Clove Hitch makes it into Good Food Guide

The Clove Hitch, in Hope Street, Delifonseca Dockside, and Nova in Hewall have made it into the 2014 Good Food Guide.

They are among 15 new entries from the North West in the 2014 edition of the diners' bible which is published next week.

And for the first time, the region can boast the top restaurant in the UK. Simon Rogan's L'Enclume, at Cartmel in Windermere, has toppled Heston Blummenthel's Fat Duck at Bray, Ascot, into the number one spot.

It's a double celebration for Rogan. His Manchester operation The French, which opened last year at the Midland Hotel has been awarded Best New Entry in the guide.  The restaurant has gone straight into the guide’s Top 50 restaurant listing at no 12.

Here on Merseyside, the highest ranking restaurant in the Top 50 remains Fraiche in Oxton, which is still the only Michelin-starred operation in Merseyside or Greater Manchester. It comes in at number 23.

Two other restaurants in the North West have also made it on to the Top 50 listing: the Freemasons at Wiswell which is a new entry to the list at 42 and Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor at 47.

A Clove Hitch spokesperson told Liverpool Confidential: "You found out before us.

"We are delighted to be a new entry into thenew guide and would like to thank all of our chefs and front of house staff for their hard work."

The region is also home to some of the longest serving restaurants in the Good Food Guide(3);Quince & Medlar in Cumbria has been listed in the guide for 25 years, ramsons in Ramsbottom and Northcote in Lancashire have both featured for 27 years consecutively, Farlam Hall in Cumbria has clocked up 37 years while Sharrow Bay, also in Cumbria, has been included in the Good Food Guide for an impressive 53 years.

Elizabeth Carter, Consultant Editor of the Good Food Guide, said: "Judging by the energy, confidence and good vibrations coming from the North West, there’s magic being worked.here. The area has a reputation for some very good, affordable restaurants and the fantastic new entries this year can only add to that reputation. And praise, too, for Simon Rogan – he has given Manchester one of the most fascinating new restaurants in the UK’.

L'Enclume features in The Trip