30 casual dining worth the trip across United Kingdom, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All United Kingdom guides.
Blacklock Soho ★ 4.8 · London
soho · 24 Great Windmill Street, London W1D 7LG
Gordon Ker's basement chophouse on Great Windmill Street in Soho London, opened 2015, runs charcoal-grilled chops in a 1850s-era basement room.
Tip: Sunday roast is £20 and books two weeks ahead through Resy. Pre-theatre chops at 17:00 walks in for half-price.
Andrew Edmunds ★ 4.8 · London
soho · 46 Lexington Street, London W1F 0LP
The candlelit Lexington Street bistro in Soho London, opened 1985 by print-dealer Andrew Edmunds, still runs a daily-handwritten Modern European menu.
Tip: Bookings take a six-week lead; bar seats at the front are released as walk-ins after 21:30 on weekdays.
Rudy's Pizza Napoletana Ancoats ★ 4.8 · Manchester
ancoats · 9 Cotton Street, Ancoats, Manchester M4 5BF
Started as a 2014 Cotton Street pop-up; now an AVPN-listed pizzeria with branches across the UK. Dough ferments 24 hours, sixty seconds in the oven.
Tip: Walk-in only at Ancoats; arrive by 17:30 weekends or expect a queue across Cutting Room Square.
This and That ★ 4.8 · Manchester
northern-quarter · 3 Soap Street, Manchester M4 1EW
Family-run Indian cafe since 1984, on Soap Street behind the Arndale. The original rice-and-three counter, served canteen-style, still under ten pounds.
Tip: Open 12:00-19:00 weekdays; takeaway queue moves fast at lunch.
The Camberwell Arms ★ 4.7 · London
peckham · 65 Camberwell Church Street, London SE5 8TR
Mike Davies's gastropub on Camberwell Church Street in south London, opened 2014, runs a daily-changing seasonal menu and a famous family-style Sunday roast.
Tip: Sunday lunch books a fortnight ahead and serves until they run out. The bar room takes walk-ins all evening.
Koya ★ 4.7 · London
soho · 50 Frith Street, London W1D 4SQ
John Devitt's hand-pulled udon counter on Frith Street in Soho London, opened 2010, runs the city's most serious Japanese noodle kitchen. Priced at ££.
Tip: Walk-up only. Doors open 12:00; arrive at 11:45 for first sittings without a wait. Closed Sundays.
Bocca di Lupo ★ 4.7 · London
soho · 12 Archer Street, London W1D 7BB
Jacob Kenedy's regional Italian dining room on Archer Street in Soho London, opened 2008, plates dishes from Piemonte, Friuli, Calabria and beyond.
Tip: Counter seats face the open kitchen and take walk-ins. Tables in the back book a fortnight ahead through their site.
Hawksmoor Manchester ★ 4.7 · Manchester
deansgate · 184-186 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3WB
Manchester branch of Will Beckett and Huw Gott's London steakhouse. Native-breed British beef dry-aged in cellar; weekday Steak and Sides at nineteen.
Tip: The £19 Steak and Sides lunch runs weekdays 12:00-17:30; book ahead.
Ezra & Gil ★ 4.7 · Manchester
northern-quarter · 20 Hilton Street, Manchester M1 1FR
Open since 2014, the Hilton Street original is the brunch room locals queue for. Sourdough loaded with avocado, feta and poached eggs; fruit porridge bowls.
Tip: No bookings; put your name on the list and walk the Northern Quarter blocks until they text.
Lily's Vegetarian Indian Cuisine ★ 4.7 · Manchester
rusholme · 85 Oldham Road, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7DF
P G and Lilawati Sachdev opened Lily's in 1972; pure vegetarian, family-run, packed with Manchester regulars. Best Vegetarian 2018 award winner.
Tip: Twenty minutes by tram from Piccadilly; closed Monday and Tuesday.
Dishoom Edinburgh ★ 4.6 · Edinburgh
new-town · 3a St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH2 2BD
The Edinburgh outpost of the London Bombay-Irani cafe on St Andrew Square in Edinburgh, opened in 2016, a 200-cover all-day room in the former Bank.
Tip: No dinner bookings under six; walk in from 17:30 and wait 30 to 60 minutes. Basement bar pours while you queue.
The Palmerston ★ 4.6 · Edinburgh
tollcross-west-end · 1 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AL
Lloyd Morse, James Snowdon and Ruairidh Buchanan's Palmerston Place dining room in Edinburgh's West End, opened in 2021 in a former bank, a Michelin Bib.
Tip: The bakery counter sells off the day's bread at 16:00. Sourdough and cinnamon buns go first.
The Little Chartroom ★ 4.6 · Edinburgh
bruntsfield-morningside · 14 Bonnington Road, Edinburgh EH6 5JD
Roberta Hall-McCarron's Bonnington Road dining room in Edinburgh, opened in 2017, a Michelin Bib-listed neighbourhood kitchen running British-leaning.
Tip: Roberta also runs Eleanore around the corner on Albert Place for walk-in small plates.
40 Maltby Street ★ 4.6 · London
borough-bermondsey · 40 Maltby Street, London SE1 3PA
Steve Williams's wine-bar-with-kitchen inside a Maltby Street railway arch in Bermondsey London, opened 2010, runs a daily-changing chalkboard of small.
Tip: Open Wed-Sat lunch and dinner; closed Sun-Tue. Walk-up only; first sitting at 12:00 always has bar seats.
Gunpowder Spitalfields ★ 4.6 · London
shoreditch-spitalfields · 11 White's Row, London E1 7NF
Harneet Baweja's family-recipe Indian small-plates kitchen on White's Row in Spitalfields London, opened 2015, plates regional Indian home cooking, no buffet.
Tip: Tiny room. Bookings open six weeks ahead and burn fast. Counter seats released as walk-ins from 17:30.
Federal Cafe and Bar ★ 4.6 · Manchester
northern-quarter · 9 Nicholas Croft, Manchester M4 1EY
Australian-style brunch room in the Northern Quarter, Manchester, packed from 09:00. Banana bread with whipped ricotta is the menu's calling card.
Tip: No reservations; arrive at opening or expect a thirty-minute wait at weekends.
Bundobust ★ 4.6 · Manchester
northern-quarter · 61 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2AQ
Indian street-food and craft-beer hall in a basement off Piccadilly. Twelve keg lines pour Bundobust's own brewery beers alongside the snack plates.
Tip: All vegetarian; gluten-free options marked. Bookings rare on weekends.
Mughli Charcoal Pit ★ 4.6 · Manchester
rusholme · 30 Wilmslow Road, Manchester M14 5TQ
Mohammad Arshad opened Mughli on Manchester's Curry Mile in 1991; family still runs it. Focal charcoal pit, Mughlai cooking, lamb chops by platter.
Tip: Kitchen runs to 00:30 Friday and Saturday; family-lunch crowd from 14:00 Sunday.
The Scran and Scallie ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh
stockbridge · 1 Comely Bank Road, Edinburgh EH4 1DT
Tom Kitchin and Dominic Jack's Stockbridge gastropub in Edinburgh, opened in 2013, the casual sibling to The Kitchin running British classics in a Comely.
Tip: Children's menu is taken seriously here; meatballs and mash is a proper plate.
Pizza Geeks ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh
canonmills-inverleith · 138 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 5DQ
The Dundas Street pizzeria in Canonmills Edinburgh, opened 2019, a 60-second wood-fired Neapolitan kitchen with 00-flour dough and Italian San Marzano.
Tip: Their second branch on Drum Street takes walk-ins more reliably than the Canonmills original.
Locanda De Gusti ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh
tollcross-west-end · 102 Dalry Road, Edinburgh EH11 2DW
Rosario Sartore's Dalry Road kitchen in Edinburgh, opened in 2013, a family-run Neapolitan dining room running pasta, seafood and wood-fired pizza.
Tip: The lunchtime three-course express menu at £18 is one of the city's best Italian-value deals.
The Cottage at Royal Terrace ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh
canonmills-inverleith · 1 Royal Terrace Gardens, Edinburgh EH7 5DX
Peter Adshead's restaurant in the 1836 William Playfair stone cottage at Royal Terrace Gardens in Edinburgh, opened May 2026 on the former Gardener's Cottage.
Tip: Lunch sittings 12:30-14:30 Friday to Sunday are the casual entry point; evening flips to a fixed five or seven-course set.
Noto ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh
new-town · 47a Thistle Street, Edinburgh EH2 1DY
Stuart Ralston's Thistle Street basement in New Town Edinburgh, opened 2019, a Japanese-inflected small-plates kitchen with sashimi, rice and fermented sides.
Tip: Counter seats look directly onto the sushi pass. Lunchtime bento sets are £25 and the best New Town lunch deal.
Hawksmoor Edinburgh ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh
new-town · 23 West Register Street, Edinburgh EH2 2AA
Hawksmoor's Edinburgh branch on West Register Street in New Town Edinburgh, opened in 2019 inside the former National Bank of Scotland Hall, the steakhouse.
Tip: Express menu before 18:30 and after 22:00 runs three courses at £28; the express menu version of the same kitchen.
Paesano Pizza ★ 4.5 · Glasgow
merchant-city · 94 Miller Street, Glasgow G1 1DT
Paesano is a wood-fired Neapolitan pizzeria on Miller Street in Glasgow's Merchant City, turning out blistered, cheap and excellent pizza to constant queues.
Tip: It does not take bookings and the queue moves fast; go early evening or off-peak to skip the wait.
The Palomar ★ 4.5 · London
soho · 34 Rupert Street, London W1D 6DN
The Layo Paskin brothers' Jerusalem-leaning counter and dining room on Rupert Street in Soho London, opened 2014, runs a kitchen-counter front and a calmer.
Tip: Counter seats face the open kitchen and take walk-ins. Tables in the back take bookings two weeks ahead.
Brawn ★ 4.5 · London
shoreditch · 49 Columbia Road, London E2 7RG
Owen Kenworthy's Modern European dining room on Columbia Road in Shoreditch London, opened 2010, runs a daily-changing menu of small plates.
Tip: Best on a Sunday after the Columbia Road flower market closes at 14:00; the kitchen runs to 17:00.
Cafe Cecilia ★ 4.5 · London
hackney · Canal Place, 32 Andrews Road, London E8 4FX
Max Rocha's solo Cafe Cecilia by Regent's Canal in Hackney London opened 2021. Modern European plates with Anglo-Irish notes, drawing on River Cafe and St.
Tip: Book Wed-Sun on Resy; lunch and dinner slots release a week ahead. Saturday brunch is the quieter door.
La Bandera ★ 4.5 · Manchester
deansgate · 2 Ridgefield, Manchester M2 6EQ
Family-run Canarian-Spanish restaurant on Ridgefield off Deansgate, in the heart of Spinningfields. Tapas counter, seven-course tasting at the chef's table.
Tip: Book the kitchen table for the seven-course tasting; bar walk-ins fine for tapas.
BAB ★ 4.5 · Manchester
northern-quarter · 14 Little Lever Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester M1 1HR
60-cover Northern Quarter room just off Stevenson Square from The Pen and Pencil team. Theatre-style open chargrill kitchen, flatbreads from scratch.
Tip: Book ahead Thursday to Saturday; basement Honey Trap Club is the after-dinner option.