The other week, a website named TasteAtlas published a list of the worst English foods. The selection totalled 62 dishes, and it was surprising not just because it featured so many dishes but because it shamed so many beloved – and, by our reckoning, actually really very tasty – foods.
To even things out a bit, TasteAtlas also published a list of the 100 best dishes and foods in Britain. The ranking is based on the site’s audience, with the ratings of just over 13,000 ‘legitimate’ users taken into account for the British foods list.
TasteAtlas says the purpose of the list is to ‘purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instil pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried’.
In first place was clotted cream ice cream. It isn’t massively surprising that this one placed highly (who on Earth doesn’t like clotted cream ice cream?), but it is a little unexpected that it triumphed ahead of every pie, cheese and fry-up this nation has to offer.
Second in the TasteAtlas list came brisket, which, for the non-meat-eaters out there is a cut of beef typically from the breast or lower chest of the cow. Brisket is famously cooked very slowly on low heat, and both Germany and the USA also have distinct ways of serving it up.
Third was chicken tikka masala. Of hotly debated origin, chicken tikka masala is often attributed to Britain’s south Asian community and has long been one of the nation’s favourite dishes. Back in 2001 it was declared the ‘true British national dish’ by then-Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.
Rounding out a pretty meaty top five are two more steaks, the fillet steak and porterhouse, which came fourth and fifth, respectively. The first exclusively Scottish dish in the list (not including chicken tikka masala, which some say originated in Glasgow) was Cullen skink in sixth, while the top spot from Wales was y fenni cheese. Much of the rest of the top 100 list is taken up by cheese and desserts.
Interestingly, rather a few dishes featured on both TasteAtlas’ ‘best’ and ‘worst’ lists. The likes of cauliflower cheese, coronation chicken, parmo, pie and mash, eggy bread, bubble and squeak and BLT sandwiches all placed in both rankings. Either British/English food is very divisive or, erm, TasteAtlas’ users started running out of dishes. See below for the full top 100.
The 100 best dishes and food in Britain, according to TasteAtlas
- Clotted cream ice cream
- Brisket
- Chicken tikka masala
- Fillet steak
- Porterhouse
- Cullen skink
- West Country farmhouse cheddar (cheese)
- Cream tea
- Y fenni (cheese)
- Crumble
- Sticky toffee pudding
- Banoffee pie
- Jacket potato
- Steak pie
- Little black bomber (cheese)
- Beef wellington
- Cod and chips
- Millionaire’s shortbread
- Triple-cooked chips
- Champ
- Ulster fry
- Shopshire blue (cheese)
- Fisherman’s pie
- Roast lamb with mint sauce
- Potato bread earl
- English breakfast
- Yorkshire pudding
- Sausage rolls
- Roast beef
- Eton mess
- Steak and ale pie
- Welsh rarebit
- Applewood (cheese)
- Double Gloucester (cheese)
- Kedgeree
- Irish stew
- Drop scone
- Knickerbocker glory
- Oxford blue (cheese)
- British sirloin
- Devon blue (cheese)
- Wheaten bread
- Staffordshire oatcakes
- Cumberland scotch egg
- BLT sandwich
- Shepherd’s pie
- Victoria sponge
- Toad in the hole
- Bacon butty
- Cheese and onion pie
- Eggy bread
- Scottish breakfast
- Parmo
- Kippers
- Red Leicester (cheese)
- Chipolatas
- Bakewell pudding
- Yorkshire wensleydale (cheese)
- Traditional Cumberland sausage
- Stinking bishop (cheese)
- Ackee and saltfish
- Birmingham balti
- Stilton (cheese)
- English muffin
- Pie and mash
- Cornish pasty
- Lancashire hotpot
- Bubble and squeak
- Pigs in blankets
- Cock-a-leekie
- Stovies
- Scotch broth
- Scotch pie
- Bap
- Lincolnshire sausage
- Cornish yarg (cheese)
- Souse
- Egg banjo
- Somerset brie (cheese)
- Traditional Welsh Caerphilly (cheese)
- Haggis
- Cheshire (cheese)
- Bangers and mash
- Tablet
- Neeps and tatties
- Cranachan
- Steak and kidney pudding
- Stornoway black pudding
- Mince and tatties
- Potted shrimps
- Cotswold (cheese)
- Battered sausages
- Butlers’ steak
- Pound cake
- Apple sauce
- Cauliflower cheese
- Coronation chicken
- Steak and kidney pie
- Scottish porridge
- Mulligatawny
You can read more about each dish on the TasteAtlas website here.
More TasteAtlas on Time Out
In recent months TasteAtlas has been shaking up the world of cuisine travel with some spicy takes. Not only has the site named and shamed England’s 62 worst foods but a UK classic dish was named one of the 10 worst meals in the world, no British dishes featured in a global top 100 and London didn’t make a top 50 ranking of the world’s best food cities.
TasteAtlas’ isn’t all negative stuff when it comes to the UK, though. The site also crowned two UK cuisines among the best in the world and named an east London café one of the planet’s most ‘legendary’ restaurants.
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