 & 2018)

78. Lake Road Kitchen, Cumbria, James Cross

Northern Restaurant & Bar returns on 15-16 March 2022 at Manchester Central with dozens of live appearances, hundreds of exhibiting suppliers, and thousands of visiting hospitality professionals. Strictly trade-only tickets will be available soon.