Sheffield restaurant rated amongst top 100 in the country following the National Restaurant Awards

The National Restaurant Awards began in 2007 and in the years since have been on the hunt for the best places to grab a meal across the UK.

Each year they compile a list of the 100 best restaurants nationally, decided on by a panel of more than 200 experts drawn from across the industry, including food writers, chefs and restaurateurs.

And this year a restaurant from the Steel City managed to gain recognition from the prestigious awarding body.

Joro, in Outibridge, ranked 43rd in this year’s table and stands as the only restaurant in Sheffield that made the list.

Run by husband-and-wife duo Luke French and Stacey Sherwood-French, the restaurant had humble beginnings when it opened in 2016 inside a shipping container complex on Shalesmoor, on the edge of Sheffield’s trendy Kelham Island.

In 2024, the pair’s ambitions pushed them to a bigger venue, as they found their business a new home at a former paper mill near Oughtibridge.

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The new kitchen allowed them to explore further, pushing a modern tasting menu with Asian influence.

The original shipping container location remains under the street food brand Konjo.

On top of being listed in the top 100, they were also shortlisted for the ‘Opening of the Year’ and ‘Restaurateurs of the Year’ categories, though lost out in the end.

A spokesperson for the restaurant posted on Facebook: “Last night we attended the National Restaurant Awards ceremony where this year’s top 100 UK restaurants were announced. We are over the moon to be listed at number 43 - what an achievement for us after six months in our new home.

“To be sat in a room filled with incredible people from across the industry is truly inspiring and being listed is something our younger selves dreamed of achieving.”