Winteringham Fields tops Harden's table

Two restaurants that have closed and one that was recently put up for sale have made the top ten list in the latest Harden's UK restaurant guide. The new edition of Harden's UK Restaurants 2003 has rated the cooking at Winteringham Fields, Annie and Germain Schwab's two Michelin-starred restaurant that was put up for sale earlier this month, at number one.

La Terrasse in Sandgate, Kent, which closed last month, made third place and Michael’s Nook in Grasmere, Cumbria, which closed in April, took joint eighth position. Co-editor of the guide Richard Harden said: 'The extraordinary rate of closures among restaurants right at the top of the market emphasises just what personal ventures they usually are. Even for those chefs and restaurateurs with the skill and determination to rise into the super league, the sheer slog can be just too draining.'

Gordon Ramsay’s eponymous Chelsea restaurant took second place in the Harden's list. The list of ten restaurants with the 'very best food in the UK' was compiled using reports from more than 100,000 readers and restaurant reviewers.
Harden’s top ten restaurants:
1. Winteringham Fields, Winteringham, Lincolnshire
2. Gordon Ramsay, Chelsea, London
3. La Terrasse, Sandgate, Kent
4. Monsieur Max, Hampton Hill, London
5. Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire
6. Restaurant One-O-One, Knightsbridge, London
7. Merchant House, Ludlow, Shropshire
8. Michael’s Nook, Grasmere, Cumbria
8. Old Chesil Rectory, Winchester, Hampshire
10. Northcote Manor, Langho, Lancashire

The new edition of Harden’s is published on 28 November.