The Merchant House is among six of the best from outside London

The Merchant House and the Hibiscus came seventh and tenth respectively in a poll by Time Out magazine.

The honour is the latest in a string of high ratings and awards which has seen the south Shropshire town become renowned as a gastronomic centre.

The town boasts more Michelin-starred restaurants than anywhere else in the country, outside London.

And in the Time Out survey, voted by a panel of more than 500 national and regional culinary experts, only London had more restaurants in the top ten.

Shaun Hill, owner of the Merchant House said he was pleased the magazine had expanded from its traditional metropolitan base for the survey.

"All lists are controversial," he said. "In this one all the contacts are largely metropolitan and I know the Times newspaper gave a round of applause for the four London restaurants for nine million people, but what's more interesting to me is the two Ludlow restaurants for 9,000 people.

"They must have all trekked up here at some point."

Time Out's top 10 UK restaurants 1 St John - London 2 Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons - Great Milton, Oxfordshire 3 The Ivy - London 4 Waterside Inn - Bray, Berkshire 5 River Caf� - London 6 J Sheekey - London 7 The Merchant House - Ludlow, Shropshire 8 Cayenne - Belfast 9 - L'Ecrivain - Dublin 10 Hibiscus - Ludlow, Shropshire

And he said he still welcomed the praise despite his restaurant's now regular success in such polls.

"These lists are more for morale than for trade, but I am grateful for the applause."

London's St John on St John Street, Clerkenwell, topped the poll for Time Out's Eating & Drinking in Great Britain & Ireland.

Other restaurants in the top 10 included Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons, in Oxfordshire, and Michel Roux's Waterside Inn, in Berkshire.

The guide says of the No 1 restaurant, St John: "Fergus Henderson's unflinching, restlessly inventive approach to British cuisine continues to attract the culinary curious from near and far."

More than half of those questioned complained about the quality of service in UK restaurants.

Eating out in UK was seen as expensive, with too few middle market eateries. Calls were also made for more "seasonality" and attention to local produce in menus.

Sarah Guy, the guide's editor, said: "Time Out has closely followed London's progression as it evolved into a truly exciting culinary destination over the last 20 years, and now a similar revolution is happening right across Great Britain and Ireland.

"It's a fascinating time to explore the best restaurants outside London, as the stars of the old guard are increasingly joined by a vital new bunch of young chefs."