Deliveroo has revealed the top takeaway restaurants in the UK, including a TikTok viral sandwich shop and high street bakery Gail’s.
The winners of the food delivery platform’s annual awards were announced on Wednesday, based on 160,000 customer votes and the verdict of a panel of judges; Deliveroo founder Will Shu, food critic Jimi Famurewa and Tilly Ramsay.
Winners were split across five different categories including independent businesses on both national and regional levels – and a new category sponsored by darts sensation Luke Littler who uncovered the nation’s best kebab.
The most prestigious accolade, the Independent Restaurant of the Year UK & Ireland, won by trendy London sandwich shop, Crunch, based in Spitalfields Market.
Competing against Crunch for the crown, were restaurants who’d already picked up regional awards, including a Leeds cake shop and Bristolian fast-food chain.
Each were judged by the panel on brand personality, food quality and value, packaging and presentation, customer reviews and loyalty, innovation, and going the extra mile.
First place winner Crunch, a brioche bread sandwich pop-up shop, was awarded two prizes. After being crowned the International Restaurant of the Year for Greater London, it went on to battle against the other regional winners before winning the national category too.
The self-described ‘experimental’ eatery, which opened in 2022, shone brightest with its ‘Patty Melt’, a sarnie containing truffle beef, red Leicester, and black truffle mayonnaise on golden brioche, which was the most popular dish on Deliveroo.
Food delivery company Deliveroo has revealed the top takeaway restaurants in the UK, including one TikTok viral sandwich shop and high street bakery Gail’s. Pictured, the sandwich shop Crunch
Scotland preferred pizza , with the country nominating Big Manny’s Pizza as their winner (pictured)
Having amassed a cult following on social media, the trendy bap makers were praised for their string of five star reviews, and by judges ‘for creating a new era of game-changing sandwiches and their fearless approach to cooking.’
Regional categories were won by a mixture of pizza, cake and salad outlets.
In Belfast, health food restaurant and burrito bar, Seed, won the Independent Restaurant of the Year for Ireland.
Serving acai bowls, superfood salads, burritos and smoothies, health conscious Seed won the hearts of the Irish.
Scotland preferred pizza over salad, with the nation nominating Big Manny’s Pizza as their winner. The Aberdeen-based eatery serves a range of decadent cheesy pies and is famed for their unrivalled meat specials and 18-inch pizzas, available by collection only.
Bristol won on burger and chips with the city’s Oowee Diner located on North Street, winning the area for its burgers, tasty dips and loaded dirty fries.
Get Baked, a cake shop and bakery located in Leeds, took home the crown for Manchester and Leeds. The eatery has amassed a cult following online, in particular for its Bertha cake, a huge layered chocolate cake that was inspired by the Roald Dahl tale Matilda.
Leeds was also the destination for the winner of the Luke Littler x Deliveroo Best Kebab Award, with the city’s Sqew Shawarma Bar nabbing the title.
Get Baked, a cake shop and bakery located in Leeds, took home the crown for Manchester and Leeds. The eatery has amassed a cult following online, in particular for its Bertha cake, inspired by the Bruce Bogtrotter chocolate cake in Matilda (pictured)
Bristol won on burger and chips with the city’s Oowee Diner located on North Street, winning the area for its burgers, tasty dips and loaded dirty fries (pictured)
In Belfast, health food restaurant and burrito bar, Seed, won the Independent Restaurant of the Year for Ireland (pictured)
Rider Love award was given to Thunderbirds, a chicken restaurant with various outlets across London
Leeds was also the destination for the winner of the Luke Littler x Deliveroo Best Kebab Award, with the city’s Sqew Shawarma Bar conceding the title. Pictured, Owner Mitch Renshaw (left) and team members Yasmin Chapman and Jake Catterall of Sqew in Leeds
The darts prodigy shortlisted ten ‘Litter-approved’ venues, all of which went to a public vote with Sqew Shawarma Bar, coming out top. Their Khobez kebab with chicken was a notable mention. Pictured, Luke Littler
Divisive high-street bakery, Gail’s, was also given a Heart of the Community award across the nation, a win that will no doubt come as a surprise to those who have accused the chain of ‘gentrification’ (pictured)
The darts prodigy shortlisted ten ‘Litter-approved’ venues, all of which went to a public vote with Sqew Shawarma Bar, coming out top.
Sqew’s Khobez kebab with chicken, salad and sauce, was a notable mention.
Additional awards were granted in acknowledgment of other hospitality strengths, including Deliveroo’s Above and Beyond awards.
Divisive high-street bakery, Gail’s, was also given a Heart of the Community award across the nation, a win that will no doubt come as a surprise to those who have accused the chain of ‘gentrification’.
The bakery was at the heart of fierce debate last year, as locals in a number of locations, including Worthing and Wandsworth, fought back against plans to build new outlets on their high-streets.
Others in the category included the Environmentally Sustainability award, given to Bujo in Dublin, the Customer Obsession award, which went to Burger Me Up in Birmingham, and the Rider Love award given to Thunderbirds, a chicken restaurant with various outlets across London.
The Icon awards also showcased the talents of UK restaurant owners, with Naeem Aslam, Director of Aagrah Leeds winning the Lifetime Achievement, and Rich Myers, Founder of Get Baked scoring the Changing the Game award.
The Rising Star award went to Enrico Pinna, Co-Founder of Ad Maiora, in Manchester.
The Role Model award was given to Tim Vasilakis, Founder of The Athenian, which boasts multiple locations across the UK, including in London, Bristol and Sheffield.
Reflecting on the overall winner of this year’s Deliveroo awards, Jimi Famurewa, food critic and Deliveroo restaurant awards judge, said: ‘It’s an honour to be a returning judge for Deliveroo’s UK & Ireland restaurant awards, and I was blown away by the passion and talent on display at the Independent Restaurant of the Year cook-off.
‘Each finalist brought something unique and delicious to the table, making the final decision incredibly tough for us.
‘However, Crunch from London stood out amongst the fierce competition, showcasing immense creativity, fine dining-level technique and mindblowing flavour that impressed us all.’
Michael Medovnikov, Co-founder of Crunch: ‘From our humble beginnings in a Shoreditch pub to winning Independent Restaurant of the Year for UK & Ireland with Deliveroo in just a few years – it’s an absolutely surreal and incredible feelinh.
We poured our hearts into every single sandwich we’ve made for our customers, so this award is for our amazing team and all the customers who’ve supported us from the start of this wild journey. Thank you to Deliveroo and everyone who voted for us to receive this amazing recognition!’