Region boasts top restaurant, top pub and 88 entries in the Guide.
The North West is celebrating a sterling performance in this years Good Food Guide(1), published by Waitrose, which has seen its eateries pick up the number one spots in the Guides Top 50 Restaurants and Top 50 Pubs listings.
In total 88 establishments in the North West have made it into the prestigious pages of the bestselling Guide, with 11 new entries from the region making it into the 2015 Guide, which is published on the 8th September(2).
Simon Rogan is dominating dining in the region; in addition to The French grabbing the number 14 slot in the Top 50 list, his restaurant LEnclume in Cartmel, Cumbria has for the second time this year taken the prestigious number one place in the ranking, pipping Heston Blumenthals The Fat Duck to the post and making LEnclume the best restaurant in the country, according to the Good Food Guide 2015.
Freemasons at Wiswell in Lancashire has the triple accolade of being ranked as number one in this years first ever Top 50 Pub listing, picking up the Editors Award for Pub of the Year and reaching position 41 on the Top 50 Restaurants list - the first ever pub to achieve a Score 7 in the Guide. Two other pubs from the area have also made the list - The White Hart in Lydgate, Greater Manchester at position 31, and The Duke of York Inn in Grindleton, Lancashire at 45,
Three other restaurants in the North West have made it on to the Top 50 Restaurant listing Fraiche in Merseyside at number 17, Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor in Cheshire at 46 and Northcote in Lancashire at number 49 (a new entry to the Top 50 list).
The other new entries in the North West(3) who have landed a spot in Waitrose Good Food Guide 2015 are:
Stolen Lamb and La Popote in Cheshire; Old Stamp House, Pig & Whistle, Mrs Millers and Oak Bank Hotel in Cumbria; Manchester House, Lilys Vegetarian Indian Cuisine and Eagle & Child in Greater Manchester; The Parkers Arms in Lancashire and Bistro 21 in Southport, Merseyside
The region is also home to some of the longest serving restaurants in the Good Food Guide(3);Quince & Medlar in Cumbria has been listed in the guide for 26 years, Northcote in Lancashire has featured for 28 years consecutively, and Farlam Hall in Cumbria has clocked up 38 years.
Elizabeth Carter, Consultant Editor of the Waitrose Good Food Guide, commented: The North West is known for its good, affordable restaurants and the fantastic new entries this year can only add to that reputation. But it also has chefs like Simon Rogan and Nigel Haworth of Northcote (a welcome new entry in our Top 50 this year) setting a very high top bar. And congratulations to Steven Smith at the Freemasons Arms he has given the Northwest one of the most fascinating pubs in the UK.