Fat Duck 'top restaurant in UK'

Heston Blumenthal is famous for his scientific approach to cooking

Three restaurants in Berkshire and one in Oxfordshire have made it into the top 10 of the 2009 Good Food Guide.

Experimental celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck in Bray took the top spot and was the only one to be awarded 10 out of 10 points.

French-born Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aix Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire, which boasts two Michelin stars, came fourth.

Two other Berkshire eateries, the Waterside Inn in Bray and the Vineyard at Stockcross came eight and ninth.

The guide said of The Fat Duck: "It's extremely rare that a restaurant cooks so perfectly on a consistent basis.

"This is the restaurant as theatre with waiters as performers. An experience of the most wondrous enchantment."

Mr Blumenthal, who is famous for his scientific approach to cooking, serves unusual taste combinations such as snail porridge, salmon poached in liquorice gel and nitro-scrambled egg and bacon ice-cream.

In second place was Gordon Ramsay's eponymous London-based restaurant with nine points and in third place the stylish London eatery Petrus.

The Good Food Guide lists 40 restaurants across the UK.