Yahoo News Coveted Devon restaurants named among UK's top 100
Three Devon restaurants have been named among the UK's best in OpenTable's Top 100 Restaurants list for 2024. The rankings are based on rave reviews from diners.
Devon outperforms any other county in the South West, home to three out of the region's five restaurants on the list. They include a popular Exeter city centre spot, a tiny Italian restaurant near Dartmoor and a Michelin-starred venue near Torquay Harbour.
OpenTable says its Top 100 list is generated from more than 900,000 reviews on its website and takes into account diner ratings, the percentage of five star reviews, the number of alerts set, the percentage of reservations made in advance, percentage of capacity and direct searches. Only restaurants that meet a minimum threshold of reviews are considered.
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"Our Top 100 Restaurant list highlights a breadth of diner favourites in the UK - from neighbourhood gems like Ciullõsteria in London to award-winning spots like Opheem in Birmingham," says Laure Bornet, Vice President of International Growth at OpenTable.
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"Whether Brits are looking for a spontaneous midweek meal or festive feast, we hope diners use the list as a source of inspiration for local spots and their UK travels, this year and next."
The review platform says that it is seeing a shift in dining habits, including a 10 per cent increase in midweek dining and a nine per cent increase in people opting to dine earlier (between 4 and 6pm). It adds that Brits have embraced affordable dining this year but also plan to spend more in 2025.
Laure said: "We're seeing a shift in UK dining habits. Brits are breaking away from traditional patterns by embracing earlier dinner times and mid-week dining, which is good news for restaurants as these times can be typically quieter.
"According to new research, these trends are set to continue into 2025 - whether it's a Wednesday evening tasting menu or an early dinner with colleagues, diners are mixing it up and creating their own dining prime time."
In no particular order, the Devon restaurants that made the OpenTable Top 100 Restaurants 2024 are:
Harry's Restaurant, Exeter
Harry's has been open for more than 30 years and is still run by the Pounds family, who set up on Longbrook Street in 1993. On its website, it promises to be "the ideal setting for laid back brunches, lunchtimes dates, intimate dinners, celebrations and quick bites".
Emilia, Ashburton
Emilia is an Italian Osteria, tucked away in a small restaurant unit in Ashburton. Restauranteurs Tom Hill and Clare Lattin - well-known for having opened Ducksoup in Soho and Little Duck in Hackney - say they opened in the Dartmoor town to "share a love for Italian food and natural wine".
The Elephant Restaurant, Torquay
The Elephant Restaurant, which overlooks Torquay Harbour, was the first restaurant in the town to be awarded a Michelin star in 2006 and has held onto it ever since. It has a frequently changing menu according to seasonal produce. On its website, it says its "set lunch menu is the best value in the land and we make sure that our younger guests are well catered for too".
The full OpenTable Top 100 list can be viewed here.
