Review of the 2010 edition of the Good Food Guide
All meals described in the 2009 Good Food Guide have been paid for, and the reviews conducted anonymously. It's therefore as unbiased a view as you could hope to get of the best British and Northern Ireland restaurants.
All restaurants are rated with marks out of ten, although only one restaurant receives the ultimate 10/10 accolade, the first maximum score to be awarded since 2005. No prizes for guessing that this is Heston Blumenthal's phenomenal Fat Duck at Bray in Berkshire. The only restaurant to score 9/10 in the new Good Food Guide is also no surprise: Gordon Ramsay.
Twelve restaurants are rated 8/10, the majority being in southern England (including Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall). The two exceptions are:
- Restaurant Martin Wishart in Edinburgh
- L'Enclume at Cartmel in Cumbria
The layout of the Good Food Guide has been livened up in recent years, partly by the inclusion of several short features and brief interviews with top chefs. Interviews in the new 2009 edition include Nathan Outlaw, Tom Aikens, Jean Christoph Novelli, Michel Roux Jnr, Shaun Hill, Ruth Rogers, Rose Gray, and Raymond Blanc.
Some of the features in the new Good Food Guide cover:
- Which restaurants have the best beer lists
- Which are best for seasonal food
- Which are tops for child-friendly dining
- The best organic restaurants
- Tap or bottled water?
One of the plus points of the Good Food Guide is that it gives the reviews room to breathe. There are mainly two reviews per page, sometimes three, with a large and clear typeface and lots of white space. The result is that the book is well over 600 pages, so is definitely a reference book and not one you can slip into the pocket. But the clarity makes it easy to use, there are plenty of maps, full contact and other practical information is given for all the restaurants, and most importantly, the reviewers have the space to, as it were, get their teeth into the food.
A typical Good Food review begins with a description of the restaurant, or even the owners, before meandering through the menu and lovingly – or critically – describing each mouthful. The lengthy write-up of the Fat Duck has the reader's mouth watering and is entertaining too.
The Editor of the Good Food Guide, Elizabeth Carter, has also picked out five rising star chefs to watch out for, perhaps to become the next Gordon Ramsay or Heston Blumenthal. These are:
- Nathan Outlaw at Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall
- Jason Atherton at Maze in London
- Shaun Rankin of Bohemia in Jersey
- Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House in Marlow
- Michael Wignall of the Latymer in Surrey
If you tour the UK then the Good Food Guide is an essential buy, to keep on top of the thriving British and Northern Ireland restaurant scene.
The Good Food Guide is published by Which? Ltd and costs £16.99.
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Mike Gerrard - Mike is an award-winning travel writer who has worked for National Geographic, the London Times, and many other clients. ...
