• L’Enclume in Cartmel voted to number 1 spot in Harden’s Top 100 Best UK Restaurants, followed by Outlaw’s New Road in Port Isaac, and Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland.

• Edinburgh and Cambridge are the cities with most Top 100 listings outside of London.

• The capital’s dominance of the Top 100 list is the weakest the guide has ever recorded

Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria has been voted the UK’s best restaurant in the carefully curated annual Harden’s Top 100 Best UK Restaurants diners’ poll.

The much-loved Lake District dining destination has featured in the Harden’s Top 100 every year since the list first launched in 2011, but this is the first time it has reached the top spot. Feedback from diners hailed it as “a completely faultless experience” marshalling the finest local produce – much of it from Simon’s ‘Our Farm’ on the surrounding hillsides – to provide “a symphony of beautifully orchestrated food” in a 17-course meal.

Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden’s, comments: “L’Enclume has always been consistent in its top quality offering and it was wonderful to hear the recent news that Paul Burgalières, who has been a key figure in L’Enclume’s evolution over the past six years, has now been appointed Executive Chef. Coming in at £300+ it’s certainly one of the higher priced restaurants in our listings, but we see none of the resistance from diners with regards to paying those prices that we’ve witnessed at other top establishments. Those who’ve made the pilgrimage think it’s money very well spent.”

Chef Owner Simon Rogan says: “My team and myself are honoured that L’Enclume has been rated the number 1 restaurant in the UK by diners on behalf of Harden’s. To have been featured in Harden’s Top 100 every year since its inception in 2011 is an amazing achievement and being awarded the top spot for the 2024 edition is a testament to the amazing year we’ve had.”

Paul Burgalières adds: “I am very proud of everything we have achieved at L’Enclume over the past couple of years. To take the position of Executive Chef has been a great honour, and I am excited that our work at the restaurant has achieved such a high level of recognition.”

The 33rd edition of the Harden’s guide, published this week (ISBN:978- 1916076174, price £20: also available as apps for Apple or Android), is one of only two surviving established UK restaurant guides made available in print, and 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.

Newcomers Solstice (Newcastle), Grace & Savour (Hampton in Arden) and Ugly Butterfly (St Ives) are some of the UK’s newest eateries to have swiftly hit this year’s list, along with Bouchon Racine, Restaurant St Barts and Alex Dilling in London.

Strikingly, the number of Top 100 restaurants based in the capital has fallen to an all-time low. Usually expected to make up between 45-50% of the final rankings, this year only 36 of the UK’s best restaurants are located in London.

Peter Harden comments: “London’s grip on the Top 100 list is the weakest that we have ever recorded (the lowest previous figure was 41 in the 2020 guide). Whilst 12 months is too little data for firm pronouncements, this swing to the shires may reflect the increasing excellence of dining out across the country.”

Yet it is not regional cities that are driving any swing from London, but destination dining in scenic locations as demonstrated by this year’s top placed establishments.

“Unlike in other European countries, our greatest cities still tend to lack depth when it comes to quality restaurants at the top end,” says Peter. “The closest any city comes to London’s 36 in the Top 100 is Edinburgh and Cambridge with just 3 apiece. England’s largest cities like Birmingham and in particular Manchester have a large number of total entries in the guide, but proportionately fewer at the top end in the Top 100 or Top 500. With 8 entries in the Top 500, Brighton beats either location in this department. Top dining in the sticks is often just that, with Top 100 restaurants outside London often to be found in leafy touristic locations such as this year’s winner, L’Enclume in The Lake District; or the number 2 on the list: Outlaw’s New Road in scenic Port Isaac.”

The Harden’s 100 ranking of the UK’s best restaurants in full

The Top 100 restaurants derived from the 30,000 reports with ratings submitted by 2,500 diners who contributed to the Harden’s annual survey.

