The Good Food Guide reveals top 50 UK restaurants

The Good Food Guide, published by Waitrose and partners, has released its list of the top 50 restaurants in the UK with a total of 14 from London, including the first restaurant to win top marks with its debut in the guide.

While 14 of the top 50 restaurants were located in London, there was a good spread throughout the country, with destinations ranging from Cornwall, Jersey and Wiltshire to Co. Durham, Birmingham and Manchester.

A total of six restaurants hailed from Scotland, though none made the top 10, while three are based in Wales. The guide also awarded restaurant of the year to Michelin-starred Chinese sensation A Wong in London’s Victoria, chef of the year to Gareth Ward of Ynyshir in Powys and Alex Bond of Alchemilla in Nottingham as 2019’s chef to watch.

First published in 1951 by Raymond Postgate, The Good Food Guide reviews restaurants, pubs and cafés in the UK. Those that make it in the guide are awarded a score of between 1 and 10, with 1 signifying “capable cooking with simple food combinations and clear flavours, but some inconsistencies” while 10 indicates “perfect dishes showing faultless technique at every service. An extremely rare accolade”. Indeed, this year just three restaurants were awarded top billing while six were awarded a 9.

The guide also has a ‘local gems’ section which while not scored, are described as “simple cafés, bistros and pubs that are among the best neighbourhood eateries in the country”.

For the first time this year, the guide includes a listing of restaurants with vegan menus, while it also notes whether good vegetarian menus are available, the quality of the wine list and whether it’s possible to have a three-course meal for less than £30.

Numbers 11-50 are as follows:

11 Moor Hall, Lancashire (8)
12 Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Perthshire & Kinross (8)
13 Adam Reid at The French, Greater Manchester (8)
14 Bohemia, Jersey (8)
15 Le Champignon Sauvage, Gloucestershire (8)
16 Restaurant Story, South London (8)
17 André Garrett at Cliveden, Berkshire (8)
18 The Ledbury, West London (8)
19 Fraiche, Merseyside (8)
20 Roganic, Central London (8)
21 Midsummer House, Cambridgeshire (8)
22 Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, Central London (8)
23 The Peat Inn, Fife (8)
24 Marcus, West London (8)
25 Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, North London (8)
26 The Kitchin, East Lothian (7)
27 Forest Side, Cumbria (7)
28 A. Wong, Central London (7)
29 Orwells, Oxfordshire (7)
30 Sketch, Lecture Room & Library, Central London (7)
31 Hedone, West London (7)
32 The Ritz, Central London (7)
33 Castle Terrace, Lothians (7)
34 The Three Chimneys, Highlands & Islands (7)
35 The Waterside Inn, Berkshire (7)
36 Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor, Cheshire (7)
37 Restaurant James Sommerin, Glamorgan (7)
38 Whatley Manor, The Dining Room, Wiltshire (7)
39 Matt Worswick at the Latymer, Surrey (7)
40 The Raby Hunt, Co Durham (7)
41 The Greenhouse, Central London (7)
42 The Sportsman, Kent (7)
43 Restaurant Martin Wishart, Lothians (7)
44 Artichoke, Buckinghamshire (7)
45 Lake Road Kitchen, Cumbria (7)
46 Adam’s, West Midlands (7)
47 Morston Hall, Norfolk (7)
48 Le Gavroche, Central London (7)
49 The Whitebrook, Monmouthshire (7)
50 Hambleton Hall, Rutland (7)

Scroll through to see the top 10 restaurants according to the Good Food Guide. 

10. The Fat Duck

Location: Bray, Berkshire

Cooking score: 8

Chef proprietor: Heston Blumenthal

Head chef: Edward Cooke 

9. Pollen Street Social

Location: London

Cooking score: 9

Chef proprietor: Jason Atherton

Head chef: Dale Bainbridge

8. Casamia

Location: Bristol

Cooking score: 9

Chef proprietor: Peter Sanchez-Iglesias

7. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

Location: London

Cooking score: 9

Chef proprietor: Gordon Ramsay

Chef de Cuisine: Matt Abé

Location: London

Cooking score: 9

Chef proprietor: Claude Bosi

5. Ynyshir

Location: Powys, Wales

Cooking score: 9

Chef proprietor: Gareth Ward

Location: Nottingham

Cooking score: 9

Chef proprietor: Sat Bains

Location: London

Cooking score: 10

Chef proprietor: Clare Symth

*Highest ever new entry.

1. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw

Location: Cornwall

Cooking score: 10

Chef proprietor: Nathan Outlaw

*Top restaurant for the second year in a row.