The best restaurants in the UK

Machynlleth, Wales

It’s rare that an 18-course dinner leaves you wanting more, but that’s what will happen at Gwen. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but behind an ordinary wine-bar exterior on the high street of tiny Machynlleth, Wales (population 2,100), is the baby sister of culinary Valhalla, Ynyshir. With just eight seats and Peter Iglesias Sanchez in the kitchen, his beautifully non-denominational cooking skips from Mexican to Japanese with ease. Come for dishes such as heavenly parmesan custard, Isle of Wight tomato jam with creamy stracciatella, and bluefin akami sashimi and N25 caviar bob on dashi jelly. Skilful, scrumptious and a little bit naughty, this is how tasting menus should be done. 

Price: £180 plus VAT.

Best for: Culinary adventurers who want to witness serious kitchen tekkers. 

What to order: Come for 18 perfect little courses of Mexican and Japanese-accented fish and meats. Not one for vegetarians, as no substitutions or amendments can be made to the tasting menu.

Contact details: [email protected]

Glastonbury, Somerset

With chef Ayesha Kalaji in charge, this Michelin Bib Gourmand-recommended gastropub opened in 2021 and has been quietly wowing locals ever since. Set inside a 17th century coaching inn off the town’s main drag of crystal shops and incense emporiums, there’s a small nod to Glastonbury’s hippy heritage in the restaurant’s tarot card-referencing name, but that’s where the woo-woo ends. The innovative menu is the product of Ayesha’s Welsh-Jordanian heritage, meaning Middle Eastern flavours peppered with Welsh touches – such as laverbread falafels – all made with local Somerset and West Country produce. 

Price: Small plates £4-10, larger plates £10-28.

Best for: Middle Eastern classics made with imagination and immaculate presentation. 

What to order: If you’re very hungry, then go for the ‘Queen Feast’, which is £41 per person for a serious selection of the restaurant’s best dishes. The vegan version is £36.

Contact details: [email protected]

Menu: For more info visit queenofcups.co.uk

Manchester

Skof is the Manchester baby of chef Tom Barnes of L’Enclume. Imagine a Cumbrian Michelin star restaurant, but swap whitewashed cottage chic for big city swagger: exposed brick, parquet flooring and super comfy leather seating. The tunes are good too. The snacks alone have already had every food critic within a 200-mile radius getting all Wordsworth on our asses and to disagree would be childishly contrarian. From the unflappable, genuinely friendly staff to the impeccably sourced produce the whole tasting menu is next level. Of course, it now has a Michelin star, just like L’Enclume. 

Price: Tasting menu £130/175. Lunch menu £55.

Best for: Extra-modern British dining.

What to order: The tasting menu is likely to be made up of scallops, spuds, cod, mackerel and duck; classic homegrown ingredients cooked with flair.

Contact details: [email protected].

Menu: For more information visit skofmanchester.co.uk.

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Whitstable, Kent

Hailed as a gastropub (but feeling much more like lunch at a countryside hotel), the Sportsman has stood on the edge of Whitstable, in Seasalter, since 1999. Despite countless celebrity endorsements and a year-long wait list to prove it, it remains completely unpretentious. The masterful tasting menu is £85, and you get a few choices for each course, with a slightly smaller one on weekdays for £55. You might find, like me, the highlight is the bite-sized snacks that come before your first course - I was offered what was essentially a minuscule lasagne in a buttery shortcrust pastry shell, and it remains one of the best things I've ever eaten. But everything else is great too.

Price: Tasting menu is £85 per person (and £55 for lunch). 

Best for: Amazing value fine dining. 

What to order: The five course tasting menu might include the likes of roast seabass with chorizo sauce, and cheese soufflé with rarebit sauce

Contact details: [email protected].

Menu: Visit thesportsmanseasalter.co.uk for more details.

Brighton

This is not the place for a formal evening dinner, but it most definitely is the place to take someone you’re trying to impress. Lip-smacking cocktails, inexplicably tasty Mexican-inspired small plates and an efficient, friendly, knowledgeable team of locals are what make this place so damn brilliant – and I bet my margarita that you’ll be telling your friends about it. 

Price: The menu here follows a small-plates format – you’ll have snacks sitting around or just below £4, small plates, which range roughly from £8-£12, and of course the tacos, which tend to start at £9.50 for two. 

