Some moments in hotel life deserve proper recognition, and this is definitely one of them! Our General Manager, Ken Milton, recently had the pleasure of presenting two VisitEngland awards to our team – recognition that genuinely made us all pause and smile.
We’ve proudly retained our Breakfast Award, which honours not just our famous Clarendon Sausage but the entire morning experience our kitchen team creates day after day. There’s something rather satisfying about having your breakfast officially recognised as consistently excellent – especially when guests have been telling us the same thing for years!
Even more exciting, we’ve received our very first Restaurant Food Award for the Meridian Restaurant. This milestone reflects the dedication and skill that goes into every dish our chefs prepare, from seasonal British ingredients to those finishing touches that make meals memorable.
The People Behind The Plates
Behind these awards are the individuals who turn up every day and care about what they do. Head Chef Vijay leads our restaurant kitchen with a genuine passion for seasonal British produce, while Breakfast Chef Syed has become something of a local legend for creating our signature Clarendon Sausage and the breakfast that sets guests up perfectly for their London adventures.
Restaurant Supervisor Isobel and Commis Chef Helen joined them for the award presentation – a nice reminder that great hospitality happens through teamwork, not individual brilliance. Seeing them all together, clearly proud of what they’ve achieved, captured exactly why we love what we do!
Why These Awards Actually Matter
VisitEngland doesn’t hand these awards out lightly. The inspection process is thorough and independent. When they award recognition, it means your standards have been properly scrutinised and found to exceed expectations consistently, not just on one good day.
Our Breakfast Award confirms that morning service at The Clarendon is genuinely exceptional, from the quality of ingredients to the way everything’s prepared and presented. And the Restaurant Food Award recognises that our entire dining experience, from atmosphere to menu creativity to service, meets rigorous professional standards.
So What Does This Mean for Your Stay?
When you book breakfast at The Clarendon or dine in our Meridian Restaurant, you’re choosing something that’s been independently verified as award-winning. It’s nice to have external validation of what we’ve always known – that our team creates experiences worth travelling for.
Start your day with the Clarendon Sausage and understand why it’s become part of Blackheath folklore! Join us for dinner and taste why food critics and inspection bodies consistently praise our approach to seasonal British cuisine.
Join Our Celebration
Awards like these belong to everyone who chooses to dine with us, stay with us, or simply believes that quality hospitality still matters. Whether you’re planning a weekend break, considering afternoon tea in our garden, or fancying Sunday lunch somewhere special, we’d love to welcome you.
After all, the best way to celebrate award-winning food is to share it with people who appreciate the difference that caring and skill can make.
Book your stay or reserve your table and taste what all the fuss is about.