What it costs to eat at the UK's most-talked about restaurants
From fish and chips to French cuisine, we've totted up the cheapest meals from Harden's 2012 top 20.
Harden’s latest annual round-up of the UK restaurant scene has just been published. It’s now known as the UK Restaurant Survey, not Guide, to emphasise the fact that it’s compiled from reports from over 8,000 contributors.
The usual, admittedly fabulous, suspects – La Gavroche, the Ledbury, Gidleigh Park, Alain Roux’s Waterside Inn – topped the restaurant rankings.
What we thought was more interesting was the list of the 20 most talked-about restaurants. We particularly noted the Magpie Cafe in Whitby has once again made the list, although it has fallen from joint eighth to joint 17th this year.
Now you have to admit the Magpie, despite its well-deserved reputation for its fish and chips, looks slightly incongruous in the company of Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons and the Waterside Inn.
So we thought it would be interesting to see just how cheaply you can eat at the UK’s most talked-about restaurants.
We discounted the Fat Duck, despite it being number one on the list, straight off the bat as its tasting menu comes in at £180 a head.
But here’s how much it would cost you right now to eat a minimum of two courses at the other restaurants, listed cheapest first. For simplicity’s sake (and because not everyone drinks alcohol, particularly at this time of year), we’ve excluded drinks.
And we’ve listed each restaurant’s placing in the Harden’s most talked-about list in brackets:
(10) Hand & Flowers, Marlow - £15 (two-course set lunch)
(Joint 17th) Magpie Cafe, Whitby - £16.90 (two courses from menu)
(12) Hix Oyster & Fish House, Lyme Regis - £17 (two-course set menu)
(Joint 13th) The Star Inn, Harome - £20 (two-course set lunch)
(Joint 13th) The Walnut Tree, Llanddewi Skirrid - £20 (two-course set lunch)
(20) Hambleton Hall, Rutland - £20 (two-course set lunch)
(11) The Vineyard at Stockcross, Newbury - £23 (two-course meal from lunch menu)
(Joint 8th) Chapter One, Locksbottom - £23.50 (three-course set lunch)
(Joint 13th) Yang Sing, Manchester - £25 (starter, main and rice from A La Carte menu)
(5) Northcote Manor, Langho - £26 (three-course seasonal lunch)
(Joint 8th) The Kitchin, Edinburgh - £26.50 (three-course set lunch)
(16) The Sportsman, Whitstable - £27 (two courses from daily menu)
(4) Seafood Restaurant, Padstow - £29.95 (three-course weekday lunch)
(6) Hinds Head, Bray - £31 (two-course lunch from A La Carte menu)
(7) Gidleigh Park, Chagford - £32 (two-course winter lunch)
(19) The Yorke Arms, Ramsgill-in-Nidderdale - £35 (set lunch)
(3) Waterside Inn, Bray - £42.50 (two-course le menu gastronomique Wednesday to Friday lunchtimes)
(Joint 17th) L’Enclume, Cartmel - £69 (set menu)
(2) Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton - £75 (five-course tasting menu weekday lunchtimes)
So perhaps no real surprises that the most talked-about places come in at the pricier end of the spectrum. But only three places came in at over £35 a head, suggesting that you can still have a great meal without breaking the bank, a very important consideration in Austerity Britain. And the cheapest has two Michelin stars.
It’s worth noting that a few of the restaurants have special deals on during January and February. So if you want to sample some of the restaurants that are getting foodies really talking, there’s arguably no time like the present.
Which restaurants do you feel offer the best value for money? Share your thoughts in the Comments box below.
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