It may be the place to be seen and later fall out of in vertiginous high heels on the arm of a B-list party boy, but yesterday The Ivy was knocked off its perch as London's favourite restaurant.
After nine years at the top of the "favourite restaurant" list in Harden's London Restaurant Guide, the West End venue famous for its starry clientele has been eclipsed by Chez Bruce, a local eatery in Wandsworth, south London.
Published today, the guide praises Chez Bruce - owned by chef Bruce Poole and restaurateur Nigel Platts-Martin - for its "terrific cuisine, exceptional service and staggering wine list, all at eminently reasonable prices".
In a review of the restaurant last year, the Guardian's Matthew Fort said: "It's a simple question: where do you go to eat where you know you won't ever be disappointed?
"Everyone I asked recently replied, without exception, Chez Bruce. The food is brilliant, they say. The service is smooth. The standard never varies. It's always tip-top. And Bruce Poole, the chef, is such a sweetie." After his meal there, he concluded: "All those people were quite right, after all."
The Ivy slips to number two and its "charm, egalitarian staff and reliable comfort food still make it hard to beat".
Harden's is based on feedback from 8,000 aficionados who submitted 92,000 reports. This year, Chez Bruce beat The Ivy, securing 20% more votes.
Gordon Ramsay is hailed as London's top chef for the 10th year in a row. Harden's suggests that his real achievement is to have made the leap from being a chef to being a successful multiple restaurateur. It cautions, however, that only the restaurants Gordon Ramsay and Petrus are outstanding in their own right. The rest "are mainly good-to-middling operations made newsworthy by Ramsay's backing, rather than by their intrinsic merits".
The Oxo Tower on the banks of the Thames topped the most disappointing and most overpriced listing.
The overall winner, it seems, is Mr Platts-Martin, who not only owns part of Chez Bruce but all of La Trompette in Chiswick, notching number seven in the top gastronomic experience league and the favourite restaurant. His other restaurant, the Square in Mayfair, hit the best for business top five and Chez Bruce also took the number four spot in the best for romance section.
Richard Harden, co-editor of the guide, said: "Platts-Martin is the secret force in the London restaurant scene. Many of the best restaurants are his. All aspects are utterly commendable and Chez Bruce is the best in an utterly good stable."
Mr Poole said he was delighted with the Harden's findings. "I don't think for one minute that we are the best restaurant in London but we are pleased to have done well in one of the guides that is quite highly respected. It means we are doing something right," he said.
Figures in brackets refer to position in last year's table
Favourite restaurant
1 Chez Bruce (2)
2 The Ivy (1)
3 The Wolseley (8)
4 J Sheekey (3)
5 Le Caprice (4)
6 Gordon Ramsay (5)
7 La Trompette (6)
8 Hakkasan (7)
9 Nobu (-)
10 Zuma (10)
Top gastronomic experience
1 Gordon Ramsay (1)
2 Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's (3)
3 Chez Bruce (2)
4 Tom Aikens (4)
5 Le Gavroche (5)
6 Nobu (6)
7 La Trompette (9)
8 The Ivy (8)
9 Petrus (-)
10 Locanda Locatelli (10)
Best for business
1 Bleeding Heart (3)
2 The Don (5)
3 The Wolseley (-)
4 The Square (2)
5 Coq d'Argent (1)
Best for romance
1 La Poule au Pot (1)
2 Andrew Edmunds (2)
3 Bleeding Heart (3)
4 Chez Bruce (4)
5 The Ivy (6)
Most disappointing
1 Oxo Tower (1)
2 The Ivy (2)
3 The Wolseley (5)
4 Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's (3)
5 Quaglino's (6)
Most overpriced
1 Oxo Tower (2)
2 Sketch (Gallery) (1)
3 Nobu (3)
4 The River Cafe (5)
5 The Ivy (7)
