Mark Birchall's Moor Hall named UK's Best Restaurant in SquareMeal top 100 list

Squaremeal has published its 100 Best UK restaurant list for 2019.

At the very top is Mark Birchall's Moor Hall, the two Michelin-star Lancashire restaurant which was also named best in the country at the National Restaurant Awards in June.

The SquareMeal list compiles reviews and public votes to rank

restaurants across the UK. It is followed by a list of London's best restaurants, which will be published later this year.

Upon receiving the award, Mark Birchall said: “Winning this award is a real boost for us. It’s a nice pat on the back. It shows that our guests really enjoy what we do and it’s great to have the focus on us up north. It means an awful lot to me.”

In second place is the UK's longest serving three Michelin star

restaurant, The Waterside Inn, followed by L'Enclume and Le Manoir.

In fifth place is Peter Sanchez-Iglesias' Bristol restaurant, Casamia, which topped last year's list, while 2017 winner The Sportsman is 6th.

It's looking up for Lancashire

Lancashire restaurants feature heavily on the list, as the North of England continues its ascent to the top of the UK's food scene.

Northcote, led by Lisa Goodwin-Allen climbed from 78th position to 21st, joined by The Freemasons at Wiswell, known for its good value, high quality food and Stosie Madi's gastropub, The Parkers Arms.

Altogether, 20 restaurants in the North made it to the list, up from 17 last year.

This, said SquareMeal editor, Ben McCormack, is a sign that "eating well does not end when you hit the M25.”

Indeed, the country's diversity of restaurants is reflected on the list: Tommy Banks' Yorkshire restaurant, Roots, made it to the 25th position a year after opening; Brad Carter's Michelin star restaurant, Carters of Moseley was placed in 67th position, and Hispi, Gary Usher's first Manchester restaurant, was ranked 74th.

“London will always be an island and it proudly has the greatest mix of restaurants in the world, but it’s in the regional dining offer that we can really see how we compare with other countries," said Ben McCormack.

“The more we see serious dining and wonderful service dished out across the country, the more we can appreciate quite how real and delicious the British food revolution is.”

Check out the full list here.

In these challenging times…

…the hospitality landscape has dramatically changed in the last two months, and with that our advertising revenues have all but expired, significantly impacting our business. Despite having to furlough a large portion of our staff, we are still delivering the valuable content and honest information, which hundreds of thousands of you come to The Staff Canteen for. We believe we have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs, are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector.

Your financial support means we remain independent and open to all. We were launched by a chef and remain the voice of chefs and other hospitality professionals.

We need your support to keep delivering the products and content that you love, giving you the platform to share opinions and inspiration. Every contribution whether big or small, means so much.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you