The best restaurants in the UK announcedHeston Blumenthal scores the perfect 10

19 August 2009

Blumenthal's restaurant gets top marks in the new Good Food Guide

The Good Food Guide has announced the two best restaurants in the UK.

In the 2010 guide, Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, scores a perfect 10 out of 10, while Gordon Ramsay's flagship restaurant, at Royal Hospital Road, London, scores 9 out of 10.

The super chefs have had their ups and downs this year: Blumenthal had to close The Fat Duck early in 2009 due to an unexplained outbreak of norovirus; while Ramsay's international business empire has taken a battering during the economic downturn - but The Good Food Guide finds their cooking as good as ever.

Good Food Guide praise

Elizabeth Carter, consultant editor of The Good Food Guide, said: 'It’s been a tough year for all chefs, but these super chefs are still at the top of their game and producing superlative food. It’s difficult to fault The Fat Duck’s impeccable standards and Gordon Ramsay’s modern French cooking is perfectly executed, too.'

The Fat Duck gets an ecstatic review, with Heston Blumenthal likened to a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci. Customers’ rapturous enthusiasm is noted: some rave about spectacular oak moss and truffle toast; others drool over the fabulous 'roast foie gras benzaldehyde'. Though it’s an expensive restaurant, it’s worth it for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Gordon Ramsay also gets a glowing report. The cooking at the Royal Hospital Road restaurant is 'as haute as cuisine comes' and you get 'labour and effort, as well as taste and flavour, for your money'. The service is praised as second to none, especially the practice of catering for those who want to drink inexpensively.

The Good Food Guide is published on 8 September 2009.