Spectacular food may be the forte of The Test Kitchen, but it’s the holistic experience here that garners worthy worldwide attention and praise. The judges’ scores this year placed this inner-city spot at the top of the list for the 2018 Eat Out Diners Club Service Excellence Award at the 2018 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards.

The team at Luke Dale-Roberts’s magnum opus operates like an orchestra: several waitrons serve you, yet work in perfect harmony, as if reading from the same sheet music.

The team at The Test Kitchen. Photo by Claire Gunn.

Says one of the judges: “There were pockets during the evening where we stopped talking and just watched how the wait staff worked the room. I feel this way each time I visit; it’s consistently amazing.”

It’s not the type of service so inconspicuous that you forget it exists – instead, it’s a type of magic that continues to attract your awe throughout the meal.

See all the winners of the 2018 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards.