EAST
The Ingham Swan, Ingham, Norwich
Whether you choose the menu du jour, a la carte or the full tasting with wine pairing, you’ll be eating the best of Norfolk’s coast and fields, finessed well above standard pub fare.
Sea Palling Rd, NR12 9AB; 01692 581099
The Wildebeest, Stoke Holy Cross
Just outside Norwich, Daniel Smith’s dining room is relaxed and pared back, all the better to appreciate the detail in dishes such as seared scallops with pork belly, boudin noir, pickled cauliflower, granny smith, burnt apple purée and pork puff.
82-86 Norwich Rd, NR14 8QJ; 01508 492497
The Unruly Pig, Woodbridge
The totem animal may be unruly but chefs Dave Wall and Karl Green have things under control in the kitchen, turning British produce into Italian-inspired dishes (veal sweetbread “osso buco” with veal shin ravioli, bone marrow, gremolata), and taking the top spot in this year’s Top 50 Gastropubs list.
Orford Rd, Bromeswell, IP12 2PU; 01394 460310
LONDON
Home SW15, Putney
The team here like to call it a “home from home”, where you can stop in for a morning coffee, post-work cocktail and dinner that is a cut above home cooking – unless your midweek dinner is salt and pepper squid with crisp curry leaves and saffron aioli, followed by iberico pork and urfa chilli butter, and strawberry shortcake.
146 Upper Richmond Rd, SW15 2SW; 020 8780 0592
The Princess Royal, Notting Hill
From the bar to the beautiful gardens, this is one of west London’s prettiest, most well put together pubs. It’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, with crowd-pleasing menus, and frequently holds special dinners with guest chefs.
47 Hereford Rd, W2 5AH; 020 3096 6996
Hot Stone, Angel
This is one of the only places in the UK to get a taste of kobe beef, here seared at 400C on hot stones in the Japanese ishiyaki tradition. Before things heat up, there’s sashimi and maki rolls.
9 Chapel Market, N1 9EZ; 020 3302 8226
MIDLANDS
Arthur’s, Belper
If you want to try the creative 10-course tasting menu (£65) at this small, casual restaurant you’ll need to make a booking. Perhaps you’ll start with their take on a fish finger butty, move to seafood chorizo sausage with mojo rojo, and finish with smoked fudge. Best of all, it’s BYOB with no corkage.
1 Campbell St, DE56 1AP; 07709 209260
The Greenman, Ashbourne
Depending on the day of the week, this pub kitchen sends out smart takes on pub classics and lighter snacks – try the terrine and fermented gooseberries – but on special occasions, it brushes off its favourite cookbooks to run dinners inspired by favourite chefs, including Rick Stein and Yotam Ottolenghi.
10 St John St, DE6 1GH; 01335 346040
The Cod’s Scallops, various
Fish and chips are for any night of the week at this quality mini-chain, where seafood comes in daily, then is fried, baked or grilled to order. There’s monkfish curry for something different, perhaps some cockles for while you wait, and pies for anyone who doesn’t fancy fish.
NORTH
Tonco, Sharrow, Sheffield
Every neighbourhood should have a Tonco. Locals order a couple of small plates to snack on with a glass of low-intervention wine (they know not to miss the bread), and a couple more if they want to turn a snack into dinner. That way they don’t have to choose between squid, kohlrabi and preserved lemon, or grilled beans with crisp lamb breast, plus rhubarb and fennel bombe. Have it all.
2 Dyson Pl, S11 8XX; 0114 349 3996
The Orange Bird, Hillsborough, Sheffield
This local joint brings the heat – the South African-inspired menu is cooked on a braai, and the all-SA wine list goes brilliantly with caramelised aubergine and seaweed sambal, Durban curry and peri-peri chicken. To finish, don’t miss a national classic probably not found anywhere else in the UK: peppermint crisp tart.
78 Middlewood Rd, S6 4HA; 0114 234 9330
Bench, Sheffield
Friendly staff, a “daily bottle”, small mark-ups on natural wine, and a clever small-plates menu with an eye for what is in season make this a near-perfect neighbourhood joint.
7b Nether Edge Rd, S7 1RU
NORTHERN IRELAND
The Muddlers Club, Belfast
A moody bistro in the modern style (exposed brickwork and pipes, street art) with an open kitchen, where Gareth McCaughey cooks a tasting menu that is stripped bare on the page (three ingredients) but full of skill on the plate – and there’s a vegetarian option.
