Discover the Best Restaurants in the UK
You love great food. So do Britain’s Top Chefs. They choose places where food, flavour, passion, and ambiance meet. And you deserve the best restaurants in the UK too!
That’s why Best Cafes UK has designed this list of 20 famous restaurants in London as chosen by Britain’s Top Cafe and National Restaurant Award List.
These restaurants are not only famous, but locals love them for innovation, ingredients, and consistency. In this guide, you’ll find London’s best dining places, hidden gems, decent restaurants, and neighborhood favoruites. So whether in London or across the UK, find your next UK restaurant for a memorable dine-in!
20 Best restaurants in the UK
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The Ritz, Mayfair, London
The Ritz in Piccadilly offers haute cuisine with great presentation. Executive Chef John Williams MBE leads their kitchen with three decades of experience. You’ll find classic French techniques shining on their menu. They serve Beef Wellington and hay-aged Bresse duck in gilded dining rooms under large sparkling chandeliers.
It won the Restaurant of the Year UK Award at the National Restaurant Awards. The ambiance is simple yet elegant, and their customer service is exceptional. It’s one of the best restaurants in the UK, worth trying!
Best for: The Two Michelin Star dining experience and classic French cuisine using the finest seasonal British ingredients.
Menu: For more details, visit theritzlondon.com.
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Silk Road, Camberwell, London
Silk Road serves delicious Xinjiang dishes to South London, bursting with flavours. It was named one of the Top 20 restaurants in the UK for 2020 by chef-owner James Cochran, another promising chef in the UK food scene. This place is known for its lamb skewers, dumplings, and punchy spices. It offers good value for the quantity.
In terms of interior, they have stripped back everything: wooden tables, shared benches, and basic lights. Everything is flavourful and quite filling. Also, their prices are fair. If you love adventurous flavours, Silk Road delivers.
Best for: Authentic, spicy, and flavour-bursting Xinjiang and Szechuan Chinese cuisine, especially the lamb shish kebabs and hand-pulled noodles.
Menu: For more details, visit silkroadlondon.has.restaurant.
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The Ledbury, Notting Hill, London
You must have heard the name. For long, The Ledbury has held the status of “ UK’s most refined dining restaurant”. They add precision and warmth to every dish they serve. They use seasonal British ingredients. Best Part? They have 2 Michelin Stars!
This London dining spot usually tops the list among the best restaurants in the UK by Britain’s Top Chefs. Their setting is spacious and elegant, with neat and crisp white tablecloths, calm lighting, and impressive rooms. Their menu changes with the season. They serve wild mushrooms, tortellini, venison, and various desserts that are no less than an art.
Best for: Modern British cuisine, using classical French techniques, focused on seasonal British ingredients.
Menu: For more details, visit theledbury.com
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The Dawnay Arms, East Sussex
In the East Sussex countryside, The Dawnay Arms is an excellent break from busy everyday life. This restaurant welcomes foodies with warmth. It has earned its loyal reputation among chefs for its friendly service and locally sourced ingredients. They serve lamb from local farms, seasonal vegetables, and in-house baked desserts.
The atmosphere is rustic yet polished, a pub with oak beams and a roaring fire and tables by candlelight. National Restaurant Awards lists this exceptional restaurant among the 20 best restaurants in the UK, not just because of its consistency but because of its charm.
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Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Chelsea, London
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea is a perfect place for London’s best dining. With three Michelin stars, it is a restaurant known for both precision and elegance. Chef Gordon Ramsay’s menus reflect classic French technique, seasonal British ingredients, and innovation. The service is entirely professional.
The atmosphere is intimate and elegant. It’s the type of restaurant UK food lovers visit for special occasions. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is recognized in the National Restaurant Awards. Similarly, it’s also among the 20 best restaurants in the UK. Whenever you visit it, you can expect delicious taste, exceptional flavours, and the grandeur of this great UK restaurant.
Best for: A prestigious Three Michelin Star experience with refined, modern French cuisine.
Menu: For more details, visit gordonramsay.com.
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Restaurant Moor Hall (Aughton, Lancashire)
Moor Hall is no ordinary restaurant in the UK. Chef-patron Mark Birchall leads their Kitchen. He currently holds three Michelin stars, a green star, and five AA Rosettes. You enter the space through gardens and lake views. The menu offers modern British food made with local ingredients. Expect refined tasting menus, some delicate snacks, and dishes that reflect seasonality and precision.
