Two busy restaurants in Southport have secured places in the newly released Harden’s Best UK Restaurants 2026.
Kalash Divine Indian, on Lord Street in Southport town centre; and Bistrot Vérité in Birkdale Village; are among 18 eateries from the Liverpool city region which are included in the prestigious guide.
Kalash Divine Indian has proved so popular since it opened, that it expanded into the vacant premises next door earlier this year to meet growing customer demand.
Kalash celebrates the renaissance of Indian cuisine in this region of the world bringing diners light, nutritious, aromatic food that’s a feast to the senses, with a perfect and subtle balance to delight a gourmet’s heart and soul.
A restaurant built on a passion for great food since 2009, Bistrot Vérité in Birkdale Village has been the place to gather for great French and international inspired dishes.
Fresh meats, fish, seafood and seasonal ingredients and a love for French classics and dishes from further afield underpin everything the Veritae family and their team do in the kitchen.
Harden’s Best UK Restaurants 2026, which is published today (Thursday, 4th December 2025), sees the North West confirmed as one of the country’s “most exciting dining regions”.
The area secured both first and second place in the list. Moor Hall in Aughton, West Lancashire, run by chef-patron Mark Birchall, walked away with the top prize.
The restaurant dramatically climbed from last year’s No. 74 ranking, with diners praising it as “not just a meal, it’s an experience” that is “superb from beginning to end”.
Reports consistently described the food as “faultless in every way” and “pitch perfect”.
Simon Rogan’s 2024 winner, L’Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria, takes the runner-up position, securing the region a powerful one–two finish at the top of the national table.
Co-founder of Harden’s, Peter Harden, said: “Moor Hall has been a recurring name in the Harden’s Top 100 UK Restaurants list for many years now, as has runner-up L’Enclume, which was in the top spot a couple of years ago.
“In a Top 100 where restaurants are very much at the mercy of diner reports from the first six months of the year, the consistent performance from these two venues is a testament to the high quality of the food, service and location.
“It’s wonderful to see Mark and his talented team reach this year’s pole position and, whilst diners who took part in our national survey did often flag the higher price point, it appears to be a venue regarded as well worth it, albeit for a rare treat”.
Celebrating 35 years of polling diners for their views on the nation’s best places to eat, the latest edition of Harden’s guide is based on feedback from normal diners rather than a group of professional inspectors.
A total of 30,000 reports are submitted from a survey of 2,500 diners. Restaurants at all price levels are included: from street food vendors to the country’s most ambitious dining rooms, with 2,800 restaurants listed in total.
Below are all the Merseyside restaurants that made the 2026 edition:
- The Art School, Liverpool (Outstanding)
- Bistrot Vérité, Southport
- Bundobust, Liverpool
- Hawksmoor, Liverpool
- Kalash Divine Indian, Southport
- The London Carriage Works, Hope Street Hotel, Liverpool
- Lunya, Liverpool
- Lunyalita, Liverpool
- Manifest, Liverpool
- Maray, Liverpool
- Mowgli, Liverpool
- Nord, Liverpool
- Panoramic 34, Liverpool
- Salt House Bacaro, Liverpool
- Sanskruti, Liverpool
- Spire, Liverpool
- Vetch, Liverpool
- Wreck Bistro, Liverpool
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