This is partly by way of an update to an article from mid-2008 which reviewed the top 10 restaurants in Britain: the Britain extract from the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants (at a time when ten restaurants from Britain featured in the list!) was compared to a list of restaurants in Britain scored by three of the leading guides.

This time round – for the start of 2012 – we take the 2012 editions of Michelin, The Good Food Guide and The AA Restaurant Guide and score each restaurant as follows: 6 points per Michelin star, 3 points per Good Food Guide mark out of ten and 2 points per AA Rosettes.  To continue the theme of subjective list comparisons, the top 20 extract from the second annual Harden’s sponsored Sunday Times Top 200 Restaurants of Britain is reviewed.  All three of the guides and the Harden’s list were published by the end of October 2011.

So, The Harden’s Sponsored Sunday Times Top 20 is as follows:-

12. Midsummer House, Cambridge

13. John Campbell at Coworth Park, Ascot, Berkshire

14. Yorke Arms, Yorkshire

15. The Square, London

16. L’Enclume, Cumbria

17. The Hamborough, Isle of Wight

18. Nathan Outlaw, Rock, Cornwall

19. Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, London

20. The Kitchin, Leith, Edinbirgh

The Harden’s Guide is published annually and the public (those that are registered to their website) respond to a spring survey where they mark restaurants out of five for each of food, service and ambiance.  It does not stop there, as these restaurants are marked in comparison to those in a similar price bracket thereby ensuring a ‘fairer’ value judgement guide.  It is, you will also note, one driven by the public and those diners that have registered with Harden’s.

The three guides’ list is provided below and then both may be examined in general terms:-

1. Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire.  3 Michelin Stars, 10/10 Good Food Guide, 5 AA Rosettes. Points 58

2. Gordon Ramsay, London.  3 Michelin Stars 9/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 53

3. Sat Baines, Nottingham, Notts. 2 Michelin Stars 9/10 Good Food Guide, 5 AA Rosettes. Points 49

4. Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, London. 3 Michelin Stars, 8/10 Good Food Guide, 3 AA Rosettes. Points 48

5. Waterside Inn, Bray, Berkshire. 3 Michelin Stars 7/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 47

6. Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Oxford, Oxon. 2 Michelin Stars, 8/10 Good Food Guide 5 AA Rosettes. Points 46

6. Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, London. 2 Michelin Stars, 8/10 Good Food Guide, 5 AA Rosettes. Points 46

8. Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham, Glos. 2 Michelin Stars, 8/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 44

8. The Square, London. 2 Michelin Stars, 8/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 44

8. Hibiscus, London. 2 Michelin Stars, 8/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 44

8. Whatley Manor, Malmesbury, Wiltshire. 2 Michelin Stars, 8/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 44

12. L’Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria. 1 Michelin Star, 9/10 Good Food Guide, 5 AA Rosettes. Points 43

13. Le Gavroche, London. 2 Michelin Stars, 8/10 Good Food Guide, 3 AA Rosettes. Points 42

13. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Rock, Cornwall. 2 Michelin Stars, 8/10 Good Food Guide, 3 AA Rosettes. Points 42

15. Midsummer House, Cambridge, Cambs. 2 Michelin Stars, 7/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 41

15. Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, Auchterarder. 2 Michelin Stars, 7/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 41

15. Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon. 2 Michelin Stars, 7/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 41

18. The Ledbury, London. 2 Michelin Stars, 7/10 Good Food Guide, 3 AA Rosettes.  Points 39

19. Helene Darroze at the Connaught, London. 2 Michelin Stars, 6/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 38

19. Danesfield House, Marlow, Bucks. 1 Michelin Star, 8/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 38

19. Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh, Sc. 1 Michelin Star, 8/10 Good Food Guide, 4 AA Rosettes. Points 38

The Michelin Guide awards stars to less than 200 restaurants in Britain and Ireland – a fraction in the region of one quarter of 1% of the restaurants in Britain.  The vast majority of these have but one star, just seventeen two stars and only four three stars.  The three Guides’ focus is purely on the food on a plate – that is the preparation, conception and execution of dishes produced with the best, freshest possible ingredients.  Other factors such as service and ambiance are good to have but are only reflected in the restaurant descriptions (where there are any) and not in the calculation of the marks.  Michelin have a separate symbol – knives and forks – that covers warmth of welcome and service.

Another factor that Michelin, The Good Food Guide and The AA Restaurant Guide have in common is their results are driven by a team of (largely) anonymous inspectors, whose role is to rank a restaurant’s quality – to provide a professional benchmark. The Michelin Guide in particular has long been revered by the chef/restaurateur side of the equation, as it has represented the accolade with most gravitas, while at the same time having a track record of filling covers in the restaurant.

So how do the lists compare?  In a way it is like agreeing upon a large complicated contract and then discussing only the fine print.  Why?  All of those restaurants in the Harden’s/Sunday Times list would feature in the top 1% of restaurants as described by the three guides’ formula.  Nineteen of the twenty have at least one Michelin star (the Knightsbridge based, largely seafood restaurant, One-O-One is the only exception – even so, One-O-One’s marks in the other guides are high (Good Food Guide 6/10, AA 3 Rosettes)). There may be some truth in the statement that people are, to an extent, led by the guides and report back positively to Harden’s on those restaurants that have been recommended in the first place?  All the restaurants across both lists are also in the top end of the highest price bracket so Harden’s argument about value statements, where restaurants are compared in price-bracket and therefore the results provide the ‘most bang for your buck‘ is somewhat muted.

Perhaps if there is a theme to be found over time, it is that in 2012 we are entering a new cycle, where innovation in cuisine has its place rather than being in a position of dominance.  There is also possibly a return to new-classical French-led cooking in these lists that was less apparent a few years ago – a trend an odds with the ever expanding choice of high quality international cuisines available in Britain.

A final few thoughts before closing:  In the information age, the watchwords of the internet are interactiveness and responsiveness.  The Hardens/Sunday Times list scores on the interactiveness but like Michelin, The Good Food Guide and The AA Restaurant Guide they are date in time, snapshot ratings.  It might be argued that they are out of date the day they are published.  The web is awash with real time reviews of each and every restaurant – many by discerning diners, with a little effort you could find good quality, amateur critics whose taste matches your own.  Should the guides maintain the status quo then surely they are always playing catch-up.  Couple this with the downward pressure on print media compared to the ever-spiralling demand for digital media then maybe tough times are ahead for all of these publications.

No doubt, however, there is a significant place for the quality restaurant guides and they may adapt to bring to market new products that will capture the essence of fine dining in a medium that reflects the demands of our age.