Barrow-born chef Tom Barnes took the runner-up spot on SquareMeal’s Top 100 UK Restaurants list for 2026 with his Manchester restaurant Skof. Barnes spent 12 years working alongside renowned chef Simon Rogan including at L'Enclume before striking out on his own. Barnes joined Simon's team at L’Enclume in 2011 and apprenticed under chef Duncan Collinge at The Lakeside Hotel. The SquareMeal Top 100 UK Restaurants list is compiled using a combination of thousands of reader votes and the opinions of SquareMeal’s expert critics. The list celebrates both emerging and established restaurants and honours the chefs and hospitality teams behind them.