Meet the Great Food Club Awards 2026/7 winners, see the full finalist list and find out how the awards were decided.
The Great Food Club Awards 2026/7 Winners
Congratulations to this year’s Great Food Club champions. Each card links to the full award story, including our judges’ reasons for choosing the winners.
Restaurant of the Year
John’s House
Mountsorrel, Leicestershire
Pub of the Year
The Five Bells
Claypole, Lincolnshire
Food Producer of the Year
The English Olive Co
Lincolnshire
Drink Producer of the Year
Two Chimps Coffee
Oakham, Rutland
Shop of the Year
North’s Deli
Rothley, Leicestershire
Café of the Year
Lil Bo’s Deli
Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire
Bakery of the Year
Breadmill Bakery
Nottingham
People’s Choice Award
The Manor House, Quorn
&
White Horse, Lincoln
Joint winners after both received exactly 145 valid public nominations.
How the Great Food Club Awards work
Almost 3,000 nominations were submitted by Great Food Club members and readers for the 2026/7 Awards.
Public nominations create the finals
Our members and readers nominated the independent food and drink businesses they wanted to see recognised.
- Duplicate nominations were removed.
- The strongest public vote-getters formed the category finals.
- Businesses that won a Great Food Club Award the previous year were not shortlisted again, helping us recognise a broader range of independents.
Our judges choose the category winners
Once the finalists were confirmed, Great Food Club judges visited and assessed the businesses before choosing the winners.
The finalists were judged on the things that matter within their category, including food or drink, service, skill, consistency, value, atmosphere, sourcing, originality and the overall experience.
One award works differently
People’s Choice is decided entirely by the public. There is no judging visit and our judges have no say in the result. The award goes to the business receiving the highest number of valid nominations overall. For the first time in GFC Awards history, 2026/7 produced a tie: The Manor House in Quorn and White Horse in Lincoln both received exactly 145 nominations after duplicates were removed.
Great Food Club Awards 2026/7 Finalists
These were the businesses that reached the final in each of our seven publicly nominated and independently judged categories.
Restaurant of the Year finalists
- The Noel’s Arms, Melton Mowbray
- Skein, Nottingham
- John’s House, Mountsorrel – Winner
- San Pietro, Scunthorpe
Food Producer of the Year finalists
- The English Olive Co, Lincolnshire – Winner
- Driver’s Pickles, Leicester
- Urban Dairy, Daventry
- Redhill Farm Free Range Pork, Lincolnshire
Shop of the Year finalists
- Marsh Green Farm Shop, Kelstedge
- Essen General Store, Beeston
- North’s Deli, Rothley – Winner
- Origin Farm Shop, Rushton
Bakery of the Year finalists
- Coosh Micro Bakery, Nottingham
- Baines Bakery, Uppingham
- The Tiny Bakery, Leicester
- Breadmill Bakery, Nottingham – Winner
Pub of the Year finalists
- Boot & Shoe, Flintham
- Five Bells, Claypole – Winner
- White Hart, Ufford
- Plough Inn, Hickling
Drink Producer of the Year finalists
- Two Chimps Coffee, Oakham – Winner
- Grainstore Brewery, Oakham
- Northern Tea Merchants, Chesterfield
- Baker’s Dozen Brewing Co, Ketton
Café of the Year finalists
- The Café @ Welland Park, Market Harborough
- Kilo Wine Bar, Quorn
- Lil Bo’s Deli, Ashby de la Zouch – Winner
- No.8 Delicatessen, West Bridgford
Special Award
People’s Choice Award
The Manor House, Quorn & White Horse, Lincoln
Joint winners with 145 valid nominations each.
Congratulations to every Great Food Club Awards 2026/7 winner and finalist – and thank you to everyone who nominated their favourite independents.
