Latin & Spanish Food Tops The Latin UK Awards


12 Winners scoop LUKAS for Best Latin and Spanish restaurants in Britain

The UK’s ongoing love affair with all things Latin and Spanish, especially its cuisine, culminated at this year’s Latin UK Awards (LUKAS) 2015, with more than 200 venues reviewed by the public and food critics and whittled down to honour the 12 most popular restaurants.

This year’s Latin UK Awards (LUKAS) was sponsored by Air Europa, leading new Tequila brand Cazcabel (who supplied the compilemtary VIP bar), H10 and MX Foods, who provided some of the delicious eats and treats included in the goodie bags. The winners of this year’s Restaurant Awards at the Latin UK Awards (LUKAS) were chosen after two months of voting by the public and the verdicts of a panel of judges, experts in each country’s cuisine.

The 12 winners are:
·       Spanish Restaurant: Bilbao Berria, Waterloo Road, SE1 8XA
·       Argentinian Restaurant: La Patagonia, Camden High Street, NW1 7JE
http://lapatagonia.co.uk/
·       Brazilian Restaurant: Made in Brazil, Chalk Farm Road, Camden Town, NW1 8AJ
http://madeinbrasil.co.uk/
·       Mexican Restaurant: Habanera, Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush, W12 7JA
http://www.habanera.co.uk/
·       Ecuadorian Restaurant: Costa Azul, Rockingham Street, Elephant & Castle, SE1 6PG
·       Peruvian Restaurant: Chotto Matte, Frith Street, Soho, W1D 4RB
http://www.chotto-matte.com/
.       Portuguese Restaurant: Wine and Bread, Church Road, Hendon, NW4 4EB
http://www.wineandbread.co.uk/
·       Latin Caribbean Restaurant: CocoBamboo, Haverstock Hill, Belsize Park, NW3 4RL
http://www.cocobamboo.co.uk/
.       Latin Restaurant Group of the Year: Ibérica (Marylebone, Canary Wharf, Farringdon, Manchester)
.       Fusion Restaurant of the Year: Comedor, Upper Street, Islington, N1 1RG
http://comedorgrillandbar.co.uk/
·       Restaurant Outside London: La Choza, Gloucester Rd, Brighton, BN1 4AQ
http://www.lachoza.co.uk/  (Mexican)
·       Café or Food Stall: Casa Morita, Market Row, Brixton, SW9 8LB (Mexican)

In the only awards ceremony where Latin Americans and Spanish judge their own cuisine, Bilbao Berria, opened last year by the owners of Ibiza’s famous Beso Beach, won Spanish Restaurant of the Year for its unique selection of pinxtos and the Basque and Catalonian influences in the menu. The best Restaurant Group was awarded to also Spanish owned Ibérica.

In the category best Argentinian Restaurant, the home-from-home atmosphere 'that transports one to Buenos Aires' won for La Patagonia.

There were some surprise winners with Mexican Restaurant of the Year going to Australian-owned Habanera, and who conquered the LUKAS’ Mexican judges, with “cochinita tacos that “tasted like my grandmother's cooking and some of the most creative drinks we've had in a while”

Another surprise victory was Chotto Matte, serving Nikkei cuisine in the heart of Soho, as Peruvian Restaurant of the Year. Japanese-Peruvian judge Danica Katich was impressed with the chef’s creativity, quality and dedication to this idiosyncratic gastronomy. “It’s fantastic to find such passionate chefs educating people about this fantastically sophisticated cuisine that I’ve have grown up with, but that many people still don’t know is unique to Peru.”

The Runners Up included Three O Two (Spanish), Constancia (Argentinian), Floripa (Brazilian), Mezcal Cantina (Mexican), El Rancho de Lalo (Colombian), Señor Ceviche (Peruvian), A Toca (Portuguese) and Guanabana (Latin-Caribbean).
The Latin UK Awards (LUKAS) Gala at Koko celebrated the best of Britain's diverse Latin cultures under one roof - including Food, Music, Dance, Comedy, Sports, TV and Human Rights. Award winners included Vocalist of the Year - Gerónimo Rauch (Argentina); Lifetime Achievement Award - Fania Records (USA); Fellowship Award Winner  - Jorge Spiteri (Venezuelan rock latin pioneer); Musician of the Year, - Dorance Lorza (Colombia); Classical Act of the Year - Clara Rodríguez (Venezuelan pianist) and Sports Personality of the Year - Enner Valencia (Ecuador) amongst many others.

The Air Europa Latin UK Awards (LUKAS) Gala Ceremony attracts an A list cast of Award presenters  and winners including Bianca Jagger, Islington MP Jeremy Corbyn, football legends Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa and Spain’s Gaizka Mendietta. Previous winners & guests include Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera, Royal Ballet superstar Carlos Acosta as well as designer Vivienne Westwood and Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour.

About LUKAS Awards

Air Europa LUKAS (Latin UK awards) is the annual award ceremony to recognise the contributions of one million Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese residents to British life. Now in its fourth year, it is the most media-covered Latin event in the UK, and organised by www.Latinolife.co.uk, the N°1 magazine for Latin & Spanish lifestyle in the UK.

May 18, 2015 2:17pm ET by Phuture Trax   Comments (0)

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