Gordon Ramsay restaurants branded 'overpriced' and 'disappointing'

Several Gordon Ramsay restaurants found themselves listed among the most "overpriced" and "disappointing" today in a respected dining guide, bringing more dark clouds for the celebrity chef, who has had a turbulent year.

But the new edition of Harden's London Restaurants, which is based on thousands of reports by more than 8,000 customers, did offer one glimmer of hope for a Ramsay recovery, with his Italian-influenced Murano in Mayfair being named as the capital's best new restaurant.

Murano's chef, Angela Hartnett, was praised by the latest Harden's guide for "simple Italian dishes, beautifully executed".

Other findings in the 2010 guide were, however, far less palatable for Ramsay, whose international empire has suffered plummeting profits and unwanted headlines earlier this year about his restaurants serving up centrally prepared "reheated meals".

The latest Hardens found that Ramsay's flagship restaurant on Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea – until two years ago unchallenged as London's best top-end restaurant for nearly a decade – had suffered an "unprecedented slide" in approval from individual surveyors.

Meanwhile, four Ramsay restaurants – the Chelsea restaurant; Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's; The Warrington pub in Maida Vale; and Maze in Mayfair – were among the top 10 most disappointing for cooking.

And three of them – the Chelsea restaurant, Claridge's and Maze – were among the top 10 which diners in the survey found were most overpriced. Criticism of Ramsay's pubs has also intensified, the guide said.

Adding insult to injury, Ramsay's former protege Marcus Wareing's restaurant at the Berkeley in London retained the top slot as London's best top-end restaurant. For that ranking, it receives the ultimate accolade – the Rémy Martin XO Excellence Award.

The reputation of the famously foul-mouthed Ramsay has taken numerous knocks over the past year as he has struggled to keep control of his recession-hit empire. Earlier this year, he was hit by claims of financial problems among his businesses. There were rumours he was in danger of losing some of his Michelin stars and forced to close a number of his restaurants.

He also fell victim to a sting by the Sun newspaper, which caught his London gastro-pubs using pre-prepared meals.

There was also a blow in April when his name failed to warrant a mention in the prestigious San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants awards.

But Harden's guide co-editor Peter Harden said the success of Murano, which has one Michelin star and where the average price for dinner for one is £77, could be a turning point.

"Angela Hartnett is to be congratulated, and Murano's success shows the Ramsay group still 'has what it takes'," Peter Harden said.

A spokeswoman for Gordon Ramsay Holdings would only say: "Gordon is aware of the contents of the latest Harden's guide."

Hartnett, however, thanked Ramsay for his support, saying: "I'm absolutely thrilled that Murano has been awarded London's best newcomer. We have had a fantastic first year and it's a real honour to be recognised.

"Of course everything we have achieved at Murano wouldn't have been possible without our fantastic team and, of course, Gordon, who has backed me all the way."

All eyes will now turn to Pétrus – Ramsay's forthcoming fine dining restaurant shortly to be reborn in Belgravia. An undoubted success there would really confirm that the green shoots of a true Ramsay recovery were starting to show through.

Overall, the guide shows that London's restaurants have been surprisingly recession-proof. In the year that the economy was in crisis, Hardens records the opening of 121 new restaurants and the closure of 64. The big surprise was that openings were actually up on the previous year (111) and closures were down to the lowest level since the guide was launched in 2001. The guide notes: "This year's widely expected bloodbath just didn't happen."

The survey, in association with Rémy Martin Fine Champagne Cognac, was based on 85,000 reports from more than 8,000 restaurant-goers.