Nominations for Good Food Guide's 100 Best Local Restaurants 2026, in partnership with Square, are now open here.
1. How has being in the Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2025 impacted business?
There was definitely an upswing. The unprecedented reaction in the Italian press was a big deal. We’re an Italian restaurant, but we’re not part of the restaurant scene in Italy, and the fact that we haven’t come up through the hospitality scene even here in London means that we feel slightly on the back foot, because we’re not a traditional Italian restaurant like Locatelli or any of those well-known Italian restaurants.
So, to suddenly be featured in two Italian broadsheets and on national television (like their BBC) who did a piece on Ida because we’d been named London’s Best Local Restaurant, it’s extraordinary.
Professionally, it had a real impact, both in the UK and abroad. It’s hard to quantify exact numbers, but there was a definite buzz. People mentioned the award when booking, and many booked because of it. There was a definite increase in bookings and definitely a buzz. The campaign holds weight; a lot of our suppliers had seen the news the morning it was announced; our butcher spotted it in his local paper. That says a lot about the reach.
2. What did the recognition mean for your team? Did it help with morale, pride, or recruitment?
The team were incredibly happy. Many of them are Italian and, the fact that the coverage reached Italy, and was effectively on their equivalent of the Nine O’Clock News, made it feel even more significant. All their friends and family had seen it. It was very professionally satisfying for them.
3. How has being included affected your reputation locally or within the industry?
Locally, it meant a great deal. Queen’s Park is a tight community, and our regulars were genuinely proud. They felt validated that their local had been recognised.
We had congratulations from other nearby businesses including Don’t Tell Dad where we get our bread. It strengthened that sense of community.
More widely, there has been noticeable international interest since the award. We’ve had coverage in a Swiss broadsheet and other European publications. It may not all stem directly from the award, but it certainly feels connected, one piece of recognition leading to another. One person reads something somewhere and then another publication picks it up. I think the international pick up has been massive and more unexpected.
Locally in our area. Our regulars feel very happy that we are their local and they feel validated. We’ve had a lot of support and congratulations from local customers and businesses. So, it definitely means something.
4. Has being in the 100 Best Local Restaurants opened doors to new opportunities?
There’s been a broader buzz. It’s hard to pinpoint cause and effect, but there’s been increased attention from press and industry peers.
Maybe it’s not a coincidence that Nigella came recently and posted about Ida, maybe she had heard about the award. Nigella emailed me and said ‘I would feel terrible if I didn’t even try to ask if you had a table next Friday’. Of course, she would have had a table even if it was Saturday night. But I think the award contributed to the buzz, making it more of a difficult restaurant to get into.
Since the award, we’ve collaborated with Vogue as a location and worked on a standalone campaign with Adidas who have come and made an advert. It’s all part of this nebulous buzz that’s probably created from the award.
5. Would you recommend other local restaurants put themselves forward for the 100 Best Local Restaurants? Why?
One hundred per cent.
Running a restaurant is tricky, and visibility is hard. Being part of something like this makes you feel you’re not doing it alone. When you see who past winners are and you read the stories of current winners it makes you feel like you’re a part of something together. And the more conversations we have lifting the curtain and about what makes restaurants tick, the better.
You feel part of a club, it’s not like winning a star, but it’s about being part of something, being picked out with all of these other establishments up and down the country.
It was so interesting watching different winners being interviewed, they we’re all so different from each other. Seemingly so random but all so connected by this passion they had for their businesses. The award means you’re a part of a collective of independent businesses striving to make their business better and to make their mark.
6. What did you like about hosting an event in celebration of the award?
It brought in a completely different demographic to our usual guests — people who actively travel to follow restaurants. That was fascinating. It felt great being on their map and knowing that people had travelled from quite far away.
We’re not a conventionally formal restaurant, so there may have been an initial moment of surprise, but once people understand what we were doing and once the food arrived there was real appreciation.
It felt great having people whose thing is following restaurants to know that they had liked having lunch with us.
You can find out if your restaurant fits our criteria here. If you’d like your restaurant to be considered, register now to take part.
