HAMPSHIRE restaurant The Black Rat has been hailed as among the top 50 in the UK.

OpenTable, the restaurant booking service, has placed the Winchester Michelin-starred restaurant at number 10 in the Fit for Foodies review category.

The restaurant was opened by David Nicholson who made his name by taking on the Black Boy pub in 1995.

The Top 50 Fit for Foodies restaurants in the UK showcases the top restaurants reflected by more than 851,000 reviews submitted by verified OpenTable diners at over 7,600 restaurants.

Adrian Valeriano, vice president OpenTable, said: “Verified diner reviews are incredibly important to us at OpenTable. Not only are these reviews a trusted source for diners to turn to when looking for their next great dining occasion, they are a way for diners to share their personal experiences of the restaurant. We’re extremely excited to share this Fit for Foodies list based on verified reviews and to see the list become even more representative of the whole of the UK foodie scene as we see more ambitious restaurants open outside of London.”