11th August 2011

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Elizabeth Carter comments on the Top 10

The UK's gastronomic landscape is changing fast, and the pressure to keep ahead of the game is immense. Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck continues to provide the experience of a lifetime, teasing out childhood memories and igniting fantastical fireworks, but the wizard of Bray is now looking at serious competition from two exciting chefs scoring 9 for the very first time.

If there’s one thing that links Sat Bains (Restaurant Sat Bains) and Simon Rogan (L’Enclume) it is that they don’t play it safe. Even their restaurants can be a bit of a culture shock – one rural and pared-back, the other urban-edgy. Considered culinary mavericks, both constantly challenge themselves to feed their curiosity and creativity – but their styles are very different. For Rogan it is all about crystal clear innovation, nudging boundaries and opening up culinary perceptions; it's also about the sheer pleasure of fine food in all its diversity. For Bains it is extraordinary innovation, acute detailing and jaw-dropping levels of complexity – a palate-challenging show.

Comfortingly familiar food served by brilliantly orchestrated staff is the well-oiled formula offered by Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road. The Good Food Guide has always said that Clare Smyth does Gordon Ramsay’s big-statement modern French cooking better than the man himself, and what she delivers is undoubtedly a world-class restaurant experience.

Elsewhere, Restaurant Nathan Outlaw maintains his position at number 5, the leader of a strong pack of restaurants scoring 8. This includes Jason Atherton’s first solo venture, Pollen Street Social, the highest top ten new entry. The hard-working chef has won praise from both readers and inspectors for his playful big-city eatery with its energy, confidence and inventive strokes of genius. Also new to the top ten is Hibiscus, Claude Bosi’s pedigree restaurant that explores the outer reaches of modern French gastronomy.

It’s a thrilling time of innovation and change at the top, cementing the UK’s position as one of the most exciting players on the international gastronomic stage.