Best for: Great and reasonably priced Mexican dishes. 

What to order: Halisco’s menu changes seasonally, but be sure to start your dinner with corn chips and guac, order the tenderstem broccoli and the oyster mushroom birria tacos.

Contact details: [email protected]

Menu: For more info visit instagram.com/haliscobrighton

Bruton, Somerset

Unsurprisingly for a place run by a chef called Merlin, there’s something properly magical happening at Osip; dishes are surprising without being confusing, and folksy without being arcane. It’s basically the culinary equivalent of The Wicker Man, but with a fresh-from-his-Third Space-workout Paul Mescal cast in the Edward Woodward role. Read the full review here. Try also The Pharmacy in Bruton, a slightly more approacable restaurant from Merlin Labron-Johnson, who offers exceptional and fabulously fresh small plates and an expertly-curated wine list.

Price: The tasting menu is £150 a head (and £95 for lunch).

Best for: Super seasonal fine dining, with foraged ingredients, world-class cheffing and a modern take on earthy British cuisine. 

What to order: You don’t get much choice, but the tasting menu here always, always delivers.

Contact details: [email protected]

Menu: Find details at osiprestaurant.com.

Edinburgh

Every plate of food that lands on our table at Moss is a work of art. Even the ‘local leaves’ side salad is an artfully strewn tapestry of green that wouldn’t look out of place at Frieze. Moss solely uses Scottish produce, much of which is sourced from the restaurant’s own organic farm in Angus. As the dishes arrive from head chef Henry Dobson’s kitchen, you realise each one is a brilliant exercise in Scottish patriotism, and his team of gregarious staff expertly explain the origins and spirit of each plate, which all reflect the beauty of the Scottish countryside and its folklore through intriguing touches like Douglas fir-flavourings and mousse laced with Scottish blue cheese.

Price: £95 a head.

Best for: Eating an entire nation in one sitting.

What to order: Come for the Tour of Scotland Tasting menu, of which there is also a vegetarian version.  

Contact details: [email protected]

Menu: mossedn.co.uk/menu

Glasgow

Brett pairs exceptional cooking with unbeatable service. Chef director Colin Anderson’s dishes are elevated and satisfying, with highlights including aged raw beef with foie gras, lapsang souchong, olive oil, apple and nasturtium and a standout vegetarian main of white asparagus, morels, wild garlic and hen’s egg. Brett is currently listed in the Michelin Guide, but if standards remain this high, a star cannot be far off. 

Price: Set lunch from £32, 3-course dinner £68, tasting menu £98 (individual small plates £12-17, mains £23-38).

Best for: A classy evening out. 

What to order: Add the goat’s cheese churros and crispy haggis snacks onto your tasting menu journey. 

Contact details: [email protected]

Menu: Brett’s latest menu here.

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Belfast

Down a cobbled street in Belfast’s historic Cathedral Quarter, it would be easy to miss the cloistered, low-lit, and Michelin-starred Muddlers Club – named after a secret society that once gathered here. Chef and owner Gareth McCaughey’s philosophy remains centred on homegrown produce, seasonality, and thrilling flavours. The tasting menu changes regularly but remains expansive – recent plates have featured seared scallop in a pool of punchy XO sauce, wild halibut in a burnt butter sauce, and delicate slices of lamb carpaccio and celeriac scattered with peanuts. A natural wine-focused menu makes the pairing option hard to resist.

Price: £110 for the tasting menu. 

Best for: An imaginative seasonal menu in a sexy space.

What to order: There’s only one option, but there’s a vegetarian version of the tasting menu for the same price.  

Contact details: [email protected]

Menu: themuddlersclubbelfast.com 

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Leeds

This small but mighty French bistro in the leafy Horsforth suburbs is already considered a proper destination spot in Leeds for great dining. The Gallic eatery was named the UK’s Best Local Restaurant 2024 by the Good Food Guide and received a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin guide. It’s easy to see why Bavette has become such a stalwart of Leeds’s dining scene, with classic French dishes cooked to perfection by head chef Sandy Jarvis, who co-owns the place with his husband, and French native, Clément Cousin. 

Price: Snacks and starters £5-10, mains £20-40.

Best for: A neighbourhood French bistro serving relaxed, but show-stopping cooking.

