Toast the City
Awards 2025
22nd October 2025
The City of London is a thriving hub for some of London’s most innovative restaurants, bars and cultural projects. The Toast the City Awards 2025 will recognise the institutions new and old that have helped build the Square Mile into one of the most vibrant areas of London, for workers and visitors alike.
Our judges and readers have nominated their favourites and now it's time to vote for your winners, which will be announced at our Toast the City awards party on 22nd October. The night will be unexpected, relaxed and – most importantly – fun! To pull this off we’ve partnered with the City of London BIDs – they know The City of London inside out and we’re thrilled to work with them.
Our awards party will take place at The Steel Yard in the City of London.
All voters will be in the chance of winning a lunch for you and three friends at our City Restaurant of the Year.
Vote below for your winners and click here for more Toast news.
22nd May – Nominations open
31st July – Nominations close
4th September – Finalists confirmed and voting re-opens
3rd October – Voting closes
22nd October – Toast the City Awards & Winners announced at The Steel Yard
Key dates:
Toast The City Finalists 2025
Voting is now closed!
We would like to thank everyone who has voted.
We look forward to announcing the winners at the Toast Awards on the 22nd October
The Toast Awards 2025 Terms & Conditions
Voting to select the winners is now open. Voting closes to the Public on 3rd October 2025 at 10pm. The winner in each category will be agreed by the Judging panel which takes into consideration the votes from the Public.
The judges' decisions are final and binding. No correspondence will be entered into regarding their decisions.
The winners will be announced at the Toast the City Awards party on the 22nd October at The Steel Yard.
City AM reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time.
All personal data collected during the voting process will be handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
Meet The Judges
Steve Dinneen the Life&Style editor at City AM and the editor of City AM The Magazine. He has a passion for gastronomy, writing about everything from fine dining to street food. Whether he’s covering the latest London opening or diving into global food culture, Steve writes with a mix of curiosity, insight, and a genuine love for good eating.
Steve Dinneen
City AM Life & Style Editor - Head Judge
Martin Williams is a British restaurateur and the CEO of Evolv Group (formerly D&D London). With a background in hospitality and a passion for high-quality dining, he’s helped shape the modern steakhouse scene in the UK after running Gaucho and M Restaurant. Martin is known for blending luxury with sustainability, championing carbon-neutral beef and creating innovative restaurant concepts.
Martin Williams
CEO at Evolv (formerly D&D London)
Tom Sellers is a British chef and the founder of Restaurant Story in London, which earned a Michelin star shortly after opening. He’s known for using food to tell personal and creative stories, often inspired by his life and memories. Trained under top chefs like Tom Aikens and René Redzepi, Tom combines fine dining with a strong sense of narrative. His cookbook, A Kind of Love Story, reflects his approach to cooking and the journey behind it.
Tom Sellers
Chef patron Restaurant Story
Libby Brodie is a wine consultant, writer, and presenter dedicated to making wine approachable and fun. She is the founder of Bacchus & Brodie Wine Consultancy and serves as the wine columnist for City AM, where her Wine Without The Snobbery column demystifies wine for readers.
Libby Brodie
Wine columnist at City AM
James Robson is a British food entrepreneur and co-founder of Fallow, one of London’s most talked-about sustainable restaurants. With a background in hospitality and a focus on ethical sourcing, James plays a key role in pushing forward ideas around zero-waste cooking and responsible dining. He’s passionate about building restaurants that combine creativity, sustainability, and good food without compromise.
James Robson
Founder Fallow, Roe
Yasmin Jaunbocus is a food writer and public relations professional with a passion for the culinary world. As Head of PR at Hot Sauce Presents, she collaborates with notable chefs and restaurants to highlight diverse food cultures. Yasmin contributed a Mauritian recipe to the Community Comfort cookbook, supporting underrepresented communities in the UK and was featured in the inaugural issue of Vittles magazine
Yasmin Jaunbocus
Head of PR at Hot Sauce
Tony Matharu is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. He founded Integrity International Group and is the chairman of Blue Orchid Hotels. Tony transformed Grange Hotels into a collection of London’s top properties and now focuses on revitalising heritage sites, including the Tower Suites and a luxury hotel at 55 Broadway.
