£60 for two... the best (value) meal in town

The London Restaurant Awards paid tribute last night to the Evening Standard for creating an award for restaurants which offer good meals at a low price.

Evening Standard introduced the "60 under £60" prize for restaurants where two people can eat two courses with a bottle of wine for less than £60.

At the ceremony at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, hosted by comedian Jack Dee, some of the most lauded chefs in London admitted that the credit crunch is forcing them to work harder to attract customers.

Presenting the award to Sam's Brasserie and Bar in Chiswick, singer and Celebrity Masterchef winner Liz McClarnon said it was the "most important award of the night". "The average person could not afford to eat at half the restaurants that won awards tonight. If restaurants want to bring people in they have to lower their prices and up their standards," she said.

Judges, chaired by the Standard's food critic Fay Maschler, chose Sam's from a shortlist selected by Standard readers. Owner Sam Harrison said: "People are definitely more price conscious. There is nothing worse than eating a meal that is not very special and finding out it is £50 a head."

The restaurant, which television chef Rick Stein has a stake in, opened three years ago and offers an all-day wide-ranging menu, with weekday two-course set menus as low as £12 for lunch and £14 for dinner. In her review, Maschler said: "The menu has something to suit all moods and appetites."

The value-for-money theme was endorsed by the other award winners. Wasim Tayyab, head chef at Tayyabs, the best Indian restaurant, said: "We do simple cooking. It is rough and ready so we hope not to be affected by the credit crunch."

Carluccio's won the best restaurant chain and managing director Simon Kossof said: "Value is absolutely critical."

The award for best British restaurant went to Great Queen Street, whose head chef, Tom Norrington-Davies, said: "During the last recession some of today's best chefs gained in strength. People want good value for money."

Theo Randall, whose Theo Randall at the InterContinental won the award for best Italian restaurant, said: "The downturn is going to take its course and it is making us get better.

"The difference will be dramatic. Restaurants will try harder, service will get better. It is a good thing. It will lift the quality of restaurants in London."

SHORTLISTED NOMINEES

BRITISH RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Great Queen Street
Hix Oyster & Chop House
Magdalen
Rules
St John
Scott's

FRENCH RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon
Arbutus
Galvin Bistrot Deluxe
Le Gavroche
The Greenhouse
Hibiscus

ITALIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Locanda Locatelli
Number 12
Ristorante Semplice
Theo Randall at the InterContinental
Vasco & Piero's Pavilion
Zafferano

IBERIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Barrafina
Cambio de Tercio
El Faro
Moro
Saltyard
Tapas Brindisa

ORIENTAL RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Aaya
Dinings
Dragon Castle
Pearl Liang
Royal China Club, Baker Street
Umu

INDIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Amaya
Tayyabs
Painted Heron
Quilon
Rooburoo
Urban Turban

LOCAL RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
Including gastropubs

L'Absinthe, Camden
The Carpenter's Arms, W6
Hereford Road, Notting Hill
Market, Camden
Ottolenghi, N1
Upstairs, Brixton

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Restaurants for special occasions

The Gallery @ Sketch
Le Gavroche
The Greenhouse
Maze
Scotts
The Wolseley

NEW RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
Restaurants that have opened since 1 January 2007

Acorn House
Le Café Anglais
Cha Cha Moon
Great Queen Street
Hibiscus
Hix Oyster & Chop House
Scott's

toptable.com BEST BUSINESS LUNCH
As recommended by Toptable.com users, the following six restaurants are nominated for best business lunch

Coq d'Argent
Gaucho Grill
The Landau
Lanes
Ooze
The Wolseley

OUTSTANDING LONDON CHEF

Jason Atherton
Anthony Demetre
Chris Galvin
Mark Hix
Rowley Leigh
Theo Randall

RESTAURATEUR OF THE YEAR

Marlon Abela
Michael Belben
Sam and Eddie Hart
Nick Jones
Camellia and Namita Panjabi and Ranjit Mathrani
Alan Yau

OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT SERVICE

Great Queen Street
The Greenhouse
Latium
Ledbury
Ristorante Semplice
Royal China Club, Baker Street

ACADEMY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO LONDON RESTAURANTS

The London Restaurant Awards Academy will select a person or a supplier. There is no shortlist for this award

AIM LONDON RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
The shortlist for this award includes all the winning restaurants of this year's Awards

BEST RESTAURANT CHAIN

Restaurants must have five or more branches and be approved by the judges. The public voted for their favourites from an initial list of 22 restaurant groups, via toptable.com and www.londonrestaurantawards.com – the judging panel will select a winner from the following shortlist on the night

Carluccio's
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Ping Pong
Pizza Express
Strada
Wagamama

EVENING STANDARD AWARD 60 UNDER £60'

Open to restaurants where two people can comfortably eat two courses each and share a bottle of house wine for £60 or under – Evening Standard readers have voted to shortlist the following eateries from an initial list of 60 restaurants. The judging panel will select an overall award winner on the night

Brula (Twickenham)
Market (Camden)
Sam's Brasserie & Bar (Chiswick)
Sitaaray (West End)
The Prince Regent (Herne Hill)
Wahaca (Covent Garden)

TOP 40 RESTAURANTS OUTSIDE LONDON

Independent restaurateurs and foodies across the UK, including our panel of judges and the London Restaurant Awards Academy, form the national panel and vote on this new and exciting category. The list of 40 restaurants will now return to our national panel for its final vote

Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, Perthshire, Scotland
Anthony's, Leeds, Yorkshire
Artisan Restaurant, Hessle, East Yorkshire
Bath Priory Hotel & Restaurant, Bath, Somerset
Box Tree Restaurant, Ilkley, West Yorkshire
Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham, Gloucester
L'Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria
The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire
Fox and Hounds, Goldsborough, North Yorkshire
Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon
The Hand And Flowers, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
The Harrow at Little Bedwyn, Marlborough, Wiltshire
The Hind's Head Hotel, Bray, Berkshire
Jesmond Dene House Hotel & Restaurant, Jesmond Dene, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Kitchin, Leith, Edinburgh
Longridge Restaurant, Longridge, Lancashire
Lucknam Park Hotel, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Magpie Cafe, Whitby, North Yorkshire
Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire
Midsummer House, Cambridge
Northcote Manor, Langho, Lancashire
L'Ortolan, Reading, Berkshire
The Pipe and Glass Inn, South Dalton, East Yorkshire
Porthminster Beach Café, St Ives, Cornwall
Purnells, Birmingham
Read's Restaurant, Faversham, Kent
Restaurant and Hotel de Vin, Glasgow, Scotland
Restaurant Apicius, Cranbrook, Kent
Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh, Scotland
Restaurant Nathan Outlaw at The Marina Villa Hotel, Fowey, Cornwall
Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
Simpsons Restaurant, Edgbaston, Birmingham
Terre a Terre, Brighton, East Sussex
The Seafood Restaurant, Padstow, Cornwall
The Sportsman, Seasalter, Whitstable, Kent
The Star Inn at Harome, Nr Helmsley, North Yorkshire
The Vineyard at Stockcross, Newbury, Berkshire
The Walnut Tree, nr Abergavenny, Wales
The Waterside Inn, Bray, Berkshire
The Yorke Arms, Ramsgill in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire