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The Good Food Guide's Top 60 UK Restaurants Announced

Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay remain the cream of the culinary crop - but there’s a change in the air as restaurants outside of London climb up the ladder, according to the 60th anniversary edition of The Good Food Guide.

For the third year in a row, Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, takes the top spot, receiving the highest accolade – a 10 out of 10 rating. 

As The Good Food Guide 2011 sums up: 'A razor-sharp culinary intelligence is at work here, summoning up a procession of "world-beating" dishes for the bedazzled throngs.'

It seems that London’s grip on the UK’s culinary crown might be slipping, as Gordon Ramsay’s flagship restaurant was the only one in London to make it into the top five. 

In second place, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road was praised as 'the nearest thing to a world-class restaurant experience currently on offer in the capital'.

 

New top restaurants

Rounding off the top five are Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, in third, with up-and-coming chefs at L’Enclume in Cumbria and Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall taking fourth and fifth place.

One of the qualities they share is the dedication to local, fresh produce. At L’Enclume, chef Simon Rogan has leased an organic farm where the produce dictates his menu, while 80 per cent of Nathan Outlaw’s menu is Cornish-landed fish, described as an 'education in seafood'.

Elizabeth Carter, Consultant Editor, The Good Food Guide, says: 'Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay continue to delight us with their stuff of genius, world class style and truly memorable dining experiences. 

'But we’ve seen significant changes in the UK restaurant scene over the last year. A crop of talent has sprung up all over the country, pushing London restaurants out of the top spots with their culinary delights.'

 

The Top 60 in The Good Food Guide 2011.

1. The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire (10)

2. Gordon Ramsay, Royal Hospital Road, London (9)

3. Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire (8)

4. L’Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria (8)

5. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Rock, Cornwall (8)

6. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire (8)

7. Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, London (8)

8. Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (8)

9. Pied-à-Terre, London (8)

10. The Square, London (8)

11. Hibiscus, London (8)

12. Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, London (8)

13. Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House, Marlow, Buckinghamshire (8)

14. Whatley Manor, Easton Grey, Wiltshire (8)

15. Le Gavroche, London (8)

16. Tom Aikens, London (8)

17. Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh, Scotland (8)

18. The Waterside Inn, Bray, Berkshire (7)

19. Bohemia, St Helier, Jersey (7)

20. Fraiche, Oxton, Merseyside (7)

21. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, London (7)

22. Murano, London (7)

23. Anthony’s Restaurant, Leeds, Yorkshire (7)

24. Fischer’s Baslow Hall, Baslow, Derbyshire (7)

25. Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon (7)

26. Robert Thompson at the Hambrough, Ventnor, Isle of Wight (7)

27. Midsummer House, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire (7)

28. Tyddyn Llan, Llandrillo, Wales (7)

29. The Ledbury, London (7)

30. The Crown at Whitebrook, Whitebrook, Wales (7)

31. The Pass, Lower Beeding, West Sussex (7)

32. Mr Underhill’s, Ludlow, Shropshire (7)

33. Michael Wignall at the Latymer, Bagshot, Surrey (7)

34. Hambleton Hall, Hambleton, Leicestershire & Rutland (7)

35. Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, Auchterarder, Scotland (7)

36. Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor, Chester, Cheshire (7)

37. The Creel, St Margaret’s Hope, Scotland (7)

38. Harry’s Place, Great Gonerby, Lincolnshire (7)

39. The Old Vicarage, Ridgeway, Derbyshire (7)

40. The Greenhouse, London (6)

41. The Kitchin, Edinburgh, Scotland (6)

42. Purnell’s, Birmingham, West Midlands (6)

43. Artichoke, Amersham, Buckinghamshire (6)

44. The Sportsman, Whitstable, Kent (6)

45. Club Gascon, London (6)

46. ramsons, Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester (6)

47. The Yorke Arms, Ramsgill, Yorkshire (6)

48. La Bécasse, Ludlow, Shropshire (6)

49. The Hand & Flowers, Marlow, Buckinghamshire (6)

50. Galvin at Windows, London (6)

51. Chez Bruce, London (6)

52. Northcote, Langho, Lancashire (6)

53. Read’s, Faversham, Kent (6)

54. The Cellar, Anstruther, Scotland (6)

55. Arbutus, London (6)

56. Zafferano, London (6)

57. The Peat Inn, Peat Inn, Scotland (6)

58. The Capital, London (6)

59. Seven Park Place, London (6)

60. Alimentum, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire (6)

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