The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Nine-seat eatery ‘best UK dining experience’
Small sushi restaurant in London gets top mention in UK-wide diners’ poll
Two Courier Country restaurants are among a handful of Scottish entrants in a hugely prestigious and respected guide.
Andrew Fairlie of Gleneagles fame and the Peat Inn in Fife are included in Harden’s Best UK Restaurants guide, which was drawn up following a poll involving thousands of diners.
The Peat Inn is 94th on the list, with Andrew Fairlie taking 35th.
Top place went to a £385-a-head sushi restaurant in London, while Manchester was highlighted as the fastest improving city for food lovers.
The Araki in the capital’s Mayfair, which seats nine people and recently gained three Michelin stars, beat Bristol’s Casamia and The Ledbury in London in the poll.
Harden’s described Edinburgh as “still unrivalled outside London” with 55 listings and 13 restaurants among the top 100 scorers, including Restaurant Martin Wishart in ninth place, The Kitchin (47) and Norn (66). Bath and Bristol climbed to joint seventh place from joint 11th for their number of top scoring restaurants, while Wales achieved five rankings in the top 100.
The 27th annual list was based on a survey of 8,500 diners who contributed 50,000 reviews of their restaurant experiences. Guide editor and co-founder Peter Harden said: “Manchester is one of the fastest-growing cities and on the back of that is coming the services you expect to see in a thriving city.
“On the other hand it doesn’t have the champions to make the top 100.
“Famously, Manchester has not had a Michelin star since 1977 at The French restaurant at the Midland Hotel.
“It still lacks the type of restaurant you really have to tick off your list.”
Mr Harden said The Araki’s success was down to its “fabulous level of attention and ingredient quality”.
“We often find that smaller restaurants do better because the chef can really focus on your meal and your experience.”