Top 100 Restaurants in the North West revealed

As the North West’s booming restaurant scene continues to outperform the rest of the UK in terms of growth, the Confidentials team has released the region's first dedicated restaurant guide - the Top 100 Restaurants in the North West.

The launch of the new web and mobile guide took place on Monday 10 September at an event held at the Museum of Science and Industry Manchester (MSIM), attended by over 200 representatives from restaurants all over the region. 

The inclusive Top 100 list features Michelin starred establishments, bistros, pubs, steakhouses and street food diners

Since the launch, social media has been abuzz with support from chefs, restaurants and food lovers pleased to finally see a guide which celebrates the best the North West (and a little beyond) has to offer and acts as an alternative to the majority of south east-centric restaurant guides.

Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume ultimately claimed the number one spot, with Moor Hall, run by L’Enclume’s former head chef Mark Birchall, coming a close second. Michael O’Hare’s Man Behind The Curtain in Leeds placed third, while The Moorcock from Sowerby Bridge took fourth, and Fraiche from the Wirral took fifth.

The new guide 'loosely spans' the North West, with restaurants from Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Cumbria and Cheshire joined by those from within the Confidential catchment areas in Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

The inclusive Top 100 list features a variety of dining establishments; from Michelin star-winners like The Box Tree and Fischer's Baslow Hall to Indian street food diners (Bundobust, Indian Tiffin Room), steakhouses (Hawksmoor, Stockdales), bistros (Wreckfish, Joseph Benjamin) and gastro pubs (Freemasons at Wiswell, The Church Green).

Greater Manchester turned out to be the best performing region, with 45 entries in the top 100; however, its restaurants do fail to break the top five. Yorkshire is the next highest ranked county, with nineteen entries, while Merseyside scoops third with thirteen.

Lancashire gastro pubs have a particularly good showing in the Top 100, with the likes of the White Swan at Fence (11th), Parker’s Arms (16th), and The Cartford Inn (28th) all making the top 30.

Masterchef alumni also feature heavily on the list, with Liz Cottam (Home, Leeds) Simon Wood (Wood, Manchester), Matt Healy (The Foundry, Leeds) and Anton Piotrowski (Roski, Liverpool) all making the cut.

Manchester fine-dining restaurants The French (6th) and Manchester House (13th), both make the top fifteen, while Stockport’s critically acclaimed restaurant, Where The Light Gets In, features at number nine.

Meanwhile, independent and affordable operations continue to challenge the more traditional establishments, with casual and cheap eats restaurants accounting for more than half the Top 100, while the 48 entries from rural and suburban locations – such as Chaat Cart in Marple and The Gimbals in Sowerby Bridge – show it’s no longer all about central city locations.

How it looks:

Confidentials publisher Mark Garner said: “The North West food scene is increasingly evolving and thriving, outperforming much of the UK. Yet the region, and the North in general, always feels underrepresented in most major restaurant guides. And that just won’t do.

“We’ve published thousands of restaurant reviews over the last seventeen years, and have been looking for a way to collect all that hard earned knowledge together to create something new and, most importantly, something useful. We think we’ve achieved that with the Top 100 Restaurants in the North West.”

The new guide has been compiled by a panel which includes Confidential’s team of restaurant critics, independent writers and food industry experts. The rankings have been allocated using Confidential’s Top 100 scoring system, taking into account Confidential’s own scored reviews (where appropriate), the panel’s visits and revisits, and the collective ratings of other trusted guidebooks and critics.

“What this guide shows is that there is an array of talent and creativity in the region, producing some exciting and top quality food,” added Mark Garner, “but the competition is tough out there, so the top 100 will need to stay on their toes to keep their place on the list.”

You can see the full Top 100 list below and at confidentialguides.com

confidentialguides.com