The 5pm Dining blog would like to congratulate Glasgow’s Gamba restaurant.

Last night, the West George Street business was named the UK’s Restaurant of the Year 2015 at a new seafood award ceremony, organised by The Caterer and Seafish. Owned by chef Derek Marshall, Gamba already has two AA rosettes.

Gamba beat off stiff competition from the other four finalists, a group which included Mark Hix’s Oyster and Fish House in Lyme Regis and Nathan Outlaw’s restaurant in London’s Capital Hotel.

Mystery diners

The seafood specialist impressed the judges right through the various rounds of the competition, including mystery dining visits by Seafish auditors.

The judges praised Gamba’s passion for responsible and local sourcing; their robust sustainability policies and practices, as well as their excellent customer service.

Derek and his team also excelled in promoting lesser known species and supporting its staff’s seafood product knowledge through its training programme.

Billingsgate trip

On top of holding the title for the coming year, Gamba was presented with a bespoke trophy for their restaurant and a range of other prizes including a trip to a seafood master class course at the world renowned Billingsgate Seafood Training School.

Seafish CEO Paul Williams said, ‘Celebrating the people and businesses that are the public face of our industry, and who do such an amazing job in promoting the great wealth and variety of fish and shellfish available to the UK consumer, is extremely important.

‘That is why Seafish is honoured to be part of these awards, crowning Gamba as the 2015 Restaurant of the Year, and demonstrating the importance of the responsible sourcing of the freshest, sustainable produce.’

Scottish provenance

Amanda Afiya, Editor, The Caterer said, ‘The judges absolutely fell in love with Gamba and praised the established Glasgow eaterie for staying true to its original concept of serving the finest Scottish fish and shellfish alongside sustainable produce from further afield.

‘It just goes to show that you don’t have to cook innovative or complicated food to stand out from the crowd. Straightforward, tasty dishes which shout provenance seem to win over their loyal customer base, and it won over the judges of the Restaurant of the Year too.’

What swayed the judges in Gamba’s favour? See for yourself by booking into Gamba via 5pm.