Olive's awards celebrate the best, the new and the original in Britain's dining scene - including who's serving the top credit-crunching deals, the best places to eat meat, where to go out with your parents (and where not to) and where to find the biggest portions.

The magazine has also tracked down the hottest new chefs, the best places to grab a snack and the places that say they serve local, seasonal food - and mean it.

According to olive features editor Jessica Gunn, "olive's awards are a reflection of the magazine's informed but playful approach to eating out. We want to give people a new slant on the best places to eat across the UK."

October's olive magazine, featuring olive's Alternative Restaurant Awards 2009, is on sale now priced £3.40.

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THE PLACE THAT SAYS ‘LOCAL PRODUCE’ AND MEANS IT

Trumpeting locally-sourced ingredients is obligatory for any self-respecting restaurant, but you’d be hard pushed to find many that get them from within a 20-mile radius. Agaric in Devon is proud to do exactly that, and raises the bar even further by sourcing many from its own land on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. Mains from £16.95.

VEGGIES’ PARADISE

Indian Hindus have one of the most exciting and varied meat-free diets. So, if you’re looking for a knockout vegetarian meal, curry is the way to go. For O’s top veggie Indian feast, head for Hansa’s in Leeds, and try the channa, a deeply savoury red chickpea curry with a sweet cinnamon edge; or Tooting’s Kastoori, for an unbeatable selection of bhel puris, £3.75.

COMMITTED CARNIVORES

The source of Lancashire-based Red Pump Inn’s at-least-21-day-matured beef is a closely guarded secret. No wonder: its steaks are some of the best you’ll ever taste, and its super slow-roasted pork belly, £12.95, isn’t far behind either. The Cross Keys in Leeds does ace, sharing Sunday roasts. Try the whole roasted leg of lamb with rosemary, for six people, or whole roast rib of beef, for five, both with all the trimmings, £85.

THE CRUNCH BUNCH

The credit crunch means you can now eat the best food available to (British) humanity incredibly cheaply. O’s top bargains include: Birmingham’s Purnell’s, where you can have two courses of Glynn Purnell’s cutting-edge cooking for lunch, plus coffee and petits fours, for just £21; Arbutus in Soho, where a three-course, French accented British lunch is only £15.50, and Marlow’s The Hand & Flowers, where two courses of Tom Kerridge’s robust cooking will set you back just £10. A prize also goes to southwest London’s Trinity and its recession-defying three-course set menu for only £20, Monday to Thursday (advanced booking).

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