Manchester is the English city with the most entries in the Harden’s Best UK Restaurants 2025 guide as a whole with an impressive 47 making the grade
Meanwhile the North West of England have had a particularly strong showing in this year’s ratings. Cumbria is named as the county with the most Top 100 listings outside of London
In Manchester, Mana jumped from 97 last year to 29 as “the praise just keeps piling up year after year for Simon Martin’s Ancoats “fault-free” legend” rated “exceptional from start to finish”. Whilst further afield, Lancashire’s Top 100 mainstays are back for another year including: The White Swan at Fence (16), Northcote (70), and Moor Hall (74).
the five Cumbrian restaurants to star in this year’s elite Top 100 list, two are from the Lake District’s most renowned celebrity chef – and last year’s taker of the top spot – Simon Rogan. His L’Enclume spin-off Henrock, which occupies the light-filled dining room of Linthwaite Hotel, overlooking Windermere reached 56 and won a 5/5 food score with Chef Mark McCabe’s cooking “altogether highly recommended”.
And although L’Enclume has slipped down the list to 73 this year some diners still hailed it as the “best meal of my life, as simple as that!” with attention to detail including “Waiters move as though choreographed in a ballet” (“they even spotted that I was left handed and so laid out my place settings to suit me!”) that ultimately delivers “gastronomic paradise” overseen day-to-day by head chef, Paul Burgalières. In terms of niggles, the guide’s editors note that “concerns about prices have risen somewhat year on year. There is also a fear among a small minority that the experience risks becoming so “polished to perfection” as to be almost “perfunctory”. The main take-away though? “Simply the best!”
The county’s best performer was The Old Stamp House in Ambleside at number 37. Ryan (chef) and Craig (manager) Blackburn’s well-established destination located in the former office of poet William Wordsworth from the days when he was the local stamp distributor offers a ‘Journey around Cumbria’ tasting menu hailed as “superb food” all delivered by “knowledgeable and warm” service. James Cross’ Lake Road Kitchen in Ambleside (54) and Heft in Newton in Cartmel complete the set with Kevin and Nicola Tickle’s “staggeringly good” pub even being nominated by a couple of diners as their best meal of the year.
Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden’s, comments: “There has been a noticeable difference in the increase of restaurants entering into the higher price bands outside of London compared to last year. We can see significantly higher price increases of between 16%-21% for the number of restaurants in the £100, £150 and £200+ price brackets outside of London, compared to between 10% -15% in the capital. This data adds to a general feeling that London is still feeling the after effects of the pandemic and – in particular – quieter Mondays and Fridays caused by working from home, while beyond the capital things are ticking along a little more strongly.”
Commenting on the North West’s performance in this year’s Harden’s Best UK Restaurants 2025 guide and Top 100 list Peter says: “The Lake District is not short of good places to eat and as a result Cumbria is a culinary county to be reckoned with and many of our diners find their personal favourite dining destination of the year within its well-stocked borders. Manchester has also shown a real breadth of quality restaurants with a huge number making it into the guide; no mean feat in itself. Manchester’s 47 with Liverpool’s 19 means that the North West is one of the main contributing regions to the nation’s finest eating establishments! Whichever way you slice it, the North West is packed with exceptional dining experiences that leaves foodies spoiled for choice.”
Harden’s Best UK Restaurants 2025, £20, is available in all good bookshops, including Waterstone’s and Amazon.com, and from www.hardens.com.
