Top 100 restaurants in UK mapped – is there one in your town? | UK | News
The UK’s leading independent restaurant guide has named the best restaurants the UK has to offer (Image: Getty)
The UK’s best restaurants for 2026 have just been named, with venues ranging from “affordable gems to remarkable experiences worth forking out for”. SquareMeal, the UK’s leading independent restaurant guide, has published its Top 100 UK Restaurants for 2026. Evaluating each venue on “performance, value, and quality,” the restaurant, bar, and venue reviewer said every establishment deserves its spot among the top restaurants in the UK.
Experts at SquareMeal said: “It’s no secret that the UK’s restaurant sector is facing formidable challenges. And yet, with each year that passes, hospitality pros continue to invest everything they have into projects for the love of what they do.” 10 of the top 100 establishments are located in North Yorkshire, seven in Cumbria, and six in Edinburgh.
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At the very top of the list is Wilsons in Bristol, SquareMeal’s UK Restaurant of the Year. Located on Chandos Road and run by Mary Wilson and Jan Ostle, the restaurant celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2026 with a £39 set menu.
SquareMeal describes it as “the picture of a perfect neighbourhood restaurant,” serving “impressive” modern British dishes made almost entirely from produce grown in its own market garden. SquareMeal found that the cuisine at Wilsons is “already exceptional”, but when you consider its low-waste philosophy, the clever utilisation of its kitchen garden, and the “frankly astonishing” prices, it’s “hard to find another restaurant offering so much for so little”.
Holding one Michelin star, Wilsons remains “steadfastly committed” to its sustainable principles, which SquareMeal said they “greatly admire”.
Coming in second is Skof in Manchester, also with one Michelin star. Tom Barnes’ debut solo restaurant is “nothing short of outstanding,” according to SquareMeal.Mr Barnes delivers “technical precision and innovation” in a “down-to-earth fashion”. Earning a debut Michelin star serves as a “testament to it’s brilliance”, and represents “surely just the start of greater things”.
In third position, we have Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms. Located in Nottingham, the restaurant’s “artistic approach yields brave, unique dishes that celebrate flavours and textures.” After more than 25 years, the restaurant continues to set high standards for seasonal British fine dining. The restaurant remains a “confident and inquisitive risk taker”, committed to “the joys of eating”, SquareMeal added.
All the restaurants listed are outside London. SquareMeal has made a different top 100 list which focuses solely on the capital’s restaurants. The independent restaurant commentator provides up-to-date reviews of more than 7,500 restaurants and bars across London and the UK. Its insights are provided by a team of independent critics, supported by feedback from thousands of diners.
You can see whether any restaurants near you have made the list by searching our interactive map below.
The UK’s Top 100 Restaurants (outside London)
3. Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms (Nottingham)
5. L’Enclume (Westmorland and Furness)
6. Grace & Savour (Solihull)
7. The Greyhound Beaconsfield (Buckinghamshire)
10. Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms (West Lancashire)
12. Restaurant 22 (Cambridge)
13. Lyla (City of Edinburgh)
14. Woven by Adam Smith (Windsor and Maidenhead)
15. Upstairs at Landrace (Bath and North East Somerset)
16. Myse (North Yorkshire)
17. Updown Farmhouse (Dover)
19. The Little Chartroom (City of Edinburgh)
20. The Kinneuchar Inn (Fife)
22. The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant (Perth and Kinross)
23. The Old Stamp House (Westmorland and Furness)
25. Tallow (Tunbridge Wells)
26. The Angel at Hetton (North Yorkshire)
27. Alchemilla Nottingham (Nottingham)
28. Dogstar Edinburgh (City of Edinburgh)
29. Heft (Westmorland and Furness)
30. Argoe Newlyn (Cornwall)
34. Paul Ainsworth at No 6 (Cornwall)
35. Hansom (North Yorkshire)
37. Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall (North Yorkshire)
38. The Sportsman (Canterbury)
40. The Parkers Arms (Ribble Valley)
41. Higher Ground (Manchester)
42. Moss (City of Edinburgh)
43. Meadowsweet (North Norfolk)
44. The Pony Chew Valley (Bath and North East Somerset)
46. Gorse Cardiff (Cardiff)
47. The Barn at Moor Hall (West Lancashire)
48. Fish Shop Ballater (Aberdeenshire)
51. The Wilderness (Birmingham)
52. Restaurant Interlude (Horsham)
53. The Pass at South Lodge (Horsham)
54. Furna (Brighton and Hove)
55. Big Counter (Glasgow City)
57. The Swine Bistro (Leeds)
58. Seasonality (Windsor and Maidenhead)
59. The Muddlers Club (Belfast)
60. The Abbey Inn Byland (North Yorkshire)
61. The Forest Side (Westmorland and Furness)
62. The Cottage in the Wood (Cumberland)
63. The Greyhound Inn – Pettistree (East Suffolk)
64. Root Bath (Bath and North East Somerset)
65. Upstairs by Tom Shepherd (Lichfield)
66. Forge at Middleton Lodge (North Yorkshire)
67. Maré by Rafael Cagali (Brighton and Hove)
68. Waterman Bistro (Belfast)
70. Bybrook Restaurant at The Manor House (Wiltshire)
71. Wild at Bull Burford (West Oxfordshire)
72. The Black Swan at Oldstead (North Yorkshire)
73. Cedar Tree by Hrishikesh Desai (Cumberland)
74. Long Friday (Newcastle upon Tyne)
76. Olive Tree Bath (Bath and North East Somerset)
78. The Jackdaw Conwy (Conwy)
80. Shwen Shwen (Sevenoaks)
81. Catch at The Old Fish Market (Dorset)
82. Riverine Rabbit (Birmingham)
83. Amari (Brighton and Hove)
84. Ardfern (City of Edinburgh)
85. The Blue Pelican (Dover)
87. 670 Grams (Birmingham)
88. The Coach Marlow (Buckinghamshire)
89. Gloriosa (Glasgow City)
90. Cardinal Edinburgh (City of Edinburgh)
91. The Victoria Oxshott (Elmbridge)
93. Bench Sheffield (Sheffield)
94. Henrock at Linthwaite House (Westmorland and Furness)
95. Lapin Restaurant Bristol (Bristol)
96. The Suffolk (East Suffolk)
98. Belzan Liverpool (Liverpool)
99. The Oarsman (Buckinghamshire)
100. Legacy at The Grand, York (York)
