RESTAURANT Andrew Fairlie at The Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire has been crowned the UK’s top restaurant in a leading annual diners poll.
Scotland’s world famous restaurant hailed – ‘a memory to be treasured’ – shot to the top spot for its luxurious ingredients prepared with ‘impeccable skill and creativity’ and attentive staff who are ‘knowledgeable in all respects’.
An impressive eight Scottish restaurants made it into the newly-released top 100 list. The Kitchin in Edinburgh is ranked 5th in the UK, while other notable inclusions are: Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh (14); The Little Chartroom, Edinburgh (31); Cail Bruich (50) and Unalome by Graeme Cheevers (68) in Glasgow.
Edinburgh was also revealed to be the UK city with the most listings in the Top 500 outside of London, with no fewer than 17 restaurants making it into the elite ranking.
The 32nd edition of the Harden’s guide, published this week (ISBN: 978-1916076150, price £18.99: also available as apps for Apple or Android), is now the only UK restaurant guide sold in bookshops 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 3,000 diners. Restaurants at all price levels are listed: from street food vendors to the country’s most ambitious dining rooms, with 2,800 restaurants listed in total.
Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden’s, commented:
“Andrew Fairlie may sadly no longer be with us but his spirit lives on in this restaurant which bears his name. Reaching the top spot this year is a huge credit to his long-time lieutenants, head chef Stephen McLaughlin and general manager Dale Dewsbury.
“It has been an excellent year for Scotland’s representation in the Harden’s Top 100 as a whole, with restaurants in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perthshire and Fife featuring. This, along with Edinburgh’s fantastic placement as second city with the most listings in the Top 500, is testament to the superb quality and value offered by the country’s restaurant scene.”