1 Warehouse Ln, BT1 2DX; 028 9031 3199
Ox, Belfast
By the banks of the river, it’s hard to think of a prettier Belfast restaurant to have lunch in, the accomplished kitchen sending out the best of the seasons as they change; in the evening, things get a little more formal with a longer tasting menu.
1 Oxford St, BT1 3LA; 028 9031 4121
Artis, Derry
The more formal sister to next door’s Soda & Starch serves upmarket modern Irish cooking from Great British Menu finalist Phelim O’Hagan, featuring the best from the local land and sea.
28 Craft Village, BT48 6AR; 028 7137 1635
SCOTLAND
Haar, St Andrews
Masterchef The Professionals finalist Dean Banks puts his seafood passion and expertise to the fore, although whether you order from the tasting, pescatarian or vegetarian menu, whatever is fresh and good gets star treatment in this handsome restaurant with rooms.
1 Golf Pl, KY16 9JA; 01334 479281
Dean Banks at the Pompadour, Edinburgh
He’s a Scottish chef who can’t sit still – Banks’s second restaurant adds a fine-dining experience to his already fine cooking. The drinks menu features only Scottish spirits, there are vegan and fish tasting menus, and options to upgrade the classic menu with ingredients including wagyu beef, truffle and caviar.
Waldorf Astoria, The Caledonian Hotel, Princes St, EH1 2AB; 07770 451668
Parlour, Dundee
Staff at this beloved cafe greet guests with enthusiasm, cook breakfast and lunch with a Mediterranean hue and lots of local produce, and serve it all with a smile.
58 West Port, DD1 5EP; 01382 203588
SOUTH
Five Little Pigs, Wallingford
Jay Rayner went and rhapsodised over the cheese toastie and venison ragu; perhaps you’ll be as enthusiastic about the pork cheeks with hedgerow vermouth, hake with fig-leaf aioli, or French-toast fingers at brunch.
26 St Mary’s St, OX10 0ET; 01491 833999
The Small Holding, Kilndown
The dining room looks like a country farmhouse; apt, as this is part of a farm. The vibe may be rustic but there’s serious finesse on the food, as this is from the team behind the acclaimed Curlew – expect seven- to 10-course tasting menus.
Ranters Ln, TN17 2SG; 01892 890105
The Double Red Duke, Bampton
The look of this stone pub and its bright, styled interior is all Cotswolds country class, but things get wilder in the kitchen when the chefs cook over fire. Snacks, starters and mains follow the smart, modern pub handbook but are executed with finesse – and a lick of smoke.
Bourton Rd, Bampton OX18 2RB; 01367 810222
WALES
The Warren, Carmarthen
Locals love this welcoming restaurant, which puts ethics and community first, and also manages to serve great coffee and simple hearty cooking with an equal focus on veg-based dishes.
11 Mansel St, Carmarthen SA31 1PX; 01267 236079
Purple Poppadom, Cardiff
Chef Anand George takes traditional recipes from across India and gives them a contemporary twist for Wales. Expect dishes that may be less familiar – Alleppey prawn curry with raw mango, ginger and coconut sauce, perhaps – alongside his tasting menu, which could include a Syrian-Christian take on duck.
185a Cowbridge Rd East, CF11 9AJ; 029 2022 0026
The Stubborn Duckling, Aberaeron
The name is cute but at dinner time cooking skills in the Duckling are serious. Perhaps you’ll start with Duck liver parfait with malt toast and crackling, then choose local lamb, green peppercorn bordelaise and truffle-cheddar mash. The only other question is, will you stop at two courses, or try the treacle tart?
25 Sgwar Alban, SA46 0AJ; 01545 571700
WEST
Yak Yeti Yak, Bath
Now in the basement of a Georgian townhouse, YYY has been feeding Bath with Nepalese food for 18 years. Come for classics such as momos and saffron yoghurt; stay for its own inventions inspired by Kathmandu traders, such as the ginger and chocolate ice.
12 Pierrepont St, BA1 1LA; 01225 442299
Little French, Bristol
Freddy Bird is in the kitchen and his wife Nessa is on the floor, serving his classic, simple, French-inspired food – roast scallops with sauternes sauce, tomato tart with beans and olives, strawberry and rose vacherin – and wine from a list that’s pretty big for a small restaurant.
2 North View, BS6 7QB; 0117 970 6276
Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham
David and Helen Everitt-Matthias’s fine-dining restaurant, refined without being stuffy, has been winning acclaim since 1987 – including a Michelin star. This is modern French – and beyond – food that is both style and substance.
24-28 Suffolk Rd, GL50 2AQ; 01242 573449
