Liverpool’s Salt House Bacaro, Sanskruti, Spire, Vetch are some of the venues to be featuredPeter Kinsella celebrating Lunya's 15 years in Liverpool.(Pic Andrew Teebay).Peter Kinsella’s Lunya is one of the venues to have made the guide(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

18 Merseyside restaurants have secured a place in the newly released Harden’s Best UK Restaurants 2026. The guide published today, Thursday, December 4, sees the North West confirmed as one of the country’s “most exciting dining regions”.

The area secured both first and second place in the list. Moor Hall in Aughton, West Lancashire, run by chef-patron Mark Birchall, walked away with the top prize. The restaurant dramatically climbed from last year’s No. 74 ranking, with diners praising it as “not just a meal, it’s an experience” that is “superb from beginning to end”.

Reports consistently described the food as “faultless in every way” and “pitch perfect”. Simon Rogan’s 2024 winner, L’Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria, takes the runner-up position, securing the region a powerful one–two finish at the top of the national table.

Co-founder of Harden’s, Peter Harden, said: “Moor Hall has been a recurring name in the Harden’s Top 100 UK Restaurants list for many years now, as has runner-up L’Enclume, which was in the top spot a couple of years ago.

James Bates, director and co-founder of MarayJames Bates, director and co-founder of Maray(Image: Liverpool Echo)

“In a Top 100 where restaurants are very much at the mercy of diner reports from the first six months of the year, the consistent performance from these two venues is a testament to the high quality of the food, service and location.

“It’s wonderful to see Mark and his talented team reach this year’s pole position and, whilst diners who took part in our national survey did often flag the higher price point, it appears to be a venue regarded as well worth it, albeit for a rare treat”.

While Liverpool narrowly misses a Top 100 placing this year, the city still secures 19 entries in the Harden’s 2026 guide, with The Art School rated as “Outstanding.”

Celebrating 35 years of polling diners for their views on the nation’s best places to eat, the latest edition of the Harden’s guide, is based on feedback from normal diners rather than a group of professional inspectors.

A total of 30,000 reports are submitted from a survey of 2,500 diners. Restaurants at all price levels are included: from street food vendors to the country’s most ambitious dining rooms, with 2,800 restaurants listed in total.

Below are all the North West restaurants that made the 2026 edition of the guide, including those from Merseyside.

North WestCheshire

  • Architect, Chester
  • Arkle, The Chester Grosvenor, Chester
  • La Boheme, Lymm
  • La Brasserie, Chester Grosvenor, Chester
  • Bulls Head, Mobberley
  • The Chef’s Table, Chester (Outstanding)
  • Cholmondeley Arms, Cholmondeley
  • Cock O Barton, Malpas
  • Fox & Barrel, Cotebrook
  • The Grosvenor Arms, Aldford
  • Hamayuu, Chester
  • LI~LY Restaurant by Aiden Byrne (Li-Ly, Lily), Knutsford (Outstanding)
  • La Popote, Marton
  • Porta, Chester
  • Sticky Walnut, Chester
  • Stile Napolitano, Chester
  • The Swan Inn, Kettleshulme
  • Twenty Eight, Chester
  • Upstairs at the Grill, Chester
  • The White Horse, Churton

Merseyside

  • The Art School, Liverpool (Outstanding)
  • Bistrot Vérité, Southport
  • Bundobust, Liverpool
  • Hawksmoor, Liverpool
  • Kalash Divine Indian, Southport
  • The London Carriage Works, Hope Street Hotel, Liverpool
  • Lunya, Liverpool
  • Lunyalita, Liverpool
  • Manifest, Liverpool
  • Maray, Liverpool
  • Mowgli, Liverpool
  • Nord, Liverpool
  • Panoramic 34, Liverpool
  • Salt House Bacaro, Liverpool
  • Sanskruti, Liverpool
  • Spire, Liverpool
  • Vetch, Liverpool
  • Wreck Bistro, Liverpool

