The shortlist for The Good Food Guide Awards 2025 has been revealed and a cosy restaurant near Basingstoke has been nominated in one category.
Hearth, at Heckfield Place, Hook, has been named on the shortlist for ‘Most Beautiful Restaurant’, alongside four of the country’s top destinations.
A glittering ceremony will be held on Monday, February 3 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in central London, where the winners will be announced.
READ MORE: REVIEW: Cosy restaurant with an open fire is the ideal location for winter date night
Inside Hearth (Image: Newsquest)
The awards will be hosted by TV presenter and restaurant-goer, Richard Bacon.
The shortlist, which has been revealed ahead of the ceremony, comprises some of Britain’s most prolific restaurants with The Ritz Restaurant, St John and Opheem among the contenders for Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by OpenTable (awarded to The Sportsman in 2024).
Hearth, a restaurant set within a converted vaulted stable yard, features a warm open fire where visitors can watch chefs crafting intricate recipes upon it, while comfortably sitting down on soft furnishings of cushions and blankets inside the destination restaurant which overlooks the 438-acre estate.
Meanwhile, the Chef to Watch category is more hotly contested than ever with seven entrants considered to be the biggest talents of tomorrow.
The Most Beautiful Restaurant category sees Hearth up against the likes of Grace & Savour, West Midlands, The Dover, London, The Park, London, Woven by Adam Smith, Berkshire and Wildflowers, London.
Following Helmsley and the Howardian Hills taking the title of Most Exciting Food Destination in 2024, this year’s winning location will be kept tightly under wraps until the ceremony.
Chloë Hamilton, co-editor of The Good Food Guide, commented: ‘This year’s shortlist is a magnificent mix of starry names alongside some brilliant lesser-known talent that anyone interested in restaurants should be taking note of. If last year’s ceremony is anything to go by, our return to Theatre Royal Drury Lane is set to be a huge night of celebration with some revelations to remember.’