The rd+d Awards will reach it's tenth year of awarding the excellence in restaurant design and concepting. We will open up submissions in the summer for restaurant designers, architects, consultants, operators or PR representatives for a restaurant to enter a project that was completed and operational between April 1, 2024 and September 1, 2025.
To help you plan your submissions, general details and requirements can be found at the bottom of the page. For additional details and requirements, click on any of the seven categories below. Restaurant design project entries can be made at no charge. You will be able to make multiple entries, but please enter each restaurant in only a single category.
To gain inspiration, please check out the 2025 award winners announced this past January.
If you have any questions, please contact
Project Categories:
- Best New Prototype — Existing Chain Concept
Awarded to the best prototype and branding package rolled out by an established brand. - Best New Concept Launch
Awarded to the best new concept from the ground up, from development through execution, of a scalable design, meant to launch a concept for growth. - Best Limited-Service Restaurant Design
Open to all restaurants in the limited-service category; awarded to the best overall design concept and execution; open to both new builds and renovations. - Best Full-Service Restaurant Design — Check Average under $50
Open to all full-service restaurants with a check average less than $50 per person; awarded to the best overall design concept and execution; open to both new builds and renovations. - Best Full-Service Restaurant Design — Check Average over $50
Open to all full-service restaurants with a check average more than $50; awarded to the best overall design that delivers a unique experience and fulfills the vision set by the design team; open to new builds and renovations. - Best Bar Design
Open to all new and newly renovated stand-alone bars or designated bar areas within a restaurant or hotel. Awarded to the best overall design concept and execution. - Form and Function Innovation Award
Rewards the most innovative and successful approaches to specific areas of the front or back of the house; from bathrooms to entryways to technological integration — even bars and lounges within restaurants — that capitalize on the integration of form and function in design.
Notes/Rules:
- This competition is open only to restaurants.
- A restaurant may only win in only ONE category. Please select the category that best aligns with your project. Multiple submissions of a single project in multiple categories are discouraged.
- Include final, approved floorplan, not just concept drawings.
- Renovations should include before and after pictures.
- Our judges compare the criteria outlined on the submissions pages to the actual submissions. Directly address the questions to improve your odds of placing.
- Judges are free to reject any entry that does not meet basic criteria outlined on the submissions page. Judges may also choose to move an entry from one category to another if they feel it’s a better fit.
- Judging will occur in early November and the award winners will be notified via email.
- Award winners will be featured in the January/February 2026 issue of rd+d.