Which’s top 40 restaurants

The Good Food Guide’s Top 40 2008 restaurant listing is a very useful reference to the best of the best in Britain. It also lists establishments all over the country rather than being heavily loaded in favour of London (like some restaurant critics) - though 11 of the top 40 are in the capital. But it isn’t the easiest of listings to use, because all it gives is the name and cooking score for each restaurant. In these days of electronic publishing, how hard would it have been to add the page-number of each restaurant’s report?

The other really good thing about the list is its ego-massaging function. Finding that we’ve eaten at Number 1; slept and eaten at Number 17; got married and slept and eaten, in all, three times at Number 24; and ate at Number 4 on the 1 May 2008 makes us feel pretty good. It also sets us some ambitious targets.

So, with apologies to Which (if I’m breaching your copyright please let me know and I’ll take this page off the site), here is my augmented version of the list, with approximate locations, any personal notes and Good Food Guide 2008 page numbers (no contact details, so you really do need to buy the book or go a-Googling).

1. The Fat Duck (9)
   Bray, just outside Maidenhead, Berkshire (3 Michelin stars). We ate the Tasting Menu there, at a cost of over £500, for my birthday in January 2007 - and didn’t begrudge a penny!
   GFG page 179
2. Gordon Ramsay, Royal Hospital Road (9)
   London SW3.
   GFG page 142
3. Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons (9)
   Off the M40 near Oxford. A restaurant with rooms where we’d love to stay and eat, but the packages are a touch expensive!
   GFG page 353
4. Winteringham Fields (8)
   Near Hull. A restaurant with rooms. We had a midweek break package to celebrate our second wedding anniversary and Patricia’s birthday on the 1 May 2008. A delightful place with excellent food and a friendly, attentive staff.
   GFG page 328
5. Le Champignon Sauvage (8)
   Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
   GFG page 264
6. Le Gavroche (8)
   London W1. One of the Roux Brothers’ restaurants.
   GFG page 71
7. Petrus (8)
   London SW1. The admirable Marcus Wareing is head chef, with Gordon Ramsay as the power behind the throne.
   GFG page 34
8. Waterside Inn (8)
   Bray, just outside Maidenhead, Berkshire. A restaurant with rooms (3 Michelin stars). Round the corner from the Fat Duck. Looks like a fairly ordinary Thames-side pub but is another Roux Brothers restaurant. Definitely on our list. More expensive than Le Gavroche!
   GFG page 180
9. Vineyard (8)
   Newbury, Berkshire.
   GFG page 183
10. Square (8)
    London W1.
    GFG page 77
11. Pied a Terre (8)
    London W1.
    GFG page 47
    
12. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw (8)
    Fowey, Cornwall.
    GFG page 301
13. L’Enclume
    South Cumbria.
    GFG page 215
14. Tom Aikens (8)
    London SW3.
    GFG page 143
15. Restaurant Martin Wishart (8)
    Edinburgh.
    GFG page 475
16. The Capital (7)
    London SW3.
    GFG page 56
17. Restaurant Sat Bains (7)
    Nottingham. A restaurant with rooms (one Michelin star). We stayed and ate the Tasting Menu there, at a cost of over £500, for my birthday in January 2008 - and didn’t begrudge a penny there, either!
    GFG page 349
18. Gidleigh Park (8)
    Chagford, Devon.
    GFG page 231
19. Anthony’s, Leeds (7)
    Leeds. Highly rated but after watching Anthony Flinn’s performance on The Great British Menu we’d rather go to Northcote Manor (6) (another restaurant with rooms) near Blackburn, Lancashire, where Nigel Howarth (who beat Flinn) cooks Michelin-starred food more to our liking. Given that we loved The Fat Duck and Restaurant Sat Bains, and I’d kill to eat at Ferran Adria’s El Bulli, maybe Mr Flinn should take note...
    GFG page 444
20. Juniper (7)
    Altrincham, Cheshire.
    GFG page 274
21. Andrew Fairleigh at Gleneagles (7)
    Near Perth, Scotland.
    GFG page 492
22. Hambleton Hall (7)
    Rutland, near Leicester. A restaurant with rooms. An easy run for us, so definitely on the list.
    GFG page 323
23. Holbeck Ghyll (7)
    Lake Windermere, Cumbria.
    GFG page 221
24. Fischers Baslow Hall (7)
    Baslow, Derbyshire. A restaurant with rooms (one Michelin star). Scene of our wedding in May 2006 and two other delightful overnight stays with memorable dinners.
    GFG page 226
25. Tyddyn Llan (7)
    North Wales.
    GFG page 323
26. Harry’s Place (7)
    Grantham. An easy run for us, so another one for the list.
    GFG page 327
27. The Creel (7)
    Orkney.
    GFG page 509
28. Mr Underhill’s (7)
    Ludlow.
    GFG page 359
29. Bohemia St Helier
    Jersey.
    GFG page 556
30. Castle Hotel (7)
    Taunton.
    GFG page 323
31. Chester Grosvenor (7)
    Chester.
    GFG page 197
32. Old Vicarage, Ridgeway (7)
    Sheffield. Just a 45-minute drive away for us, with a good reputation, so another one for the list.
    GFG page 229
33. Midsummer House (6)
    Cambridge.
    GFG page 192
34. Maze (6)
    London W1.
    GFG page 74
35. Club Gascon (6)
    London EC1.
    GFG page 108
36. Simpsons (6)
    Birmingham.
    GFG page 416
37. Bath Priory (6)
    Bath.
    GFG page 363
38. Kitchin (6)
    Edinburgh.
    GFG page 474
39. The Greenhouse (6)
    London W1.
    GFG page 51
40. Ledbury (6)
    London W11.
    GFG page 161