Every year, the Harden's guide is published, the only one based on feedback from normal diners rather than a group of professional inspectors. A total of 30,000 reports are submitted from a survey of 2,500 diners. Restaurants at all price levels are included: from street food vendors to the country’s most ambitious dining rooms, with 2,800 restaurants listed in total.
The list is dominated by London venues, but outside of the capital, the North West shines, with Cumbria having the most entries of any region.
In Manchester, Mana jumped from 97 last year to 29, whilst Lancashire’s has three entriesd once again.
See the pages below for details on where the restaurants ranked and what people said.
The 34th edition of the Harden's guide is published this week, priced at £20 and also available as apps for Apple or Android.
7. Heft, Newton in Cartmel
Position 65. “A dog-friendly bar with good beer… an outstanding restaurant… and just up the road from my house!” – so says one delighted Lake District local about Kevin & Nicola Tickle’s “staggeringly good” pub, where a simpler lunchtime menu gives way at night to a ten-course offering for £120 per head. Ratings went from strength to strength here this year as a couple of diners nominated it as their best meal of the year. Kevin spent 10 years at nearby L’Enclume and was also head chef at Forest Side in Grasmere. | Google
8. L'Eclume, Cartmel
Position 73. See also Aulis at L'Enclume: Billing itself as a "unique and interactive dining experience going ‘behind the scenes’ of L’Enclume’s kitchen", Aulis has just six seats, is open only on Friday evening and Saturdays, and has one menu, at £150. A veritable 'bucket list' chef's table experience. | Google Photo: Google
9. Moor Hall, Aughton
Position 74. “Everything about Moor Hall is exceptional: the warmth of the welcome, the quality of the food, the care of the service and the calm dining room” (and that also goes for the prices!) at Mark Birchall’s trailblazing venue, a short drive north of Liverpool. “Set in a Grade II 13th-century manor house, there’s a sense of occasion on arrival and they make use of the cosy lounge as a bar and snack area, with the main restaurant in a light-filled, glazed modern extension with exposed rafters (and even a built-in cheese room where you can choose a platter as an additional course)”. “Like the best-oiled of well-oiled machines, everything passes over you in a show of excellence that’s so well-rehearsed and so well done, it’s almost imperceptible that this isn’t all just an interactive theatrical experience just for you” – with the main event being an eight-course tasting menu at £235 per person: “extraordinarily good food, as is the service, which can also be extremely friendly”. “The downside… the downside is the cost. I wouldn’t – couldn‘t – question the value, but the cost, even with the high prices of eating out” is a sticking point for an increasing proportion of diners, leading to an increasingly disgruntled minority who say “nothing blew me away at a place with such excellent reviews, and I was very surprised”. | Moor Hall Photo: Moor Hall