AA Guide declares Hampshire one of the UK's top dining destinations with 36 high quality restaurants - including Portsmouth venue The Briny

The AA has unveiled the top culinary destinations across the UK, as featured in The Restaurant Guide 2023, containing over 1,400 restaurants currently awarded Rosettes for culinary excellence by the AA’s inspectors.

And Hampshire has found itself seventh out of the top ten areas for outstanding dining.

Restaurants receiving high praise from the guide include Portsmouth venue The Briny – which makes it Guide debut as a new addition this year.

Also highlighted was Emsworth restaurant 36 On The Quay, alongside Esseborne Manor in Andover and the Audleys Wood Hotel in Basingstoke.

Simon Numphud, managing director of AA Media, said: ‘We are delighted to publish the leading guide to the UK’s top dining destinations, with 150 new establishments added to The Restaurant Guide 2023. From Northern Stars to the Heart of England, Scotland to the capital, the restaurants in this year’s Guide demonstrate the high quality of culinary experiences across the country, offering delicious food and service of the highest standard.’

The counties with the highest number of quality restaurants in the UK -outside London - are: North Yorkshire with 68, Devon with 59, Cumbria with 57, Cornwall with 42, Gloucestershire with 38, and Norfolk with 38, Hampshire with 36, Suffolk with 32, Kent with 31, and Oxfordshire with 30.

The AA Guide introduced the renowned star rating scheme for quality in 1908 and have inspected restaurants for the Rosette award since 1956.