This tiny sushi place that seats nine people has been named the UK's best restaurant

It serves just nine people at a time, costs £300 a head (not including alcohol) and offers up a style of sushi that’s been perfected over thousands of years. This is the kind of service you can expect if you manage to bag a reservation at the hyper-exclusive restaurant The Araki in London, which has today been named the best eatery in the UK.

The winning restaurant was announced in a survey of 8,500 diners who contributed 50,000 reviews for the 27th annual Harden’s Best UK Restaurants guide.

The guide’s editor Peter Harden said The Araki’s success was because of its “fabulous level of attention and ingredient quality”.

“We often find that smaller restaurants do better because the chef can really focus on your meal and your experience,” he said.

Quite frankly, the food at The Araki sounds and looks absolutely delicious. 

Harden added: “Manchester is one of the fastest-growing cities and on the back of that is coming the services you expect to see in a thriving city.

“On the other hand, it doesn’t have the champions to make the top 100. Famously, Manchester has not had a Michelin star since 1977 at The French restaurant at the Midland Hotel.

“It still lacks the type of restaurant you really have to tick off your list.”

Here’s the list of the top 10 restaurants in the UK (but good luck trying to get in!):

1. 1.The Araki, London

2. 2.Casamia, Bristol

3. 3.The Ledbury, London

4. 4.Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac

5. 5.The Fat Duck, Bray

6. 6.Marianne, London

7. 7.Waterside Inn, Bray

8. 8.Black Swan, Oldstead

9. 9.Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh

10. 10.The Clove Club, London

(Image: Google)