What sets Moor Hall apart from others is its ethos of sustainability and the choice of its flavour, which changes from season to season. The dining room is elegant, yet relaxed. You dine under softly lit chandeliers in an open hall with Scandinavian features in a restored country house. The experience is precisely what one would expect from a restaurant that UK Chefs hold in great regard!
Best for: Elegant, produce-led Modern British cuisine (Three Michelin Stars), with ingredients mostly sourced from their five-acre grounds.
Menu: For more details, visit moorhall.com.
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Core by Clare Smyth — Notting Hill, London
Core by Clare Smyth is located on Kensington Park Road in Notting Hill. Clare Smyth is the chef-patron in the kitchen. You will experience outstanding seasonal tasting menus and a hot à la carte menu. The food showcases the best British products from vetted farmers.
The restaurant also grows its ingredients and is committed to sustainability. Core has 3 Michelin stars and a Michelin Green star. Dining is elegant, relaxed, and welcoming but elevated. There is also a chef’s table available for you to experience the team cooking. If you are looking for the best dining experience in London, Core should be at the top of your list.
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Kiln Soho – Soho, London
Kiln is located at 58 Brewer Street, in the Soho neighborhood. It serves spicy Thai & Southeast Asian cuisine. It has clay pots, grills, and woks, as well as regional curries influenced by Laos, Myanmar, and Yunnan. Their menu usually changes with simple yet bold flavors.
Kiln has a casual atmosphere and sidewalk vibe. The long metal counter by the kitchen is for walk-in customers only. There’s also basement seating for larger groups. Kiln received a Michelin Bib Gourmand, recognizing its value and quality. If you enjoy spicy heat and smoky char, it is one of the best restaurants in the UK that you shouldn’t miss.
Best for: Fiery, authentic Thai and Southeast Asian dishes cooked over hot coals in clay pots and woks, recognized for good value (Bib Gourmand).
Menu: For more details, visit kilnsoho.com.
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OMA – Borough Market, London
Located above AGORA in Borough Market, OMA offers something new. It combines flavours of the Greek Isles with modern ideas. They serve sharing plates, charcoal grilled fish, breads and dips, and small dishes served in clay pots.
What stands out is the environment of the OMA. Their atmosphere is lively yet refined, with a warmer feel, soft lighting, and raw design, embellished with rustic elements. The restaurant won praise in the National Restaurant Awards and has a Michelin Guide Star. If you want memorable flavour in a top UK restaurant, OMA should be on your list!
Best for: Mediterranean dishes focused on spreads, crudo, clay pot, and grill, served alongside an extensive Greek wine list.
Menu: For more details, visit oma.london.
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St Kew Café – Bodmin (Cornwall)
St Kew Café is in a farm shop, outside of Bodmin in Cornwall. They serve seasonal breakfasts, cakes, soups, and light lunches using local ingredients. It has a rustic, warm feel, with countryside views. Staff are hospitable, and the service is prompt even in busy mornings.
If you are looking for a good food and dining experience, away from the activity and noise of the city, this is the best restaurant in the UK and is worth it. It exactly matches the charms of the countryside. It’s the food and atmosphere of this restaurant that locals and tourists admire!
Best for: Traditional British pub fare and local ales, with a menu that takes advantage of its coastal locality for dishes like Porthilly mussels.
Menu: For more details, visit stkewfarmshop.co.uk.
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Trinity – Clapham, London
Trinity, located in the Old Town of Clapham, focuses on refined European and British cuisine. Enjoy the Cornish monkfish, eel smoked salmon, and a selection of wonderfully creative desserts. Trinity is mentioned in the Michelin Guide and is considered one of the famous restaurants in London, England.
With its open kitchen, chic décor, and polished service with warmth, they create an intimate but lively feel. If you want London’s best dining with a touch of tradition and a push on flavour, Trinity is your go-to restaurant in the UK.
Best for: A memorable gastronomic experience with seasonal, inspirational, and delicious food at this Michelin Star neighbourhood restaurant.
Menu: For more details, visit trinityrestaurant.co.uk/.
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The Dining Room (The Goring, Belgravia, London)
The Dining Room at The Goring Hotel, located in Belgravia, is another Michelin-starred establishment. It has an elegant space with polished service, classic décor, beautiful dining rooms, and soft lighting.
