Fergus Henderson's legendary London restaurant, St John, has taken pole position in the Time Out Eating and Drinking in Great Britain & Ireland guide's top 10 restaurants.
The guide, the first national book from the Time Out stable, includes only four London restaurants in its top 10, despite the capital's gastronomic status.
Other places to feature in the list, picked by a panel of more than 500 national and regional restaurant critics, food writers, chefs and restaurateurs, include two from Ludlow - Shaun Hill's Merchant House and Claude Bosi's Hibiscus - and Paul and Jeanne Rankin's Cayenne restaurant in Belfast.
While London didn't feature too heavily in the top 10, respondents said that restaurants outside the capital were often of a disappointing standard and in a time warp compared with their London rivals.
Mail on Sunday columnist Tom Parker-Bowles said: "We have wonderful high-end restaurants and a profusion of low-end places, but the British need a decent choice in the middle where we can eat for £25-£30 per head."
The guide will be published on 2 October, priced £12.99.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 25 September 2003