The co-owner of a restaurant in Beaconsfield has thanked his ‘wonderful guests and passionate team’ after it was named the best in England by a prestigious awarding body.

The Greyhound on Windsor End in Beaconsfield was opened by husband and wife Daniel Crump and Margriet Vandezande-Crump in December 2019, with a vision of recruiting top staff to serve modern British food and local drinks from a Grade II-listed former coaching inn in the heart of the town.

Fast forward five years and Daniel and Margriet have two AA rosettes, a Diners’ Choice award and, as of Monday, September 23, the title of AA’s Restaurant of the Year – making it the best in the country according to the highly-respected body – under their belt.

Daniel said the difficulties that came with launching a business during the COVID-19 pandemic made “the possibility of receiving an award like this feel so far away”, especially considering the profile of its past recipients, including Tom Kerridge’s twice-Michelin-starred Marlow pub The Hand and Flowers.

He added: “This means so much to us and the team. We are so proud of how hard our Greyhound family works day in and day out, at front of house and in the kitchen, to make sure our guests have the best possible experience from the moment they walk in the door, and it’s phenomenal to see their skills, passion and talent recognised at a national level.

(Image: The Greyhound)

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“But we also want to thank our wonderful guests, without whom we wouldn’t still be here. Seeing a restaurant full of happy guests is ultimately what drives us to do better every day.”

Daniel described the glitzy ceremony on Monday at the JW Marriott Grosvenor Hotel in London as “massive”, with the team all left “numb and with a bit of a sore head” after a night of celebrating “one of the biggest awards a restaurant can get”, which indicates a “truly excellent standard” of business. 

The evening, hosted by Celebrity MasterChef winner Angellica Bell, also celebrated the best hotels, spas, inns and B&Bs in the country and welcomed nearly 900 guests to applaud the crème-de-la-crème of the industry at the beginning of the week.

Simon Numphud, managing director at AA Media, said The Greyhound had made a “remarkable contribution” to the hospitality sector and praised the “strength and innovation” of winners across the board in a climate that continues to be tough on the hospitality sector.