Customer Reviews
Great info, lousy layout - By: Rocsen, 27 Apr 2008 
Altho this book has a lot of valuable info, & I believe the layout has been improved over previous versions, it still has it's flaws.
For starters there is no index for suburbs / boroughs. There is also no index for cuisine types. So if you are looking for a specific cuisine anywhere in London for instance, you have to page through 130 pages & go through each & every entry. An absolute disaster.
There are about 4 pages of London maps in the book which proved pretty useless as they don't flow into eachother. They are just random segments with no way of telling where they are in London. This is fine for someone that knows London, but not everyone does.
Hopefully these flaws can be ironed out in the next release. But if it's taken them this long to get to this stage, I won't hold my breath.
I'm giving this book a 2 star because even though there is a lot of info, it's an absolute pain to use. And I already found incorrect opening times on our first restaurant.
great improvement - By: csharpe, 29 Sep 2007 
I was given this book having bought the guide in the past. The change from my last one is dramatic. It looks reallly classy & is so much easier to use. Also there seeem to be loads more cheaper restaurants. I'd like to see an index for cuisine & maybe veggie food as that's how we often decide where to go. Also, maybe more on cheap eats (like a list on the best places by place. But I was reallly impressed by the changes. I only got the book a fortnight ago & we've already used it four times!
Clean and classy - By: Ms. E. L. Parker, 21 Sep 2007 
Like other reviewers, I had not bought the Guide for a few years, relying instead on online reviews & sites like Top Table. However, after a few terrible experiences at highly-rated restaurants, I came back to the Good Food Guide as a source of independent info. I think the new look is very classy & even had an interview with the gorgeous Tom Aitkens - lucky whover got ot meet him! Seriously though, i think the smalller format works & it's actuallly something to read now, instead of just a directory. Highly recommended & pretty good value if you but from Amazon.
so much better - By: John White, 20 Sep 2007 I've bought the guide on & off for years but always thought it was quite expensive for how it looked. The reviews were good but you couldn't look up the counties & it was quite dull. The new book looks so much better --- it is reallly classy. And now it's in county order which is brilliant. I did find the new London ordering a bit tricky at first but now I understand it, I think its a lot better because I can look up the west end reallly easily.
As good as ever, possibly better - By: Mr. R. Lewin, 19 Sep 2007 Last year's guide saw an extensive redesign; this year sees another. The effect is to make it brighter & clearer than before, a world away from the guide up until 2006. There is now more colour, more mini chef interviews & impressive, detailed reproductions of city maps, particularly the London area, along with the normal larger maps at the back.
London restaurants still take up the chunk of the book, unfairly perhaps, but that is the nature of these things - most people who go to posh restaurants & write reviews of them live in the south east. What a dismal reflection on our 'second city', Birmingham, that it has just five restaurants worthy of mention! The London section is split into different areas - central, Victoria etc, which can be slightly confusing if you're not sure where you are. (I know this sounds silly, but for many visitors this is the case.)
Returning this year is the list of contributors (how could they think to leave them out last year?), notably thanked in 'this book could not exist' terms. Other interesting points: the Guide doesn't deem it worthy to even mention that Britain is now completely non-smoking, which I found surprising. 'Readers' choice' restaurants have been introduced, which on top of the 'Also Recommended' places seems excessive. (I hope this isn't the sign of more dumbing down to come!) Also dropped is the list of 'London restaurants by cuisine', a shame, as it was extremely helpful. Plus, personallly speaking I'd like to see a list every year of eateries that have dropped out since the previous edition, & why (closure, drop in standards etc).
As usual, the rating for a main section restaurants starts at 1/10, & the guide again tries to stress that this is a considerable achievement. It's certainly true that many of those places can be darn expensive. No one gets 10/10 - Gordon Ramsay did a few years back - but a few get 9, including The Fat Duck. Just reading reviews of venues like this makes the mouth water. Those of us on lower budgets can but dream & remain content with ticking off the more moderately priced venues.
Lastly, the shape & cover of the Guide look good & underline its authority. It remains one of the most carefully researched, meticulously proofed guide books available.
