Oxford dines supreme

The Which? Good Food Guide 2007 has, for the first year ever, categorised the country's cities in its Premier League of restaurants.

The 11 Oxford restaurants keeping the city right up there in the competitive culinary stakes are: Al-Shami, Branca, Brasserie Blanc, Cherwell Boathouse, Chiang Mai Kitchen, Edamame, Fishers, Gees, Lemon Tree, Liaison and Sojo Restaurant. And Oxfordshire even had an entry in the top four eateries in the country with Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons gaining the full nine points, alongside Gordon Ramsay's Hospital Road and the Fat Duck in Bray.

Gastro pubs Outside of Oxfordshire, the gastro pub is alive and kicking with The Boar's Head in Ardington, The Lamb at Buckland, The Sir Charles Napier at Chinnor, the Leatherne Bottel in Goring, Moon and Sixpence in Hanwell, Fox and Hounds in Christmas Common, Hotel Du Vin in Henley, Crooked Billet in Stoke Row, Trout at Tadpole Bridge and White Hart in Nettlebed, all being picked.

But how much difference does it make to the restaurants and pubs listed? Al Shami manager Mimo Mahfouz said: "It is amazing news and makes a big difference to our business as we are off the beaten track and people might not otherwise know about us. I'd say the GFG recommendations account for tne per cent of our clientele, so it makes a lot of difference.

"It is certainly the best guide continued on page 20 on the market because you can't pay to get in it."

Al Shami has been in the GFG ever since it opened back in 1988, and Mimo says: "All the Lebanese restaurants in London phone up and want to know how I got in it, but it's just because we are consistent. Everything is made fresh on site every day and nothing comes out of a tin or is carried over to the next day."

The Which? Good Food Guide 2007 editor Andrew Turvil agrees: "It's not about chains serving the same old stuff but high quality food using fresh produce."

But what of the restaurants that didn't quite make the grade? "Well they might have been having a bad day or their chef might have been off sick, but on the whole we are consistent with our reviews and the feedback we get tallies with our choices. But for us it's not about numbers or space in GFG, it's about quality."

So is food getting better nationally? "Yes, London is streets ahead, but we hope every town and city has has a good range of restaurants whether it's brasseries, fine dining, the local chinese or pub all serving fresh food carefully prepared," he said.

And the GFG certainly jumps through the hoops to make sure it picks the right places. Not only does it rely on customer feedback but then sends its inspectors a number of times to make sure the restaurant in question is up to scratch.

But what about other factors then? How important is service, cleanliness and decor? "The biggest complaint we get is about poor service, but to be honest I'd eat in a leaky barn if I'd heard the food was good enough, "Mr Turvil added.

And who are these readers and customers? "People who can afford to eat out,' he said. "They aren't going to buy the guide if they only go out to eat once a year on their birthday. But the number and diversity of restaurants opening has increased and there is so much more interest and awareness about food now. People want fresh food and to know where it comes from."

Stephen Ford duty manager at Branca agrees: "As a manager I go round talking to quite a lot of our customers and so many of them say they saw us in the GFG" he says.

"They tend to be more local than tourists - mainly those who live outside Oxford - and have come in specially for a good meal. People go out so much more than they used to. And before where people would go out for a special meal in London, now they come to Oxford."

The Which? Good Food Guide 2007 can be ordered on 01903 828 557 or at www.which.co.uk/books or bought from bookshops for £16.99.

Fact File: London is top of the table as might be expected of a city of its size with 333 entries.

Other cities in Northern England and Scotland are flying high too: Manchester is in second place with an outstanding 26 top restaurants and the other Champions League contenders are Edinburgh (22) and Leeds (14) and Glasgow (13).

Oxford came joint equal with Birmingham and Brighton, beating Bath, Belfast, Bristol, Exeter, Liverpool, Newcastle, Cardiff, Cheltenham , York, Nottingham, Swansea and Sheffield in the Top 20. 4 Five years ago Newcastle, for instance, had only two places in the guide, so a rise to seven outstanding restaurants is a significant improvement.

Bottom of the table cities are being challenged by small town minnows punching well above their weight. Bray (Berkshire) has 4 entries - including the famous Fat Duck and Padstow (Cornwall) also has 4 - due in no small part to the Rick Stein effect. Ludlow (Shropshire) and Marlow (Buckinghamshire) both have a respectable 3 entries.

The Which? Good Food Guide 2007 is the result of anonymous, independent inspections of over 1,200 places to eat from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands, backed up by extensive readers reports. Unlike others, it accepts no advertising, sponsorship or payment for inclusion.

For feedback on those restaurants that made it in (or should have made it in) go to www.which.co.uk/gfgfeedback The Which? Good Food Guide 2007 is Britain's longest-running guide - now in its 55th edition.