Proving how easy it is to manipulate the system, last week The Shed at Dulwich was rated Number One on TripAdvisor - it was a fake restaurant!
Trying to restore people's faith in online reviews, Harden's this week released it's Best UK Restaurants 2018 list, the first time it has done this independently from The Sunday Times, who made the ranking the basis of their annual Food List supplement for 6 years from 2010 to 2015.
The Harden's Best UK Restaurants 2018 top 10
1. The Araki, London
2. Casamia, Bristol
3. The Ledbury, London
4. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac
5. The Fat Duck, Bray
6. Marianne, London
7. Waterside Inn, Bray
8. Black Swan, Oldstead
9. Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh
10. The Clove Club, London
The guide's editor and co-founder Peter Harden said: "The same week that saw TripAdvisor crown a shed serving Iceland ready meals as London’s top restaurant, saw our guide name the capital’s The Araki as the UK’s best. Both systems rely on user feedback, but it is the careful collation of the Harden’s survey that creates authoritative rankings, rather than trash listings based on seemingly unfiltered garbage data.”
Harden's 27th annual poll of diners, surveyed 8,500 participants who contributed 50,000 reviews, which, as curated by the editors, form the basis for the inclusions and ratings in the guide.
Of the Harden’s 100 Best UK Restaurants the split in representation between London and non-London restaurants was exactly 50/50 (so long as you include Kew in the capital).
Manchester scores the guide's biggest total number of inclusions
With 66 entries Manchester scores the guide's biggest total number of inclusions outside the capital, and also shows the fastest growth in the number of ‘Top Scorers’, with 11 establishments rated very good or excellent at the price, more than double last year’s figure of five.
Edinburgh sees 13 restaurants amongst the guide's top scorers. Of these, three are in the Harden’s 100 including Restaurant Martin Wishart, The Kitchin and Norn. Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder, The Three Chimneys in Dunvegan and The Peat Inn Cupar also represent Scotland.
The UK’s Top-5 most interesting cities for dining out
Bath and Bristol both climb from 11 to 7 in terms of the number of Top Scorers in the guide. With Bristol featuring not only Casamia in the Harden’s 100 but also Wilks, it looks set to overtake Brighton (which has two more entries, but no restaurants in the Harden’s 100) in the UK’s Top-5 most interesting cities for dining out.
Birmingham is the only other large conurbation to feature two or more Harden’s 100 listings with Adams and Purnell’s. The city suffers by comparison with other locations in terms of the level of overall interest however, ranking only 13 in terms of number of overall entries in the guide. The only other location with two entries in the Harden’s 100 is foodie enclave Bray, with The Fat Duck and Waterside Inn.
Wales achieves five rankings in the Harden’s 100 which includes Gareth Ward at Ynshir in Eglwys Fach, Tyddyn Llan in Llandrillo, Llangoed Hall in Llyswen, Restaurant James Sommerin in Penarth and The Whitebrook in Whitebrook. Meanwhile, Cardiff enters the Top 20 cities in terms of number of entries in the guide.
The Harden's 100 ranking of the UK's best restaurants in full
1. The Araki, London
2. Casamia, Bristol
3. The Ledbury, London
4. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac
5. The Fat Duck, Bray
6. Marianne, London
7. Waterside Inn, Bray
8. Black Swan, Oldstead
9. Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh
10. The Clove Club, London
11. Gidleigh Park, Chagford
12. Fraiche, Oxton
13. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
14. Ormer Mayfair, London
15. Gareth Ward at Ynyshir, Eglwys Fach
16. Sushi Tetsu, London
17. Story, London
18. L’Enclume, Cartmel
19. Yorke Arms, Ramsgill-in-Nidderdale
20. The Greenhouse, London
21. Midsummer House, Cambridge
22. Le Gavroche, London
23. Pied à Terre, London
24. Sketch, Lecture Room, London
25. Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Great Milton
26. Umu, London
27. Bubbledogs, Kitchen Table, London
28. The Five Fields, London
29. Raby Hunt, Summerhouse
30. Moor Hall, Aughton
31. Bohemia, Jersey
32. Adam's, Birmingham
33. Texture, London
34. Estiatorio Milos, London
35. Andrew Fairlie, Auchterarder
36. Morston Hall, Morston
37. Hélène Darroze, London
38. Tyddyn Llan, Llandrillo
39. The Box Tree, Ilkley
40. Le Cochon Aveugle, York
41. Pétrus, London
42. Hedone, London
43. Hambleton Hall, Hambleton
44. The Neptune, Old Hunstanton
45. The Ritz, London
46. Roux at Parliament Square, London
47. The Kitchin, Edinburgh
48. Murano, London
49. Llangoed Hall, Llyswen
50. Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, Padstow
51. 108 Garage, London
52. Hakkasan Mayfair, London
53. Chez Bruce, London
54. Lympstone Manor, Exmouth
55. Jamavar, London
56. Hunan, London
57. The Forest Side, Grasmere
58. The Art School, Liverpool
59. André Garrett At Cliveden, Taplow
60. House of Tides, Newcastle upon Tyne
61. Artichoke, Amersham
62. 5 North Street, Winchcombe
63. Goodman City, London
64. Trishna, London
65. Wilks, Bristol
66. Norn, Edinburgh
67. One-O-One, London
68. The Three Chimneys, Dunvegan
69. Elystan Street, London
70. Typing Room, London
71. La Trompette, London
72. Where The Light Gets In, Stockport
73. The Man Behind The Curtain, Leeds
74. Restaurant James Sommerin, Penarth
75. Marcus, The Berkeley, London
76. The Whitebrook, Whitebrook
77. Pollen Street Social, London
78. Gauthier Soho, London
79. Zuma, London
80. La Petite Maison, London
81. Locanda Locatelli, London
82. Northcote, Langho
83. The Harrow at Little Bedwyn, Marlborough
84. The Woodspeen, Newbury
85. The Sportsman, Seasalter
86. The Glasshouse, Kew
87. Wiltons, London
88. Purnells, Birmingham
89. Coya, London
90. La Dame de Pic London, London
91. Roka, London
92. Seafood Restaurant, Padstow
93. The Seahorse, Dartmouth
94. The Peat Inn, Cupar
95. Scott’s, London
96. Stovell's, Chobham
97. Trinity, London
98. Portland, London
99. Min Jiang, London
100. Medlar, London
