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The UK has scooped seven places in a prestigious list of Europe's top 100 restaurants – but only one made it into the top 50.

Heston Blumenthal's iconic Fat Duck in Berkshire was ranked in eighth place on the Opinionated About Dining survey, compiled from 140,000 online reviews.

However, the experimental chef – famous for serving dishes such as bacon and egg ice cream – lost out on to the top spot to In de Wulf in Belgium.

All smiles: Heston Blumenthal - pictured at the Savoy - has seen the Fat Duck crowned in the top 10 best European restaurants

Popular eatery: The Fat Duck Restaurant in Berkshire has been ranked eighth in the top 10 European eateries

Experimental: The Fat Duck is famous for serving unusual dishes such as snail pasta, left, and salmon poached with licorice, served with vanilla mayonnaise

The winning restaurant is housed inside Kobe Desramaults' former family farmhouse, and is renowned for its seafood dishes and dishes from the chef's native Flanders.

Michel Troisgros's Troisgros in Roanne, France, scooped second place, followed by Quique Dacosta's own-name restaurant in Denia, Spain, and Albert Adria's 41 Degrees Experience in Barcelona, Spain, jumping from 19th to fourth.

While Alain Ducasse's Louis XV in Monte Carlo, Monaco, makes up the top five.

Former farmhouse: Inside In de Wulf in Belgium which was crowned the best restaurant in Europe

Number one: Belgian chef Kobe Desramaults' In de Wulf won the top spot in the prestigious list

The top 10: The best restaurants in Europe have been revealed

The annual survey was compiled by Steve Plotnicki and Opinionated About Dining, using reviews from 4,300 people – the largest to date.

The top 100 European restaurant list features venues from 12 countries.

And the UK managed to secure seven places – with six ranking between number 50 and 100.

Stephen Harris's The Sportsman, in Seasalter, Kent, was next on the list at 56, followed by Mikael Jonnson's Hedone in London at 67; Brett Graham and The Ledbury in London at 77; and James Knappet's Kitchen Table At BubbleDogs in London at 82.

Doing it for the UK: The Sportsman in Kent was ranked at number 56 of Europe's best restaurants

Tong Chee Hwee's HKK in London – serving dishes such as lychee-wood-roasted Peking duck; and lobster soup with goji berry and enoki mushroom – ranks at 85.

And newcomer to the list, Marcus Wareing in London. In 2007, the list called it the 'most overrated restaurant in the UK', adding that the reason why it's now popular could be that: 'The further Wareing gets from his partnership with Gordon Ramsay (the duo had a very public divorce in 2008), the more our reviewers like his restaurant.'

The 2014 survey also sees a new top 10 – with Juan Amador's restaurant Amador in Mannheim, Germany, leaping from ninth to sixth; Rene Redzepi's noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, ranking seventh; and The Fat Duck Restaurant in Bray-on-Thames, UK, eight.

Coming up the ranks: James Knappet at work at the Kitchen Table At BubbleDogs in London, which scooped 82nd place

Modern cuisine: BubbleDogs is well-known for serving dishes such as hotdogs paired with champagne

Passcal Barbot's L'Astrance, and Alain Passard's L'Arpege, both in Paris, France, round up the top 10. 

Plotnicki said: 'I anxiously await the trending styles and types of cuisine highlighted in the European list - it's incredibly forward thinking and this year's list is no different with our European voters showing they are on the cutting edge of the contemporary dining scene as illustrated by their voting In de Wulf to the top of the list.

'There is also a resurgence of interest in restaurants featuring classical French cooking.'

Top 100: The Ledbury in London has been ranked in 77th place on the list

New restaurants recognised this year include Azurmendi in Spain (19); Maaemo in Norway (49); Tim Raue in Berlin (62); and Marcus, London (97).

The OAD survey relies on tapping into the experience and opinions from diners who are passionate about where they eat. 

The methodology assigns a ranking to each restaurant based on factors such as price point and the type of diners it attracts, and assigns a weight to reviewers based on the quantity and quality of restaurants a reviewer has visited.