World Restaurant Awards: Nominations for first ever 'anti-Michelin' prize revealed

A tiny flatbread restaurant known for its ear-splitting heavy metal soundtrack is one of 18 London venues nominated for a new set of “anti-Michelin” awards.

Black Axe Mangal in Islington, which has images of the rock band Kiss drawn on its oven, appears on the longlist of two categories at the inaugural World Restaurant Awards.

The awards aim to celebrate the diversity of the global restaurant scene, rather than the “usual suspect” names that win Michelin stars or feature on the world-famous 50 Best list.

The awards, which will be judged by leading chefs, will instead focus on more accessible, informal or remote food destinations across the world.

Food writer Joe Warwick, creative director of the awards, said: “The idea is to look at the whole range of the ­restaurant industry on an international level. With the other awards you just see the same names coming round all the time.

"Often they are quite expensive and are not the sort of places that most people eat in. We are trying to consider the whole gamut — some places are very cutting-edge, others are places where anyone can walk in and pay £25.”

As well as conventional categories such as Arrival of the Year, there are more offbeat awards such as Tweezer-Free Kitchen, which celebrates robust plating. Black Axe Mangal has been longlisted for this award, as well as No Reservations Required, a category for easily accessible restaurants. Popular Soho restaurant Kiln is also a contender for the category.

Black Axe Mangal co-founder Lee Tiernan said: “I don’t normally like the competition of restaurant awards but it’s very flattering to be nominated. Not in a million years would a restaurant like ours be considered for something like the 50 Best. It is often just a competition for the most expensive restaurants in the world.”

Other London restaurants on the long list include Brat and Sabor, for Arrival of the Year, and west African-inspired Ikoyi for the Original Thinking category. The awards will be presented in Paris in February.