What to order: They do very good things with duck here. 

Contact details: [email protected]

Menu: bavettebistro.com

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Batcombe, Somerset

Margot Henderson has spent over two decades making Rochelle Canteen one of London’s most vital restaurants, but the Three Horseshoes – a 17th century pub in the teeny tiny village of Batcombe, Somerset – sees the New Zealand-born chef and bonafide kitchen legend truly indulge her passion for locally sourced ingredients. Whether it’s the appearance of the wild garlic that lines local lanes, or the cheese from Westcombe Dairy a mere 10-minute walk away, here you can taste Somerset in every bite. Food here is bracingly seasonal; so expect courgette with lentils and sheep's curd in the summer, and rabbit pie in the autumn. Famous fans include musician Father John Misty, who spent a significant portion of his recent London gig singing the restaurant's praises from the stage.

Price: Small plates £9-15, large plates £22-27.

Best for: Earthy gastropub favourites and country-core classics.

What to order: Whatever meat pie happens to be on the menu.

Contact details: [email protected].

Menu: Visit thethreehorseshoesbatcombe.co.uk.

Cardiff 

As Cardiff’s first Michelin star restaurant, it’s only fair to expect big things from Gorse. The Pontcanna spot opened in May 2024 and earned its star a little less than a year later. But don’t be afraid of any pretentious pomp and show here – Gorse’s charm lies in its low-key elegance, calm confidence and, naturally, its Welsh pride. With just 22 covers and a kitchen that’s fully out in the open (it almost feels like you’re in someone’s private living room), Tom Waters and his small team of chefs are beautifully composed as they add a glossy finish to their fresh parker house rolls, top their caramelly kelp custard with a dainty pile of caviar and plate up their cannelé made with whiskey from Bannau Brycheinog’s Penderyn distillery. This place is surprisingly homely, a little playful and wildly delicious – it’s the finest Cardiff has to offer.

Price: A four-course lunch will set you back £60, or you can go the whole hog and indulge in a 10-course tasting menu for £135.

Best for: Proudly Welsh food in a serene space.  

What to order: There’s a seven course lunch for £95 as well as the full-on dinner and lighter lunch. 

Contact details: [email protected]

Menu: gorserestaurant.co.uk

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Burton Bradstock, Dorset

Ever wanted to dine at the end of the earth? Dorset’s divinely windswept Seaside Boarding House gets you pretty damn close. Perched on the clifftops of Lyme Bay, here is one of the south coast's most sublime dining establishments; a casually classic spot with head chef Seldon Curry in charge of serving up fresh seafood (poached skatewing, or whole crab with lemon?) and bracingly seasonal flavours. Portions are big, too – no silly little small plates here – with heaving servings of saltbaked celeriac with white beans and truffled labneh, or roast goose with pickled mushrooms and bacon. Don't miss the starters either – with salt duck with pickled prune and date chutney a particularly potent choice. Chefs from that London are often seen popping up in the kitchen too, with Quo Vadis’s Jeremy Lee and Jikoni’s Ravinder Bhogal recent guests.  

Price: Small plates £10-18, mains £25-30.

Best for: Local seafood and amazing visiting chefs. 

What to order: When you’re this close to the sea, today’s catch never fails. 

Contact details: [email protected].

Menu: Visit theseasideboardinghouse.com/restaurant for more details.

Edinburgh

It’s hard to know where to start with Lyla, Stuart Ralston’s fourth Edinburgh venture: sometimes, you’re left quite literally speechless at the intricacy of it all. Situated in a towering Royal Terrace townhouse, ingredients are sourced from all over Scotland with a focus on sustainably caught seafood and foraged goods. The 28-cover dining room is calm, minimalist, neutral – allowing the food to take centre stage like sculptures in a white cube gallery. And art it was. Everything – from the dinky cheese and onion crisp sandwich and tweezered garnishes, to the silky, unami-exploding smoked trout chawanmushi (a Japanese savoury custard), and rich, chocolately salted milk makes you leave Lyla feeling indulged, but in a chic way. Read the full review here.

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Price: £165 a head for dinner (or £95/65 for a shorter lunch menu). 

Best for: Sustainable fish and shellfish from Scotland. 

