The Good Food Guide has expanded its list of the top 40 UK restaurants to a top 50 as so many up-and-coming UK chefs are making the grade this year, its creators have said.

There has been an upsurge of 7/10-starred scores given for a “high level of ambition and individuality” in this year’s guide.

Fraiche in Merseyside (30th) was described as “None too shabby” by one reader, while there are some strong contenders scoring 6/10 too, including restaurants such as The Sportsman in Whitstable, a no-frills pub with a sophisticated kitchen. Its score has improved from 5/10 to 6/10, and chef Stephen Harris, who has been given this year’s Best Chef award, is praised for his “brilliant, idiosyncratic” cooking.

There are also positive signs for the future, with a number of young chefs punching above their weight. Robert Thompson at the Hambrough, Isle of Wight (7/10, 37th) and Will Holland at La Bécasse, Ludlow (6/10, 50th) are both still in their 20s, yet their cooking has made the big league.

It’s business as usual at the top of the table, with Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck at number 1 and Gordon Ramsay at number 2. Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley is third and Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons is fourth.

Elizabeth Carter, editor of The Good Food Guide, said: “There are so many great British restaurants hitting their stride at the moment that we just had to expand to a top 50. Despite the credit crunch, the British restaurant scene has never been so vibrant.”

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