They serve seasonal British food that includes a range of delicious dishes from lobster, quail’s eggs, and native duck to fabulous, creative desserts. Executive Chef Graham Squire runs the kitchen and combines quality ingredients and consistent service, atmosphere, and food. It’s one of the famous Eateries in London that you’ll ever experience!
Best for: Elegant Michelin-starred dining, serving traditional British food with a modern twist.
Menu: For more details, visit thegoring.com.
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Lina Stores (Soho & other locations, London)
Lina Stores originated in 1944 as a delicatessen in Soho. Now, it operates as a full restaurant on Greek Street and Marylebone. You can enjoy handmade pasta and real panini, dolci, antipasti, and cured meats. The decor is a charming rustic-Italian with warm lighting and deli displays.
What Lina Stores offers among London’s historic eateries is heritage and simplicity. They serve generous portions of delicious food. Lina Stores is one of the best restaurants in the UK for a quick lunch, meeting ,or a delicious dinner.
Best for: Fresh, handmade classic pasta dishes, antipasti, and dolci, inspired by their original delicatessen.
Menu: For more details, visit linastores.co.uk.
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The Walled Gardens (Manchester)
The Walled Gardens is Eddie Shepherd’s intimate underground restaurant in Manchester. It only seats eight guests per night. You enjoy a 12-course botanical tasting menu in a vegetarian or vegan format. They use local ingredients.
Each dish feels as if the chef has poured some love into it, besides flavour. The vibe is relaxed, while remaining alive, almost theatrical. What sets it apart from other restaurants is the scale and experiment: you sit at the chef’s table and observe the food being prepared in front of you.
Best for: A unique, intimate 12-course botanical (plant-based) tasting menu served personally by chef Eddie Shepherd.
Menu: For more details, visit veggiechef.co.uk.
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Osip – Bruton, Somerset
Osip is located in rural Somerset, an old country inn just outside Bruton. Chef-patron Merlin Labron-Johnson runs the kitchen with an evolving menu that follows farm-to-table principles. They use seasonal ingredients grown in their organic gardens, orchards, and from neighboring farmers.
Calm and beautiful decor, large windows, and views into the countryside create a peaceful atmosphere. Osip has a Michelin star and a Michelin Green Star for its sustainability work. If you love thoughtful food, seasonal tasting menus, and a calm and beautiful space, Osip is on the list of the best restaurants in the UK.
Best for: Farm-to-table dining where the daily evolving menu is an expression of the Somerset landscape and their nearby farm produce.
Menu: For sample menu and more details, visit osiprestaurant.com/.
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Inver – Strachur, Argyll & Bute, Scotland
Inver is on the shore of Loch Fyne. Pamela Brunton and Rob Latimer are the hosts of this restaurant for British food lovers. The menu showcases wild, farmed, and foraged dishes made using Scottish ingredients. For lunch, guests can enjoy fresh shellfish and soups. For dinner, tasting menus and native games come into play.
The atmosphere is cosy, with sheepskin chairs, loch views, vintage style, art, and poetry softening each corner. Inver has a Michelin Green Star and is one of the most sustainable restaurants in the UK. For you, chasing flavour and a story, Inver is on the short list for the best restaurants in the UK.
Best for: Modern Scottish cuisine, showcasing wild and farmed ingredients from the surrounding area of Loch Fyne.
Menu: For more details, visit inverrestaurant.co.uk.
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Camille
Camille is located within Borough Market, London, bringing a touch of Paris to the city. Head Chef Elliot Hashtroudi serves French-style dishes with British produce that change with the seasons. They serve blackboard specials or grilled mackerel with café de Paris butter.
The space is rustic and intimate with candlelight and counter seating. Camille stood out at the National Restaurant Awards for its refined simplicity and bold flavours.
Best for: Casual bistro-style dining reflecting the rustic energy of a regional French table using British produce.
Menu: For general details, visit camillerestaurant.co.uk/.
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Restaurant Sat Bains – Nottingham
As you walk into Restaurant Sat Bains, just on the outskirts of Nottingham, you feel a sense of precision, warmth, and flavour. This UK restaurant offers tasting menus of either seven or ten courses, and of course holds the distinction of having two Michelin stars. They use ingredients from their own kitchen garden and the best of the British Isles.
