L'ENCLUME by chef Simon Rogan has topped the Waitrose Good Food Guide for the third year running.
...making The French the highest scoring non-Michelin-starred restaurant in the UK
The two Michelin-starred North West restaurant - which also scored its fourth 'perfect ten' score - saw off the likes of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay (2), Hibiscus (5) and Merseyside's Fraiche (9), which broke into the Top 10 for the first time.
It was another good year for the Freemasons at Wiswell in the Ribble Valley, which scooped 'The Best Pub in the UK' and the 42nd best restaurant, while Lancashire's Northcote - which achieves its 29th year in the guide - just managed to retain its top restaurant status, dropping one place to 50.
Meanwhile, The White Hart at Lydgate near Oldham (41), retained its spot within the Top 50 Pubs, though it dropped ten places; while Grindleton's Duke of York Inn climbed ten places to become the 35th best pub in the land.
READ MORE:
Gordo's review of L'Enclume - Apr 2015
Jonathan Schofield's review of The French - Feb 2015
Neil Sowerby's review of the Freemasons - Sep 2014
Charles Campion's review of Northcote - May 2015
Gordo's review of Fraiche - Feb 2014
It was another hattrick year for Rogan, as both The French at the Midland and Fera at Claridge's also scored Top 20 places.
Though Fera (12) - which relaunced under Rogan in 2014 and scored a Michelin star five months later - has since overtaken The French (17), which dropped three places this year.
Chef Simon Rogan said: "There are a lot of amazing restaurants around and for L'Enclume to be awarded number one in the Good Food Guide for the third year running is very special. And us having three restaurants in the top 17 is a massive achievement from the team."
The FrenchNext month is a big one for Manchester's Michelin star gazers, as the Michelin Guide 2016 is released on 17 September.
Many believe The French is a dead cert for a star this time around, after Michelin inspectors twice overlooked Manchester's best restaurant since Rogan took the reins in 2013; much to the the chagrin of Rogan himself, who said he and head chef Adam Reid would 'throw the kitchen sink' at the venue in order to bag that elusive star.
The duo's Michelin frustrations appear to be well-placed, of all the restaurants in the Good Food Guide 2016's Top 20, only The French and André Garrett at Cliveden (which relaunched in late-2014) failed to achieve or retain Michelin stars last time around - making The French the highest scoring non-Michelin-starred restaurant in the UK.
Odds-on then? Surely this time...
THE GOOD FOOD GUIDE 2016 TOP 50 RESTAURANTS:
1 L’Enclume, Cumbria (10)
2 Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London (10)
3 Pollen Street Social, London (9)
4 Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Cornwall (9)
5 Hibiscus, London (9)
6 Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottinghamshire (9)
7 Midsummer House, Cambridgeshire (8) (new in top 10 this year)
8 The Ledbury, London (8)
9 Fraiche, Merseyside (8) (new in top 10 this year)
10 Le Champignon Sauvage, Glos (8)
11 The Square, London (8)
12 Fera at Claridges, London (8)
13 Le Gavroche, London (8)
14 Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, Tayside (8)
15 Marcus, London (8)
16 Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxfordshire (8)
17 The French, Manchester (8)
18 André Garrett at Cliveden, Berkshire (8)
19 Whatley Manor, The Dining Room, Wiltshire (8)
20 The Kitchin, Edinburgh (7)
21 Bohemia, Jersey (7)
22 The Waterside Inn, Berkshire (7)
23 Artichoke, Buckinghamshire (7)
24 Restaurant James Sommerin, Glamorgan (7)
25 Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, London (7)
26 Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London (7)
27 Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, Cornwall (7)
28 Casamia, Bristol (7)
29 Adam’s, Birmingham (7) (new in top 50 this year)
30 Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh (7)
31 Pied à Terre, London (7)
32 Restaurant Story, London (7)
33 Murano, London (7)
34 Ynyshir Hall, Powys (7)
35 Sketch, London (7) (new in top 50 this year)
36 Llangoed Hall, Powys (7) (new in top 50 this year)
37 Hedone, London (7)
38 Hambleton Hall, Rutland (7)
39 The Peat Inn, Fife (7)
40 Gidleigh Park, Devon (7)
41 Fischer’s Baslow Hall, Derbyshire (7)
42 Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire (7)
43 The Hand & Flowers, Buckinghamshire (6)
44 Yorke Arms, Ramsgill, Yorkshire (6)
45 The Dairy, London (6) (new in top 50 this year)
46 OX, Belfast (6)
47 The Raby Hunt, Durham (6)
48 Lake Road Kitchen, Cumbria (6) (new in top 50 this year)
49 The Sportsman, Kent (6)
50 Northcote, Lancashire (6)
Freemasons at WiswellTHE GOOD FOOD GUIDE 2016 TOP 50 PUBS:
1. Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire
2. The Hand & Flowers, Buckinghamshire
3. The Sportsman, Kent
4. Red Lion, East Chisenbury, Wiltshire
5. The Pony & Trap, Chew Magna, Somerset
6. The Lickfold Inn, Sussex
7. The Woodspeen, Berkshire
8. The Ancrum Cross Keys, Borders, Scotland
9. The Pipe and Glass Inn, Yorkshire
10. The Royal Oak, Paley Street, Berkshire
11. The Coach, Marlow, Buckinghamshire
12. The Butcher’s Arms, Eldersfield, Glos
13. The Treby Arms, Devon
14. The Cross at Kenilworth, Warwickshire
15. The White Oak, Cookham, Berkshire
16. The Hardwick, Abergavenny
17. The Star Inn, Harome, Yorkshire
18. The Stagg Inn, Titley, Herefordshire
19. The Harwood Arms, Fulham, London
20. The Plough, Bolnhurst, Bedfordshire
21. The Plough Inn, Longparish, Hampshire
22. The Hinds Head, Berkshire
23. The Nut Tree Inn, Oxfordshire
24. The Masons Arms, Knowstone, Devon
25. The Broad Chare, Tyne & Wear
26. The Miller of Mansfield, Oxfordshire
27. The Wellington Arms, Baughurst, Hampshire
28. The Falcon Inn, Withernwick, Yorkshire
29. The Lamb Inn, Crawley, Oxfordshire
30. The Springer Spaniel, Cornwall
31. The Star Inn, Sparsholt, Oxfordshire
32. The Felin Fach Griffin, Powys
33. The Duke of Cumberland Arms, West Sussex
34. The Purefoy Arms, Hampshire
35. The Duke of York Inn, Grindleton, Lancashire
36. The Kinmel Arms, Conwy
37. The Richmond Arms, West Ashling, West Sussex
38. The Five Alls, Oxfordshire
39. The New Inn, Great Limber, Lincolnshire
40. The General Tarleton, Yorkshire
41. The White Hart, Lydgate, Greater Manchester
42. The Sun Inn, Dedham, Essex
43. The Bay Horse, Hurworth-on-Tees, Durham
44. The Kingham Plough, Oxfordshire
45. The Square and Compasses, Essex
46. The Star at Sancton, Yorkshire
47. Bunch of Grapes, Glamorgan
48. Beckford Arms, Wiltshire
49. Wheatsheaf Inn, Northleach, Gloucestershire
50. The Camberwell Arms, London
