Following weeks of public voting, Bristol-based contemporary French restaurant, Lapin has been revealed as a finalist in the Best Newcomer category at the Trencherman’s Awards 2026.
Celebrating the South West’s finest restaurants, hotels, pubs and chefs, the Trencherman’s Awards received a record number of votes into this year’s competition. As restaurateur, Dan O’Regan, and executive chef, Jack Briggs-Horan, prepare to mark the first anniversary of Lapin next month, they will now be joining many of the region’s top names in hospitality at a glittering awards ceremony on Monday 27 April, held at The Beach Club Restaurant on the Carbis Bay Estate in Cornwall.
Having fast earned a reputation for it its playful spin on classic French cookery and a carefully curated wine list, Lapin has already won plenty of plaudits during its short time at Wapping Wharf. This includes being named by SquareMeal as one of the UK’s Top 100
Restaurants for 2026, a spot in The Good Food Guide, and significant praise from one of Britain’s most respected critics, Grace Dent, who picked Lapin out as one of her standout dining experiences of 2025. With public voting now closed, Lapin must until Monday 27 April to discover whether it will add the Trencherman’s Awards Best Newcomer trophy to its growing list of accolades.
Dan O’Regan, owner and founder of Lapin, commented: “Lapin has been enthusiastically embraced by diners in Bristol since we opened our doors last April, and we’re truly grateful to everyone who has visited us, come back for more, and taken the time to vote for us in these Awards. We have the utmost respect for professional critics and judges, but it’s the diners who hold the keys – they create our atmosphere, motivate us to deliver our best, and ultimately decide which restaurants will succeed. We’re really proud to have been voted in as a finalist, and are looking forward to celebrating the South West’s hospitality scene at the Trencherman’s Awards dinner.”
Lapin is open Tuesday & Wednesday from 5.30pm to 10pm, Thursday to Saturday from 12pm to 3.30pm and 5.30pm to 10pm, and Sunday from 12pm to 8pm. Diners can book via www.lapinbristol.co.uk.