You eat in dining rooms, in a Kitchen Bench area, or in a Nucleus space. The design is intimate, bold, and vibrant. What distinguishes this place is the flavour balance as well, umami, sour, bitter, sweet, and salty, all of which are totally acknowledged here. When you’re chasing brilliance, it is no surprise that Restaurant Sat Bains is ranked as one of the best restaurants in the UK!
Best for: Two Michelin Star dining focused on balancing five core tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami) in a multi-course menu.
Menu: For more details, visit restaurantsatbains.com.
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Ultracomida – Narberth / Aberystwyth, Wales
Ultracomida welcomes visitors with its sharing plates, cured meats, and any of tapas’s small dishes inspired by Spain. It’s located in Narberth and Aberystwyth in Wales. The foodies in the UK love its deli-to-table feel.
It boasts small daily changing specials, rustic decor, and warm light that entice lingering over food. The indoor restaurant in Aberystwyth is now a vinoteca and deli shop, boasting a beautiful, small eat-in pantry of culinary products and delicacies. Ultracomida feels real and is a place for flavor with soul.
Best for: Authentic Spanish tapas bar and deli, specialising in high-quality cured meats, cheeses, and Spanish products.
Menu: For more details, visit ultracomida.co.uk.
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KOL – Marylebone, London
KOL fuses Mexican tradition with British ingredients. It is located in Marylebone, London. The chef, Santiago Lastra, leads the kitchen. And it’s one of the reasons that it is impossible to ignore this restaurant in the list of the best restaurants in the UK!
You taste langoustine tacos, squash adorned with sour ants, crab chalupa, because the menu changes with the seasons. The ambiance is polished, playful, and consistent. Visually, the decor combines moody tones and precise modern design. KOL recently earned a Michelin Star.
Best for: Championing British ingredients and wild food, overlaying the techniques and heritage of Mexican cuisine.
Menu: For more details, visit kolrestaurant.com.
Best Halal Restaurants in London UK
The London UK dining scene offers amazing, certified halal choices, perfect for the modern halal lifestyle.
Finding the best spots means looking beyond the usual, from premium fine dining like The Great Chase Islington to excellent casual places. The key is in the cuisine quality and welcoming ambience.
I’ve explored various neighbourhoods,from the vibrancy of Brick Lane to the kebabs on Edgware Road and Green Lanes (where Gökyüzü shines),and the range is incredible.
You can enjoy Asian-fusion like Panadera Marylebone, or classic chicken and lamb at Tayyabs Whitechapel, knowing they are Muslim-friendly. Whether it’s burgers at Meet Bros Steakhouse or pizza at Alley Cats Pizza, the options for an unforgettable dining experience are endless.
Best Restaurant in Chinatown London UK
Chinatown London UK, nestled in the West End, is a historic hotspot that promises an authentic Chinese dining experience.
When looking for the best restaurant, you are seeking top-notch cuisine and incredible hospitality that stands out from the crowd.
The hunt for true flavour leads to places with famous signature dish options.
The flavour profile is excellent at legendary venue names: Four Seasons for roast duck and Dumplings’ Legend for steaming dim sum.
For something modern, check out the casual dining at YiQi, ensuring a memorable experience on Gerrard Street or Wardour Street in London, UK.
Top Restaurants in Liverpool City Centre UK
Liverpool city centre, a true destination in the United Kingdom, is brimming with the best restaurants in Liverpool city centre UK, offering every kind of worldwide cuisine.
For a memorable fine dining experience, the owner-chef led The Art School Restaurant uses fantastic local produce and is a standout hotspot.
Head to Bold Street, a famous neighborhood for diverse restaurants, where you can find casual dining at places like Maray for sharing plates or the amazing pizza at Rudy’s Pizza (Bold Street).
For a Middle Eastern treat, try Bakchich, or go to Queens Bistro and Wine Bar near the waterfront and Albert Dock for an impressive menu and great ambience.
Conclusion:
From Michelin-starred dining rooms to colorful countryside gems, these places define the best restaurants in the UK. Each restaurant delivers not just flavour but an experience. Whether you want London’s famous eateries or the decent restaurants in the country, these restaurants promise food with soul. Visit them, and you will know why both chefs and diners call them unforgettable and the best!
