Voting is open in all 12 categories of the Mayor of Lewisham Business Awards. The full list of 96 finalists, and how to vote before 9am on Friday 2 October.

Public voting is open to decide the winners of the 2026 Mayor of Lewisham Business Awards. The council announced the shortlist on 4 September: 96 finalists across 12 categories, whittled down by a judging panel from more than 2,000 nominations.

Voting closes at 9am on Friday 2 October 2026. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Broadway Theatre in Catford on Wednesday 21 October 2026.

How to vote

  • Complete the council’s online voting form before 9am on Friday 2 October.
  • All 12 categories are decided by the public vote, so a handful of votes can genuinely swing a category.
  • The council’s business awards page carries the background to the scheme.

Mayor of Lewisham Liam Shrivastava said the borough’s businesses “create jobs, bring people together and help our communities thrive”. Councillor Shireen Asaw, Cabinet Member for Workers, Business and Skills, called the awards “a celebration of the businesses that keep Lewisham moving”.

What it means for you

If a Lewisham cafe, pub, barber, market stall or shop has looked after you this year, this is the fortnight to say so. Voting takes a few minutes and closes at 9am on 2 October. For the businesses themselves the stakes are real: a Mayor’s award is the kind of independent endorsement a small firm cannot buy, and last year’s winners still trade on it.

The finalists in full

The category lists below are as the council published them, with locations where it gave one.

Best Sustainable Business

  • Sylva, a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern inspired cafe restaurant
  • Lewisham Good Food Network, supplying locally grown and produced food
  • The Homestead Café, in Beckenham Place Park, which turns food waste into energy
  • Mend By Post, a drop-in and mail-in repair specialist for shower and kitchen appliances
  • Beetroot & Beans, a zero waste greengrocer with a plastic-free refill station
  • The Cyclery, a community bike shop in the heart of Lewisham
  • Marvellous Greens and Beans, a veg subscription service sourcing from local farmers
  • Ignition Brewery, the Sydenham social enterprise employing people with learning disabilities at the London Living Wage

Best Online Business

  • Global French Speaking Academy, English training for French-speaking asylum seekers and refugees
  • Kinship Values, a family support and intervention service
  • SEND Teach, online tutoring and advocacy for families navigating the SEN system
  • Natty’s Saturday Kitchen, home-based halal Trinidadian food from Sydenham
  • Salters Events, caterers for weddings and events
  • Uni Paths Educational Services, free personalised university guidance
  • Oh Nora!, a one-woman design and print studio
  • Solei Studios, plant-wax candles hand poured in Lewisham

Best Community Contribution

  • Oren Marshall’s Jazz for Toddlers, an early-years music initiative
  • The Working Mum’s Club, a childcare, cafe and co-working space for mothers
  • Your Health Community and London Fit Club, accessible health and wellness services
  • Lewisham Donation Hub, redistributing food, clothing and electrical goods at no cost
  • Kinship Kitchen, weekly cooking groups for kinship carers and young people in care
  • Pristine Eats, an Afro-Caribbean fusion cafe supporting children’s wellbeing
  • Caring Minds Education Services, trauma-informed tuition for children with educational needs
  • Lewisham Music, the borough’s music education charity

Best New Business

  • The Working Mum’s Club
  • Ravensbourne Podiatry, a new private podiatry practice
  • Kiki’s Slushies, frozen cocktails and slushies made with real fruit juice
  • Fields Café, the new cafe in Ladywell Fields
  • The Jerk Shac, Caribbean fusion for dine in, takeaway and Sunday brunch
  • Intervallo, an Italian speciality coffee shop with evening aperitivos
  • WW Collection, waste, recycling and bin cleaning services
  • Rinds and Vines, the Honor Oak cheesemonger and natural wine shop

Best in the Creative Sector

  • Tutku Barbaros, writer and creative writing workshop leader
  • Orto Print Studio, a fabric screen printing studio at the Blue Garage workspace
  • Singalong Sally, preschool music classes
  • Spontaneous Productions, a not-for-profit theatre producer
  • Something Good Workshops, craft workshops and creative socials in Deptford
  • D&B Academy of Performing Arts, a theatre school for children and young adults
  • Poodle Club, an LGBTQ+ and women-forward comedy club
  • Lewisham Youth Theatre, running inclusive youth theatre with no auditions and no fees since 1987