Cumbria

  • Alexandros Greek Restaurant and Deli, Carlisle
  • Allium at Askham Hall, Penrith (Top 100)
  • Aulis at L’Enclume, Cartmel (Outstanding)
  • Barua Street Food, Keswick
  • The Black Bull Inn, Sedbergh
  • The Black Swan, Ravenstonedale
  • The Brown Horse Inn, Bowness-on-Windermere
  • The Cedar Tree, Farlam Hall, Brampton (Top 100)
  • The Cottage In The Wood, Braithwaite (Top 100)
  • The Dog & Gun, Skelton (Outstanding)
  • Drunken Duck, Ambleside
  • 1863 Restaurant with Rooms, Pooley Bridge
  • L’Enclume, Cartmel (Top 100)
  • Fellpack, Keswick
  • The Forest Side, Grasmere (Top 100)
  • Four & Twenty, Penrith
  • George & Dragon, Clifton
  • Gilpin Spice, Gilpin Hotel, Windermere
  • Heft, Newton in Cartmel (Top 100)
  • Henrock, Bowness-on-Windermere (Outstanding)
  • The Highwayman, Nether Burrow
  • Hooked, Windermere
  • Kirkstile Inn, Cockermouth
  • Lake Road Kitchen, Ambleside (Outstanding)
  • Mizu, Keswick
  • Old Stamp House, Ambleside (Top 100)
  • The Punch Bowl Inn, Crosthwaite
  • Rogan & Co, Cartmel (Outstanding)
  • Rothay Manor, Ambleside
  • The Schelly, Ambleside (Outstanding)
  • Source (fka Hrishi), Gilpin Hotel, Windermere (Outstanding)
  • The Yan, Grasmere

Greater Manchester

  • Adam Reid at The French, Manchester (Outstanding)
  • Altrincham Market, Altrincham
  • Bangkok Diners Club, Manchester
  • Bar San Juan, Manchester
  • The Black Friar, Manchester
  • Bundobust, Manchester
  • Cantaloupe, Stockport
  • Canto, Manchester
  • Circolo Pololare, Manchester
  • Climat, Manchester
  • Deacons Bank, Chapel-en-le-Frith
  • Dishoom, Manchester
  • The Edinburgh Castle, Manchester
  • Elnecot, Manchester
  • Erst, Manchester
  • Evuna, Manchester
  • Fenix, Manchester
  • Flat Iron, Manchester
  • El Gato Negro, Manchester
  • Harcourt, Altrincham
  • Hawksmoor, Manchester
  • Higher Ground, Manchester
  • Hispi Bistro, Manchester
  • Indian Affair, Manchester
  • Indian Affair, Manchester
  • Indique, Manchester
  • Kaji, Manchester (Outstanding)
  • Lily’s Indian Vegetarian Cuisine, Ashton-Under-Lyne
  • The Lime Tree, Manchester
  • Little Yang Sing, Manchester
  • Mana, Manchester (Top 100)
  • Maray, Manchester
  • The Martlet Kitchen, Rochdale
  • Mughli, Manchester
  • The Perfect Match, Sale
  • Phanthong, Altrincham
  • Pip, Manchester
  • Porta, Manchester
  • Rigatoni’s, Altrincham
  • Royal Nawaab Pyramid, Stockport
  • Rudy’s, Manchester
  • Sam’s Chop House, Manchester
  • San Carlo, Manchester
  • Sexy Fish, Manchester
  • Skof, Manchester (Top 100)
  • The Spärrows Continental Pasta & Spätzle, Manchester
  • Stow, Manchester
  • 10 Tib Lane, Manchester
  • Tender, Manchester
  • This & That, Manchester
  • TNQ Restaurant & Bar, Manchester
  • 20 Stories, Manchester
  • The Walled Gardens Underground Restaurant, Manchester (Outstanding)
  • Where The Light Gets In, Stockport (Outstanding)
  • Winsome, Manchester (Outstanding)

Isle of Man

  • Enzo’s, Douglas
  • Wine Down, Douglas

Lancashire

  • Aven, Preston (Outstanding)
  • The Barn at Moor Hall, Aughton (Outstanding)
  • The Bay Horse, Ellel
  • The Cartford Inn, Little Eccleston
  • Dough Pizzeria, Clitheroe
  • Eight at Gazegill, Gisburn (Outstanding)
  • Freemasons at Wiswell, Wiswell
  • The Inn at Whitewell, Clitheroe
  • King Street Kitchen, Whalley
  • La Locanda, Gisburn
  • The Lunesdale Arms, Tunstall
  • Midland Hotel, Morecambe
  • Moor Hall, Aughton (Top 100)
  • Morecambe Bay Chowder Co At The Bath Tap, Morecambe
  • Northcote, Langho (Top 100)
  • The Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland (Outstanding)
  • The Rum Fox, Grindleton
  • Shajan, Mellor
  • So-lo, Aughton (Top 100)
  • The Three Fishes, Whalley
  • White Swan at Fence, Fence (Outstanding)
  • YU, Copster Green