Harden’s – price rises outside of London significantly higher as regions show stronger recovery from pandemic: Price rises outside of London are significantly higher than in the capital, suggesting London is still feeling the after-effects of the pandemic while the regions show a stronger recovery, the new Harden’s Best UK Restaurants 2025 has said. Published today (Thursday, 5 December), the guide reported a notable difference in price increases outside of London, suggesting regional restaurants are continuing to move forward in their post-covid recovery more so than those in the capital. “There has been a noticeable difference in the increase of restaurants entering into the higher price bands outside of London compared with last year,” Harden’s co-founder Peter Harden said. “We can see significantly higher price increases of between 16%-21% for the number of restaurants in the £100, £150 and £200-plus price brackets outside of London, compared with between 10%-15% in the capital. This data adds to a general feeling that London is still feeling the after-effects of the pandemic and – in particular – quieter Mondays and Fridays caused by working from home, while beyond the capital, things are ticking along a little more strongly.” The new guide also names Endo Kazutoshi’s ten-seater flagship, Endo at the Rotunda, above the old Television Centre in London’s White City, as the UK’s best restaurant in its annual poll. “Since the Top 100 started 15 years ago, this is only the second time the number one has been neither modern British nor French,” Harden said. “With the ever-increasing influences of Japanese cuisine in the UK, it is refreshing to see one of the leading lights in the capital’s Japanese restaurant scene awarded the winning title. Coming in at more than £250 per person, it’s certainly one of the higher priced restaurants in our listings, but our diners’ feedback expressed that they considered this to be excellent value due to the exceptional quality of the experience.” Outside of the capital, restaurants in the north of England have had a particularly strong showing in this year’s ratings. The north east took the Top 100’s runner-up and third place accolades, thanks to Restaurant Pine in East Wallhouses, run by husband and wife team Cal and Sian Byerley, and Scandi-inspired Restaurant Hjem in Wall, owned by Swedish chef Alex Nietosvuori and his partner, Ally Thompson. Meanwhile, Cumbria in the north west became the county with the most Top 100 listings outside of London, with five placements in total, while the cities outside of London with the most Top 100 listings were Edinburgh and Brighton, with three each.

Ole & Steen to be available via Uber Eats: Danish bakery brand Ole & Steen has signed up to offer delivery via Uber Eats. With the partnership, the brand’s 26 locations will be available to order from, including stores in London, Oxford and Guildford. Graham Hollinshead, managing director at Ole & Steen, said: “As demand for our freshly baked goods continues to grow, this partnership allows us to deliver the unique flavours and traditions of Denmark straight to our customers’ doors. We're excited to reach new audiences and bring the true Ole & Steen experience to more people.” In October, David Campbell, chair of Ole & Steen, said the company was getting more out of its existing UK estate, which led to it experiencing its “best five weeks ever” of trading and providing significant motivation across its teams.