Core by Clare Smyth, London
Food Story Media ltd
This week in Paris, the prestigious travel guide La Liste has announced the 2026 top 1,ooo restaurants in the world, as well as special awards including restaurant opening and talent of the year. British restaurants were among the strongest-performing, despite operating in one of Europe’s toughest economic climates (closures, staffing shortages, rising costs). And not just London restaurants; there were many winners outside of the capital too. Chef Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume in the Lake District (with a score of 99.00) was the top-scoring UK restaurant, in the second spot globally. Of UK restaurants, Core by Chef Clare Smyth in London was the second highest ranked (98.00) as well as The Ritz (98.00).
John Williams MBE, executive Chef at The Ritz, London won British Talent Award. The Cocochine, London was awarded Opening of the Year.
La Liste is a global guide that aggregates over 1,000 sources, in 200 countries, from critic reviews to online ratings, to rank the world’s best restaurants every year. This year was the 10th anniversary of the Restaurant Awards with over 35,000 restaurants, across more than 200 countries ranked. La Liste uses a score-based methodology, so multiple restaurants can share a score and therefore share a ranking.
This year’s awards show how far the UK has come in recent decades as a proper foodie destination. This certainly wasn’t always the case but today there’s a wealth of choice and you can find any cuisine in casual restaurants to Michelin-starred fine-dining establishments. Here are the UK restaurants that La Liste has deemed to be in the world’s top 10.
L’Enclume, the Lake District – No.2
L’Enclume, The Lake District
L’Enclume
L’Enclume, in the pretty village of Cartmel in England’s Lake District, is the definition of a “destination restaurant.” The three Michelin-starred restaurant was founded in 2002 by chef Simon Rogan and is set in an 800-year-old former blacksmith’s with its name, French for “anvil,” paying homage to its industrial past. The dining experience centers around a multi-course seasonal tasting menu that draws heavily on ingredients from Chef Rogan’s own twelve-acre farm nearby.
Core by Clare Smyth,London –No.4
Clare Smyth at Core, London
Core
Core by Clare Smyth also has a well-deserved three Michelin stars, showcasing dishes like tartare made with scallops from the Isle of Harris, served with a clear sea vegetable consommé and roasted cod paired with prized Morecambe Bay shrimps. Chef Smyth’s kitchen balances subtlety and depth—exemplified by the Merrifield Farm duck, roasted to perfection, accompanied by a deeply flavored Madeira sauce.
The Ritz, London –No.4
Chef John Williams MBE, The Ritz, London
The Ritz
With two Michelin stars, The Ritz under Executive Chef, John Williams MBE, offers magnificent seasonal menus. The Chef is passionate about using the best British ingredients, from Cornish organic beef and lamb from the Lake District, to lobsters from South West Scotland. Chef Williams was also the winner of La Liste’s Classic Excellence Award and Restaurant of the Year from The National Restaurant Awards 2025.
Moor Hall, Ormskirk, Lancashire –No.7
Moor Hall Restaurant
Moor Hall
Three Michelin-starred Moor Hall operates as a true estate kitchen, drawing most of its ingredients from its own five-acre grounds, including gardens and livestock. Chef Mark Birchall champions self-sufficiency, using fermentation and preservation to capture and extend the peak flavors of each harvest throughout the year. The result is food that is intricate yet delicate, deeply tied to the seasons and the surrounding landscape of the restored 16th-century hall.
Ynyshir, Powys, Wales –No. 8
Ynyshir’s tasting menu is served with the kitchen on view, where Chef Gareth Ward delivers around 30 bold, concentrated courses over four to five hours. Rooted in Welsh ingredients but inspired by global techniques—particularly Japanese—Ward’s cuisine emphasizes intense flavor through precise use of salt, fat and heat. The experience is immersive and energetic, set to a soundtrack of house music beneath a disco ball, blending theatricality with culinary precision. Dishes like the iconic “Not French Onion Soup” and raw lobster with Thai dressing demonstrate his playful, boundary-pushing style.
Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire – No. 10
Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
Le Manoir
Since opening in 1984, Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir has become a reference point for the British country-house restaurant. Its extensive gardens and orchards are key to menu planning. Blanc’s approach unites French training with an English agriculture, emphasizing balance and consistency over spectacle. The service culture is shaped by his long-standing commitment to training and mentorship, which has produced numerous prominent chefs.
UK Restaurant Opening of the Year
The Cocochine, London
Justin De Souza
The Cocochine, London, under Chef Larry Jayasekara, was reopened in 2025 with a different concept. This involves a new farm to table concept with Sri Lankan influence and art by Peter Beard, Picasso, David Hockney, Bernard Buffet and Matisse.
Additional UK Restaurants on La Liste 2026
Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, London; The Glenturret Lalique Crief; Gordon Ramsay London; Waterside Inn Maidenhead; Sushi Kanesaka, London; Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester London; Midsummer House Cambridge; The Fat Duck Bray; Brooklands by Claude Bosi London; Osip Bruton; Sat Bains Nottingham; Lympstone Manor Exmouth; The Araki London; The Clove Club London; Story London; Woven by Adam Smith Ascot; Row on 5 London; The Angel at Hetton Skipton; Edinbane Lodge Edinbane; Hambleton Hall Oakham;Andrew Fairlie Auchterarder; Annwn Narberth; Northcote Blackburn; Allium – Askham Hall Penrith; Kol London; Mýse York; Outlaws New Road Port Isaac; Paul Ainsworth at Number 6 Padstow; Morston Hall Holt; Pine Newcastle upon Tyne; Sketch – The Lecture Room & Library London; Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal London; A. Wong London; Endo at the Rotunda London; The Black Swan at Oldstead York; Opheem Birmingham; The Dining Room at Whatley Manor Malmesbury; The Sportsman Whitstable; The Forest Side Ambleside; Hide and Fox Hythe; The Latymer Bagshot; Solstice by Kenny Atkinson Newcastle upon Tyne; Da Terra London; House Of Tides Newcastle upon Tyne; Interlude Horsham; Kitchen Table London; Muse London; Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall Ripon; The Whitebrook Monmouth; Trivet London; Cornus London; The Old Stamp House Ambleside; Ikoyi London; Sosban and the old Butchers Menai Bridge; Cedar Tree by Hrishikesh Desai Brampton; Hjem Hexham; The Kitchin Edinburgh; The Ledbury London; Dinner by Heston Blumenthal London; Lake Road Kitchen Ambleside; Le Champignon Sauvage Cheltenham; Martin Wishart Edinburgh; The Cocochine London; Humble Chicken London; OX (NI) Belfast; The Peat Inn Cupar; Haar St Andrews; The Hand & Flowers Marlow; Gravetye Manor East Grinstead; Inver Cairndow; Ormer Mayfair London; Forge at Middleton Lodge Estate Richmond; Home by James Sommerin Penarth; SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel Windermere; Cail Bruich Glasgow; Number One at The Balmoral Edinburgh; Gymkhana London.
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