The 2005 edition of Harden’s London Restaurants Guide, based on reviews from around 7,000 diners, has named Gordon Ramsay as London’s top chef for the ninth consecutive year but slated Jamie Oliver’s restaurant called Fifteen, giving it the guide’s lowest possible ratings for food, service and ambience.

According to Harden’s reporters, Jamie Oliver is “seriously taking the piss” with his “amateurish” made-for-tv Hoxton venture where “average” food comes at “Gordon Ramsay prices”.

No vitriol was spared for the £70-a-head Fifteen restaurant, which was opened to give disadvantaged youngsters the chance to train as chefs. One reviewer said: “Just because it’s a charity doesn’t give them the right to rip people off.”

Meanwhile, at the other end of the critical scale, Gordon Ramsay’s flagship Chelsea restaurant was praised by reviewers for its “world-class form” and “exhilaratingly good” cuisine.

The Ivy was voted Londoners’ favourite restaurant followed by Chez Bruce, J Sheekey, Le Caprice and Gordon Ramsay.

After Ramsay, other top five gastronomic experiences included – after only a year in operation – Tom Aikens and Le Gavroche.

The average price of dinner for one at restaurants listed in Harden’s has risen by 3.4 per cent this year to £35.79 – twice the rise in consumer prices over the same period.

Trends noted by the guide include that there are more £50 per head restaurants opening than ever before and that the ‘new’ fast food is hamburgers. Harden’s also suggests that the east end of London looks set to become the new restaurant frontier and that gastropubs are becoming the spiritual home of British cooking. Details: www.hardens.com