A CARTMEL restaurant has held onto the prestigious title of the 'UK's greatest restaurant' for the third year running,

Simon Rogan's Michelin-starred eatery L'Enclume secured the number one spot in the 2016 Good Food Guide while Ambleside's Lake Road Kitchen was crowned New Best Restaurant in the book's Editors' Awards.

In its 65th year, the Waitrose-owned guide describes the winner restaurant as 'an unassuming location for an undoubted pinnacle of the new British cooking'.

Mr Rogan said, "There are a lot of amazing restaurants around and for L'Enclume to be awarded number one in the Good Food Guide for the third year running is very special.

"And us having three restaurants in the top 17 is a massive achievement from the team."

In at number 12 was the esteemed chef's restaurant Fera, at Claridge's, London, and The French, in Manchester, came in at 17.

L'Enclume, which has enjoyed four years of 'perfect ten scores' was awarded the top spot because 'many of the dishes have become long-running masterpieces' with the most noteworthy being the Cartmel Valley venison tartare and a 'really special' apple tart with gingerbread ice cream.

A top score of 10 means 'just perfect dishes, showing faultless technique at every service, extremely rare, and the highest accolade the guide can give'.

The guide also recognises many of L'Enclume's dishes are made with ingredients sourced from its own farmland.

And inching its way onto the illustrious list of the top 50 restaurants in Britain was Lake Road Kitchen which bagged 48th position just more than one year after opening.

The Good Food Guide, which was first published in 1951, goes on sale on September 7.