1 L’Enclume, Cartmel (8)

2 Outlaw’s New Road, Port Isaac (44)

3 Andrew Fairlie, Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder (1)

4 Paul Ainsworth at No6, Padstow (29)

5 Endo at The Rotunda, TV Centre, London (4)

6 Moor Hall, Aughton (77)

7 Core by Clare Smyth, London (6)

8 Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh (14)

9 Midsummer House, Cambridge (75)

10 Da Terra, Town Hall Hotel, London (11)

11 Lympstone Manor, Exmouth (24)

12 A Wong, London (36)

13 The Kitchin, Edinburgh (5)

14 Hjem, Wall (15)

15 Solstice, Newcastle upon Tyne

16 Cail Bruich, Glasgow (50)

17 Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms, Eglwys Fach (37)

18 Sorrel, Dorking (13)

19 Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library, London (93)

20 Meadowsweet, Holt (38)

21 The Ledbury, London (39)

22 Alex Dilling Café Royal, London

23 Restaurant Twenty Two, Cambridge (62)

24 Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen, Port Isaac (63)

25 PLU, London (18)

26 Maru, London (9)

27 Gravetye Manor, East Grinstead

28 Roots, York (41)

29 The Five Fields, London (12)

30 Latymer, Pennyhill Park Hotel, Bagshot (46)

31 Ugly Butterfly, St Ives

32 The Forest Side, Grasmere (27)

33 Anglo, London (34)

34 The Black Swan, Oldstead (65)

35 Etch, Brighton

36 La Dame de Pic London, London

37 Frog by Adam Handling, London (66)

38 Sushi Tetsu, London

39 Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham

40 Muse, London (20)

41 Waterside Inn, Bray (3)

42 Adam’s, Birmingham (17)

43 Hambleton Hall, Hambleton (26)

44 Behind, London (85)

45 SOLA, London (32)

46 Lumière, Cheltenham (21)

47 Pine, East Wallhouses (10)

48 Where The Light Gets In, Stockport

49 Morston Hall, Morston (35)

50 Club Gascon, London (47)

51 The Sportsman, Seasalter (70)

52 Bohemia, Jersey (61)

53 Restaurant Roots, Southbourne

54 Chez Bruce, London (53)

55 The Ritz, London (91)

56 Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Great Milton (16)

57 The Fat Duck, Bray (96)

58 Pied à Terre, London (71)

59 Hakkasan Mayfair, London

60 Paris House, Woburn

61 Barrafina, London

62 The Wilderness, Birmingham (92)

63 The Ninth London, London

64 Fhior, Edinburgh

65 Restaurant St. Barts, London

66 Otto’s, London

67 BiBi, London (88)

68 Evelyn’s Table at The Blue Posts, London (2)

69 The Small Holding, Goudhurst (98)

70 Northcote, Langho

71 Bulrush, Bristol

72 Riva, London

73 Vanderlyle, Cambridge

74 White Swan at Fence, Fence

75 Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall, Grantley

76 The Dining Room, Beaverbrook, Leatherhead

77 Woven by Adam Smith at Coworth Park, Ascot

78 John’s House, Mountsorrel

79 Salt, Stratford upon Avon

80 The Three Chimneys, Dunvegan

81 The Neptune, Old Hunstanton

82 Stark, Broadstairs

83 SY23, Aberystwyth (54)

84 The Fordwich Arms, Fordwich

85 Wheelers Oyster Bar, Whitstable

86 Allium at Askham Hall, Penrith

87 Sollip, London (82)

88 The Whitebrook, Restaurant with Rooms, Whitebrook (78)

89 Wilson’s, Bristol (87)

90 The Nut Tree Inn, Murcott

91 Bouchon Racine, London

92 The Fernery, Grove of Narberth, Dyfed

93 Pollen Street Social, London

94 Kitchen Table, London (25)

95 Hide & Fox, Saltwood

96 Sabor, London

97 Mana, Manchester (73)

98 Nobu, Metropolitan Hotel, London (40)

99 Clarke’s, London

100 Grace & Savour, Hampton-in-Arden