Fraiche named Harden's Best Restaurant 2020

Oxton restaurant Fraiche was named the best restaurant in the UK in the Harden's Best Restaurants 2020 guide published today.

At the top of the list is chef Marc Wilkinson's modern French restaurant in Wirral, Merseyside, Fraiche, which opened 15 years ago, holds 4 AA-Rosettes and has retained a Michelin star for the past twelve years.

This is despite the fact that the chef, who mans the kitchen alone, was planning on relocating the restaurant to Liverpool late last year, before going back on his decision.

Commenting on this year's guide, Harden's co-founder Peter Harden said: “This is an exciting time for the quality UK restaurant scene, with a feeling that expectations amongst diners continues to rise ever higher and a sense that the trade is rising to the challenge of meeting those expectations."

"For many years now it has felt hard to keep up with the pace of change and innovation amidst the capital's ever-changing restaurant scene, and this dynamism seems now to be ever-more widespread beyond the borders of London.”

"Particular congratulations to Marc Wilkinson with impressing our diner survey so much. Marc's dedication to providing the very best in his extremely small and personal Wirral venture is emblematic of the personal passion that’s driving the continuing improvement and success of the UK restaurant trade."

Based on 50,000 reports from a survey of 7,500 diners, the Harden's Guide, celebrating its 29th year of publication, is a reference for fine dining restaurants across the UK.

London restaurants, as always, featured heavily, with 41 of the top 100 located in the capital, but the number entries and top scoring restaurants in Edinburgh weren't far behind, at 60 and 20 respectively, making it the UK's second best restaurant city.

Other top-scoring cities were Brighton, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and York.

Restaurants that shon in this year's Harden's Guide were London's The Five Fields and the recently Michelin-starred Mana in Manchester, Sat Bains' eponymous Nottingham restaurant, Mark Birchall's Moor Hall, The Ledbury, Bubbledogs, Restaurant Clare Smyth and Casamia. 

To see the full list or purchase the guide, visit the Harden's website.