What to order: The ten course dinner tasting menu, which will feature 

Contact details: [email protected].

Menu: For more details visit lylaedinburgh.co.uk.

Eglwys Fach, Ceredigion

Ynyshir isn’t simply a restaurant, it’s something to be conquered. As the final boss of British dining, much myth and fable has been built around this Welsh wonderland - a place where an epic all-nighter meets a 30 course tasting menu. Located on the west coast of Wales (closest neighbour: an RSPB nature reserve), Ynyshir is remote, but getting there isn’t the hardest part. That would be saving up £450 plus VAT for the pleasure of eating there. With Gareth Ward at the helm, the restaurant won its first Michelin star in 2014, and its second in 2022. 

Price: £450 plus VAT per person. Oof! 

Best for: Japanese-inspired fine dining tasting menu with an added disco element. 

What to order: There’ll be lobster, shrimp, caviar and loads more high-end additions on this punch-pulling tasting menu.

Contact details: [email protected].

Menu: For more info, visit ynyshir.co.uk.

Bristol

Some of the best and most creative cooking in the city is coming out of a cosy restaurant in Redland. Wilsons is a project of Jan and Mary Wilson, with many ingredients coming from their own market garden, game shot by the chef himself, and unusual, low intervention wines selected by Mary. 

Price: Set menu £78. Wed-Fri lunch is £39.

Best for: Michelin-starred cooking in an understated neighbourhood restaurant. 

What to order: The tasting menu is top, but visit their bakery a few doors down at the weekend for reputedly the best bacon roll in the city.

Contact details: [email protected]

Menu: For more info visit wilsonsbristol.co.uk

Manchester

Natural wine and seasonal small plates? You know the drill by now. Yes, Erst is one of those uber-cool restaurants where you can spend £8 on a plate that carries nothing but a neat row of nude anchovies but it’s undoubtedly the urtext restaurant of that genre. Those Cantabrian anchovies are excellently sourced and devilishly salty while other ever-changing inventive plates (think mussels in escabeche with marinda tomatoes, lardo and sourdough) and grilled flatbreads round off a menu of hits from head chef Patrick Withington. The wine list is excellent, too. Read our full review here.

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Price: Small plates £3-10, bigger plates £12-35.

Best for: Fresh, Euro-centric small plates. 

What to order: Grilled flatbreads and Cantabrian anchovies.

Contact details: [email protected].

Menu: For more details visit erst-mcr.co.uk.

Launceston, Cornwall

Look up the word ‘bucolic’ in the dictionary and know what you’ll find? A definition of the word bucolic. Which is exactly what Coombeshead Farm is. This guesthouse and working farm is plonked in the midst of rural Cornwall and offers a host of keenly priced set menus that show off the best of the farm’s lovely produce. Conceived by chefs Tom Adams and April Bloomfield, it’s perhaps the purest indictment of farm-to-table eating in the UK. Well worth a trip and an overnight stay.

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Stockport, Cheshire

Where The Light Gets In is a restaurant that’s all about openness. The kitchen and dining occupy the same open space (which was, in its previous life, a coffee warehouse) and there’s a similar transparency in the fact they don’t even offer you a choice of dishes. The seemingly simple – yet deceptively intricate – plates of food have nothing to hide and showcase the best ingredients from the farmers and fishermen that chef/owner Sam Buckley has spent years building an intimate relationship with. They operate with the intent of having a low or positive impact on the environment and that forward-thinking approach shines through in the dishes that come out of the pass. Sustainability has never tasted so good. Read our full review here.

Charlbury, Oxfordshire

The team behind the never-not-rammed Notting Hill gastropub The Pelican have revamped this super snug c.1500s pub. Here, local Cotswolds produce takes priority and the menu changes daily; they've got their mitts on a nearby farm for bracingly fresh veg which they serve raw and unadorned on a platter, as well as access to a trigger-happy huntsman hook-up for game dishes such as partridge with cabbage and bacon, or muntjac meatballs. On our visit, we sample sublime trout (in crudo form, alongside crunchy green tomatos) which arrived on their doorstep a few days earlier courtesy of a local fisherman. Leeks are covered with oozy Lincolnshire Poacher cheese, and there's a weighty pork chop with creamed chard on the side. You're also never too far from a roaring fire, in order to ensure peak cosiness at all times.