Sonnet Restaurant in Alnwick named the UK’s favourite by Conde Nast Traveller readers as only North East winners

Conde Nast Traveller announced Sonnet as the winners at their “Top New Restaurant Awards”, which took place on Monday night (March 10) at a ceremony in London.

Naming the restaurant, “one of the friendliest, least pretentious, yet fabulously accomplished fine dining offerings to open in the last year”, it is the only venue from the North East to make the winning list and one of only two in the whole of the north.

Conde Nast Traveller also noted that, “it brims with charm from the little pots of ink and quill pens dotted around a high shelf and coffee served in earthy-coloured cups sitting snugly in little wooden platters to the parchment roll of ‘Chef’s notes’ that gives background to each dish.”

The awards celebrate the best new restaurants to have launched in the last year and judges at the event included Raymond Blanc OBE, Jackson Boxer, chefs Julie Lin and Gizzi Erskine, restaurant critic and food writer, Tom Parker Bowles and TikTok sensation, Poppy O'Toole.

Off to a flying start in their first year of opening – this comes after Sonnet, couple Gary McDermott and Claudia Mazareanu’s first restaurant, celebrated the achievement of being listed in the Michelin Guide in January.

The couple explained: “The year started off on a high with our entry to the Michelin Guide but to be voted by readers to win the title of favourite new restaurant in the Conde Nast Traveller Best New Restaurant Awards means so much as it’s our customers recommending us.

"We are just a small restaurant in a town in the northeast of England so to beat off contenders from London and across the UK is a real accolade.

"We’re looking forward to the rest of 2025 and continuing cooking the food we love for customers old and new, as well as developing and creating new and fun dishes.”

Sonnet is named after a 14-line poem, due to their highly reviewed 14-course tasting menu and is also ranked as the number one fine-dining restaurant in Northumberland according to TripAdvisor.