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Team effort hailed as Loxley's Restaurant and Wine Bar in Stratford listed in OpenTable's top 100 restaurants in the UK




“THIS is the culmination of ten years’ worth of hard work.” That is what the manager of a Stratford restaurant had to say after it was named in the top 100 in the UK by diners.

Jonathan Lea, manager of Loxley's.
Jonathan Lea, manager of Loxley's.

OpenTable, an online restaurant reservation booking network, produces the annual list which is based on more than 1.4 million reviews from verified service users.

Although the standings were dominated by a whole host of London eateries, leading the way for Stratford and south Warwickshire was Loxley’s Restaurant and Wine Bar in Sheep Street.

Manager Jonathan Lea told the Herald how the whole team were thrilled to have made the prestigious list and stressed every member of staff has played their part in the success.

“We were absolutely thrilled with the news,” he said. “We’ve been in town for ten years and a lot of hard work has gone into this restaurant and it was nice to receive this honour with Christmas just around the corner.

“Honestly, there has been so much work done here to make Loxley’s what it is now and being named as one of the top 100 restaurants in the UK is the culmination of ten years’ worth of hard work.”

He added: “Everyone here is important. We’re one big machine and without one of our many cogs we would not run as smoothly as we do. That’s how we operate.

“Everyone from the management team, the people in the kitchen and the rest of the staff were completely made up to have received this news.”

Jonathan explained that some of the glowing reviews from locals, regulars and tourists had helped the restaurant to its success, adding “without the customers, we would not be here”.

“We are so grateful to everyone who comes into our restaurant because it makes such a difference,” he said.

“A special thanks must go to our regulars, some of whom have been coming into Loxley’s since we first opened our doors ten years ago.

“We would be nothing without them and they were just as pleased as we were when they found out we’d made it into OpenTable’s top 100.”

He added: “There are so many great restaurants in south Warwickshire and Stratford has an amazing hospitality sector, so to be flying the flag for our town is something we’re really thrilled about.”

Like all businesses up and down the country, Loxley’s is glad to see the other side of the pandemic and it’s clear they’re up to their eyeballs in bookings.

“When we first opened after Covid-19 it was a case of entering the unknown but everyone was in the same boat,” said Jonathan.

“When we first re-opened there was a honeymoon period where everything just went boom.

“That carried on nicely throughout the rest of the year and even into November, which can normally be a quieter month.

“The town has been absolutely heaving so far this month and it’s nice to see Stratford so busy after a difficult two years due to the pandemic.”

Loxley’s is now gearing up for it’s Christmas celebrations and Jonathan revealed that there are already no spaces left for their lunch and dinner which comprises tea and canapés on arrival and then a six-course set menu.

“For us, working over Christmas is quite nice as we know the majority of the people who come to eat and it feels like they’re extended family.”

Then there will be the New Year’s celebrations on 31st December when there will be a closed-event party starting at 7pm including a singer and DJ.



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