For the fourth year in a row, Cumbrian restaurant L’Enclume has claimed first place in The Good Food Guide. The restaurant was awarded the full 10 points due to the “soaring sophistication” of the dishes, created by chef Simon Rogan.
Rogan said: “It’s amazing news to be number one for the fourth year running. I’m really grateful to The Good Food Guide for their faith in awarding us top spot once more, and appreciative for the enormous effect is has on our business,”
“It’s a huge achievement but could not happen without a massive team effort. For me, it’s a privilege to lead this outstanding group of people,”
“There’s no doubt that L’Enclume is approaching the most creative period in its history, and achieving the quality I dreamed of when I first opened its doors.”
Guide editors also praised his tasting menu, which has 17 courses offering “clever elements of technical wizardry to keep the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ going with cooking forever breaking new ground.”
In close second was Restaurant Nathan Outlaw based in Cornwall. The seafood restaurant also received a perfect 10 score.
In order to compile the list, The Good Food Guide combines mystery inspections, reader feedback and editor appraisals in order to score each establishment. In order to receive a perfect 10, a restaurant must have “just perfect dishes, showing faultless technique at every service.”
The guide also aims to explore previously unknown and new ventures to highlight food excellence.
The Good Food Guide Editor Elizabeth Carter says: “From yurts to campsites, bike shops to shipping containers, the vessel in which a good restaurant sails is no barrier to entry in our guide.
“We look for great food wherever we can find it – and that’s sometimes in highly unusual places. With an army of Good Food Guide readers on the ground, and our inspectors scouring the length and breadth of the UK, we check out as many recommendations as we can to make sure that no stone is unturned and no good eating opportunity missed; and this year we’ve found some excellent cooking in some very unexpected places, giving even greater choice to our readers.”
