Scots restaurants take top spots in Good Food Guide
WITH our love of deep-fried delicacies and fizzy drinks, we Scots are not exactly world famous for our haute cuisine.
But that may be about to change, as five Scottish establishments have made it on to a list of the top 50 best restaurants in the UK.
Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles took the crown as Scotland’s top-scoring eatery, ranking at number nine, with a cooking score of eight out of 10, in the 2017 Good Food Guide.
Meanwhile Castle Terrace in Edinburgh, run by chef-patron Dominic Jack, was the country’s newest addition to the top 50 this year, coming in at number 22.
Other Scottish restaurants that made the coveted list were The Peat Inn in Fife (ranked 20), along with Tom Kitchin’s eponymous Kitchin (ranked 23) and Restaurant Martin Wishart (ranked 39). The Good Food Guide (GFG), owned by Waitrose, lists the very best restaurants and eateries across Britain and is highly regarded by both chefs and diners.
Each restaurant earns its position by its score in The GFG, editor appraisal, expert inspections and strength of reader feedback.
The guide was first published in 1951 listing ‘600 places throughout Britain where you can rely on a good meal at a reasonable price’.
Elizabeth Carter, Waitrose GFG editor, said of Restaurant Andrew Fairlie: ‘Unimpeachable ingredients are at the heart of Fairlie’s culinary endeavours, from the Gartmorn Farm duck served with ceps to the seasonal pickings from his flourishing two-acre garden. At the stoves, he’s a master technician, eloquently schooled in the refined traditions of French haute cuisine, but applying a modern sensibility to dishes.’
The top restaurant in the whole of the UK this year is L’Enclume in Cumbria, which scored a perfect ten and held on to its number one spot for the fourth year running.
Glasgow nearly doubled its number of entries, from only seven last year to 13 in 2017.
Miss Carter said: ‘The redevelopment of the Finnieston area has helped to give a real boost to the Glaswegian dining scene, with many of the new venues offering a distinctly urban, modern approach, including stripped-back decor and small-plate concepts.’
Also among the best new entries in Scotland are Aizle in Edinburgh, Birlinn on the Isle of Skye, Eusebi Deli in Glasgow and North Port in Perth.
Singled out for praise in the longest serving category are Ubiquitous Chip in Glasgow – which has featured in the guide for 45 years – Airds Hotel in Port Appin, Argyll, Ostlers Close in Cupar, Fife, The Three Chimneys on Skye, and Crannog in Fort William.
Three restaurants housed in shipping containers feature in this year’s guide: Cook House in Newcastle, Craftworks Street Kitchen in Truro, Cornwall, and Kricket in Brixton, London.
There is also a service station: Gloucester Services on the M5 is an ‘independently run motorway pit-stop’ with a gourmet café that is ‘committed to locally sourced food’.