SquareMeal is a restaurant and venues guide that offers professional restaurant critic reviews, along with a directory of restaurants and venues.
SquareMeal was co-founded by school friends Mark de Wesselow and Simon White in 1989[1] as a print - and later online - guide to eating out in the Square Mile, London’s historic financial centre. The guide has since expanded into covering the whole of the UK, along with sister sites in UAE, Ireland, Hong Kong and Singapore.
In 2018 Dean Yardley - founder & former MD of wedding planning website and venues directory hitched.co.uk joined the company as CEO.
2020 saw the official closure of all of SquareMeal’s print titles to become a fully digital platform.
SquareMeal supports homeless charity StreetSmart.[2] The campaign is supported by Stephen Fry and chefs including Angela Hartnett, Marcus Wareing, Jason Atherton and Fergus Henderson.[3]
SquareMeal has three annual awards - UK Top 100 restaurants,[4] London Top 100 restaurants[5] and Female Chef of the Year.[6]
UK Top 100 Awards
The top 100 lists are a compilation of the best dining experiences of the year.
Past winners of SquareMeal's UK Top 100 restaurants:
| 2023 | Grace & Savour[7] | |
| 2022 | Osip[8] | |
| 2021 | Awards on hold due to Covid | |
| 2020 | Awards on hold due to Covid | |
| 2019 | Moor Hall | |
| 2018 | Casamia | |
| 2017 | The Sportsman | |
| 2016 | The Fat Duck | |
| 2015 | The Hand & Flowers | |
| 2014 | Northcote | |
| 2013 | Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons | |
| 2012 | Purnell’s | |
| 2011 | The Kitchin | |
| 2010 | L’Enclume | |
| 2009 | Whatley Manor |
Running alongside the UK Top 100 is the London Top 100 - highlighting the best restaurants in England’s capital city.
Past winners of SquareMeal's London Top 100 restaurants:
| 2023 | Da Terra[9] | |
| 2022 | BiBi[10] | |
| 2021 | Awards on hold due to Covid | |
| 2020 | Awards on hold due to Covid | |
| 2019 | Brat | |
| 2018 | Core by Clare Smyth | |
| 2017 | Pollen Street Social | |
| 2016 | Frenchie | |
| 2015 | The Clove Club | |
| 2014 | Gymkhana | |
| 2013 | The Five Fields | |
| 2012 | Dabbous | |
| 2011 | Pollen Street Social | |
| 2010 | The Ledbury | |
| 2009 | Arbutus |
SquareMeal Female Chef of the Year Award
SquareMeal also holds their annual Female Chef of the Year award. In 2018, Angela Hartnett won the award, followed by Skye Gyngell in 2019,[11] with Sally Abe winning in 2021,[12] Lisa Goodwin-Allen winning in 2022[13] and Roberta Hall-McCarron in 2023.[14]