Residents voted a boxing gym, a deli, a haberdashery and four hair and beauty salons among the 12 best independents in Elmbridge. The full list by town.

Twelve independent businesses have been named the best in their part of Elmbridge, one for each town and village. Residents chose them in the 2026 Love Elmbridge Awards.

Elmbridge Borough Council, which runs the awards, published the winners on its news page. It says “thousands of residents” voted. It has not published vote counts or shortlists.

The winners

Area Winner What it is
Claygate The Little Haberdashery Haberdashery
Cobham Huben Travel Travel agent
Esher Gym & Jab Boxing gym
Hersham Hersham Village Market Village market
Hinchley Wood No.Eight Hair Salon Hair and beauty salon
Long Ditton Squire’s Garden Centres Garden centre
Molesey Strong Ladies Club Women’s strength training sessions
Oxshott Surrey Hills Delicatessen Deli and caterer
Stoke D’Abernon Baloolah Hair salon
Thames Ditton Café Noir Café
Walton-on-Thames Radiance Beauty & Tanning Beauty and tanning salon
Weybridge Glitterati Hair & Beauty Hair salon, Church Street

The winners and areas are as the council listed them. The “What it is” column comes from each business’s own website, or from its name where the council gave no link.

What the list says about local high streets

Hair and beauty is the biggest group. Four of the twelve winners are salons: in Hinchley Wood, Stoke D’Abernon, Walton and Weybridge.

Fitness is next, with two:

  • Gym & Jab in Esher, a boxing gym offering classes and personal training
  • Strong Ladies Club in Molesey, small-group sessions teaching women to lift weights

Food and drink takes three places, if you count Squire’s, whose café the council linked to. The rest are a haberdashery, a travel agent and a market.

That mix is worth noticing. Most of the winners sell a service you have to turn up in person for, such as a haircut, a class or a meal. Those are the businesses that online shopping cannot easily replace.

What the council said

Councillor Kirsty Hewens is the council’s portfolio holder for enterprise, parking and the local economy. She said the awards were “an opportunity to celebrate the dedication, passion and hard work of local business owners”. She thanked everyone who voted.

What it means for you

  • If you run an independent business in Elmbridge, this is a free way to be seen. Watch the council’s news page next summer for the 2027 vote. It has not yet said whether the awards continue once East Surrey Council takes over in April 2027.
  • If one of these is your local, the list is a fair shortlist of places your neighbours rate. Each business’s link is in the table above.

For more on what is changing in Elmbridge town centres, see our planning news page, and for getting there, our guide to parking in Elmbridge.