Diners Decide Who Sits At Awards Top Table

PRLog (Press Release) – May 13, 2008 – Ordinary diners across Scotland have voted Michelin-starred chef Martin Wishart’s restaurant as the best in the country.

The first toptable.com Scottish Restaurant Awards were based entirely on the ratings and reviews provided by restaurant-goers who visited the 260 eateries listed on the site.

The celebrated chef’s Leith eaterie claimed top spot in three of the seven categories, including the Best Overall Rating. It also collected the awards for Best Food and Best Service.

The other big winner was Glasgow’s India Quay, which ran away with the title of Most Popular Restaurant. Meanwhile relative newcomer The Prime Cuts in Aberdeen collected the gong for Best Toilets.

One of the most important aspects of toptable.com is that users are encouraged to rate restaurants after dining in them – with the 400,000-plus existing reviews growing by 1000 per day. The site provides a vital tool for other diners to choose the best places to eat.

Despite having earned a Michelin star and praise from the country’s top restaurant critics, Martin Wishart said he was delighted customers were also being given a voice.

He added: “We are proud to be recognised as one of the finest dining establishments in the UK - as voted for by the customers themselves.

“It is always a fantastic achievement to receive recognition in awards such as these. It is a real testament to the hard work of myself, my kitchen and my front of house staff. "

The inaugural toptable.com Scottish awards reflect the site’s growth north of the border, where the credit crunch has failed to dent the appetite of restaurant-goers and bookings are growing faster than anywhere else in the UK outside London.

Founded by Scot Karen Hanton, toptable.com now seats more than 10,000 diners a day in the UK, Europe and New York.  In Scotland more than 55,000 people made bookings through the site in the past year, bringing around 165,000 customers into restaurants and creating around £3m in revenue for the sector.

Customers flock to toptable.com because it is free, simple to use and offers exclusive money off deals which let users enjoy high class dining at high street prices. Regular users also collect points toward free meals.

Tony Fasson, head of toptable.com in Scotland, said: “These awards are special because they are the views of the customers themselves and not those of restaurant critics. They say the customer is always right and that’s why these awards are so sought after.

“The toptable.com service has taken off phenomenally in Scotland and we knew we had to give Scotland its own unique regional awards.

“Each of the restaurants to make it into the Top 10 in each category should be absolutely delighted as they are pleasing the most important people in their business – the customer.”

Latest figures show bookings made by diners in Edinburgh rocketed by 217% last year, while Glasgow saw a 326% rise in covers arranged through toptable.com.  

To add to its success in Scotland the site also recently in Aberdeen – the hometown of serial entrepreneur Karen Hanton, who started the business from her kitchen table in 2000. It is backed by fellow Scot Sir Alex Ferguson and celebrity chef Gary Rhodes.

The site is Europe’s biggest free restaurant booking service and its UK-wide dominance is underlined by the fact toptable.com receives 2.2 million visits per month and will generate £86 million in revenue for UK restaurants in 2008.


Notes to Editors:

A full list of the winners is attached.

ENDS

Issued on behalf of toptable.com by Holyrood Partnership. Contact Suzanne Mackie on (0131) 561 2244 or email info@holyroodpr.co.uk