Tony Matharu
Founder Blue Orchid
Allen Simpson is Chief Executive of UKHospitality, responsible for championing the nation's pubs, restaurants and hotels. He brings his experience spanning marketing, tourism, and big-league finance – from London & Partners to Barclays and the London Stock Exchange – to support the vibrant UK hospitality scene.
Allen Simpson
Chief Executive of UKHospitality
Gareth Banner is Group Managing Director of The Ned, where he has worked since 2016. He was honoured as the UK Hotelier of the Year by The Caterer. He has previously worked for The Cavendish London, The Hempel and St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Gareth is a Master Innholder, a Freeman of the Worship Company of Haberdashers and has been granted the Freedom of the City of London.
Gareth Banner
Group Managing Director of The Ned
Tun Shin is a London-based travel, lifestyle and food photographer and content creator. His photography tells stories about food, destinations and culture, and focuses on topics including nostalgia, seasonality and provenance. He's as likely to recommend the hottest new London pop-up as he is the bougiest country manor hotel escape.
Tun Shin
Food Photographer & Content Creator
Lylaa, or saltandshaikh to her 170,000 Instagram followers, posts about underrepresented cuisines from around the world. She is based in London and loves London's culinary scene. Thousands love her hilarious videos where she eats her way around the very best of the capital
Lylaa Ali Shaikh
Food Influencer
Adam Bloodworth
City AM Journalist & Life & Style Deputy Editor
Adam writes about food and drink for City AM. A lover of culture both high and low, he's just as likely to be found in one of the Square Mile’s disco-themed late-night bars as in one of its brilliant restaurants.
David is an award winning London tour guide, TikTok star and Magician. Formerly a Vice President at Deutsche Bank, he retrained as a City of London Guide in 2017, took early retirement in 2020 and now has over 750 5 star TripAdvisor reviews, 360,000 followers on TikTok and is a member of the prestigious Magic Circle.
David Harry
AKA TheLondonSpy
Jaspreet is an elected representative for the Vintry Ward in the City of London, where she supports local businesses and the vibrant food and drink scene. Her work combines a love for exceptional wine with a commitment to enhancing London’s hospitality sector. She is also a Commercial Account Manager at Goedhuis Waddesdon and a board member at Barbican Centre.
Jaspreet Hodgson
Vintry Ward, City of London; Goedhuis Waddesdon; Barbican Centre
The Toast Zone
You might notice on our map that the Toast Zone is not quite the same as the official Square Mile. Guilty! We couldn't resist including a bit more of London to squeeze in even more of the places our readers love. The Toast Zone will stretch from Chancery Lane to Aldgate East and from the river up to Barbican and north of Liverpool Street. If you're not sure if your favourite spot falls in our catchment area, drop us an email at events@cityam.com
Our Partners
Our Venue Partner
Business Partnerships and Business Improvement Districts give a voice to business communities – championing local priorities and ensuring the right people are at the decision table. Businesses understand that together they can be stronger; lobbying on big, strategic issues that impact on their commercial performance and ability to grow. This is not a case of the private sector plugging public sector funding gaps, but genuine collaboration and collective action.
The five City BIDS – Eastern City, Culture Mile, Aldgate Connect, Cheapside and Fleet Street Quarter, are part of the Primera portfolio, a specialist regeneration company which is a global leader in this area.
To find out more about the City of London BIDS click here.
The Steel Yard is one of London’s most unique and versatile venues, set within three beautifully restored Victorian railway arches in the heart of the city. This striking industrial backdrop, with its exposed brickwork and soaring ceilings, creates an atmosphere unlike anywhere else in the capital.
Renowned for delivering the ultimate club experience, The Steel Yard combines world-class sound and lighting with cutting-edge production to transform every event into something unforgettable. From high-energy club nights and live performances to corporate functions and private celebrations, the venue’s adaptability makes it a standout choice for any occasion.
As a venue partner, The Steel Yard gives us the opportunity to host events in a space that perfectly balances history and innovation. With its three interconnected arches, central location, and unmatched atmosphere, it provides the ideal setting for experiences that captivate and inspire. Together, we look forward to bringing bold ideas to life in this iconic venue.