Best High Street Business

  • Billings, the Sydenham butcher and fishmonger trading since 2009
  • Dragonfly Yoga, a yoga and Pilates studio in Sydenham
  • Nonki Store, a concept store and coffee shop with a kids’ play space
  • H Hirst and Sons, the traditional family-run bakery
  • Jumping Bean, the Honor Oak Park lifestyle shop trading since 2002
  • Rosie of Brockley Florist
  • Gently, a family lifestyle store with British and Scandinavian inspired homeware
  • Sundae Gelato, an award-winning independent gelato shop

Best Café

  • Broadway Café Catford, a classic family-friendly local
  • Two Spoons, the Honor Oak daytime cafe and evening bar
  • Broca Café, the queer-centric vegan-food hub in Brockley
  • Sylva
  • Break the Fast, a global breakfast cafe
  • Mi & More, Vietnamese-inspired comfort food
  • Oscar’s, the Ladywell speciality coffee shop
  • Arlo and Moe, neighbourhood cafes in Crofton Park and Hither Green

Best Restaurant

  • The Jerk Shac
  • Everest Inn, the Indian and Nepalese restaurant in Blackheath
  • Saka Maka, Indian cooking in Hither Green
  • Wilson’s, modern European dining with a weekly changing menu
  • Café Green, family-owned Vietnamese cooking
  • Gurkha’s, the Nepalese and Indian restaurant in Sydenham
  • Malaysian Deli, the Crofton Park deli and cafe
  • Bona, wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizza on sourdough crust

Best Bar or Pub

  • Catford House, the co-operative led, family and dog friendly pub
  • Blythe Hill Tavern, the award-winning classic corner pub
  • The Chandos, the Crofton Park pub with pizza, comedy and vinyl nights
  • Sylvan Post, the Forest Hill pub in a former post office
  • Dog and Bell, the Irish pub with folk nights and an annual Pickle Festival
  • Ladywell Tavern, with live music, quizzes and an in-house kitchen
  • Waterintobeer, the Brockley craft beer shop, bar and homebrew supplier
  • Fourteen87, a restaurant and cocktail bar with an 80-capacity event space

Best Hair and Beauty

  • Bohemians, the Deptford salon with gender-neutral prices and silent appointments
  • Aqua Hair Salon, styling Brockley since 2001
  • LoveLe Nails
  • Geddes, the Ladywell hair and beauty salon open since 2008
  • George’s Barber, a family-owned award-winning barber
  • Donnelly’s, a community barbershop
  • La Crisadore, a beauty and laser clinic
  • Elyse Beauty & Laser Clinic

Best Independent Business

  • Blissful Thinking Wellness, massage and wellbeing treatments
  • London Fit Club, an assessment-led performance and rehab unit
  • Ben’s Bicycles, doorstep bike repairs across Lewisham
  • Pb Plumbing Services
  • Adrian Moore Funerals, a family-run funeral director
  • Cwtches Dog, dog training, behaviour support and walking
  • Tara Riley Pilates, mat Pilates, barre and postnatal classes
  • Salters Events

Best Market Trader

  • Ed Baker, the artisan bakery, a market fixture for years
  • Van Dough Pizza, wood-fired pizza from the back of a van
  • Yanoula’s, Cypriot pittas from a generations-old recipe
  • Route 66, Southern Californian-style Mexican street food
  • Jamie Ferments, kimchi, pickles and lacto-fermented veg
  • Harlem2Manila, Filipino flavours meet American barbecue
  • Ronald Paxton, the traditional fruit and veg stall at Lewisham Market
  • RTG Kitchen, Caribbean street food

The dates

  • 9am, Friday 2 October 2026: voting closes
  • Wednesday 21 October 2026: winners announced at the Broadway Theatre, Catford

If you run one of the businesses above and want to point customers at the vote, the council’s form link above goes straight to it.

Sources

All checked on 13 September 2026.