30 restaurants worth the trip across United Kingdom, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All United Kingdom guides.
The Kitchin ★ 4.9 · Edinburgh
leith · 78 Commercial Quay, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6LX
Tom Kitchin's Commercial Quay dining room in Leith, Edinburgh, opened in 2006 and held a Michelin star within seven months, the kitchen that brought Scottish.
Tip: Lunch is half the dinner price and runs the same kitchen. The Tom's Sunday lunch (the chef's table) gets cancelled less than the evening tasting if you book it.
Mana ★ 4.9 · Manchester
ancoats · 42 Blossom Street, Manchester M4 6BF
Simon Martin opened Mana in Ancoats in 2018. Manchester's first Michelin star in over forty years when it landed in 2019. Open-kitchen tasting room.
Tip: Reserve six weeks ahead for Friday and Saturday; weekday lunch slots open the same season.
Skof ★ 4.9 · Manchester
noma · 3 Federation Street, Manchester M4 4BF
Tom Barnes, formerly executive chef at Simon Rogan's L'Enclume, opened Skof on Federation Street in May 2024. Michelin star inside ten months.
Tip: Only 36 covers; book six to eight weeks ahead for weekend service.
Restaurant Martin Wishart ★ 4.8 · Edinburgh
leith · 54 The Shore, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6RA
Martin Wishart's Shoreside Leith dining room in Edinburgh, opened in 1999 and Michelin-starred since 2001, the city's longest-running modern French tasting.
Tip: Lunchtime four-course menu at £50 is the value play; same kitchen, same sommelier, half the dinner price.
Timberyard ★ 4.8 · Edinburgh
tollcross-west-end · 10 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh EH3 9DS
The Radford family's foraged-and-fermented kitchen on Lady Lawson Street in Edinburgh, opened in 2012 and Michelin-starred since 2024, a courtyard dining.
Tip: The summer terrace under the oak in the courtyard is the best dining seat in the city when the weather permits.
Lyla ★ 4.8 · Edinburgh
leith · 30 The Shore, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6QN
Stuart Ralston's Shoreside Leith fine-dining room in Edinburgh, opened in 2024 and Michelin-starred within twelve months, a 14-seat tasting counter.
Tip: Counter seats numbers 1 and 14 face the open pass directly. Tasting menus only; no a la carte.
St John ★ 4.8 · London
clerkenwell · 26 St John Street, London EC1M 4AY
Fergus Henderson's St John in Clerkenwell has cooked the nose-to-tail British canon in London since 1994. Priced at £££. Kitchen leans modern british.
Tip: The bakery counter near the front sells the same Eccles cakes, doughnuts and brown loaf to take away if you can't get a booking.
Brat ★ 4.8 · London
shoreditch · 4 Redchurch Street, London E1 6JL
Tomos Parry's Basque-fired wood-grill room above the Smoking Goat in Shoreditch London, opened 2018 and the whole-turbot benchmark for the city.
Tip: Bookings open thirty days ahead at 10:00 and burn fast. Walk-up bar seats are released on the day from 11:00.
Heron ★ 4.7 · Edinburgh
leith · 87-91 Henderson Street, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6ED
Sam Yorke and Tom Hagger's Henderson Street kitchen in Leith Edinburgh, opened 2021 and Michelin-starred 2024, an open-pass small-plates room.
Tip: The bar counter takes four walk-up seats from 18:00 if your booking falls through. Same menu, better view of the pass.
Condita ★ 4.7 · Edinburgh
marchmont-meadows · 15 Salisbury Place, Edinburgh EH9 1SL
Conor Toomey's Marchmont neighbourhood kitchen in Edinburgh, opened in 2018 and Michelin-starred from 2020, a no-choice tasting menu in a 20-seat residential.
Tip: Bookings open 60 days ahead on the dot at 10:00 GMT. The whole month sells in under an hour. Set a calendar alarm.
Cycene ★ 4.7 · London
shoreditch · 9 Chance Street, London E2 7JB
Taz Sarhane's one-Michelin-starred tasting-menu room inside the Blue Mountain School in Shoreditch London, opened 2022, runs a 90% British menu cooked.
Tip: One tasting menu per service; book six weeks ahead. The wine pairing leans natural and biodynamic UK growers.
The Clove Club ★ 4.7 · London
shoreditch · Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT
Isaac McHale's tasting-menu kitchen inside Shoreditch Town Hall in London, opened 2013, kept its Michelin star and a place on the World's 50 Best list.
Tip: Counter seats face the kitchen pass directly. Book the bar for an a la carte run if the tasting menu is full.
Gymkhana ★ 4.7 · London
mayfair · 42 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JH
Karam Sethi's Albemarle Street Indian dining room in Mayfair London, opened 2013 and Michelin two-starred since 2024, modelled on a colonial-club room.
Tip: The basement bar serves the same kitchen as a la carte without the tasting menu lock-in. Book a fortnight out.
Higher Ground ★ 4.7 · Manchester
deansgate · Faulkner House, New York Street, Manchester M1 4DY
Started as a 2020 pop-up; now Manchester's flagship Bib Gourmand on Faulkner House. Produce comes from the team's own Cheshire market garden.
Tip: The team also runs Flawd wine bar and Bar Shrimp; the trio works as a city-centre crawl.
Erst ★ 4.7 · Manchester
ancoats · 9 Murray Street, Manchester M4 6HS
Bib Gourmand on Murray Street since 2019. Short menu of seasonal plates, twenty natural reds and the same in whites, most bottles under fifty pounds.
Tip: Tuesday to Saturday only, kitchen closed 15:00-16:30 for the gap shift.
The Little Chartroom ★ 4.6 · Edinburgh
bruntsfield-morningside · 14 Bonnington Road, Edinburgh EH6 5JD
Roberta Hall-McCarron's Bonnington Road dining room in Edinburgh, a Michelin Bib-listed neighbourhood kitchen running modern Scottish tasting menus.
Tip: Roberta also runs Eleanore around the corner on Albert Place for walk-in small plates if the Chartroom is fully booked.
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.
Tip: The bakery counter sells off the day's bread at 16:00 for the next morning. Sourdough and cinnamon buns go first.
Dishoom ★ 4.6 · Edinburgh
old-town · 3a St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH2 2BD
The Edinburgh outpost of London's Bombay-Irani cafe chain on St Andrew Square, opened in 2016, a 200-cover all-day room in the old Bank of Scotland HQ.
Tip: No dinner bookings under six; walk in from 17:30 and the wait is 30 to 60 minutes. Drinks at the basement bar while you wait.
Vinette ★ 4.6 · Edinburgh
canonmills-inverleith · 36 Broughton Street, Edinburgh EH1 3SB
Stuart Ralston's Parisian bar a vin on Broughton Street in Edinburgh New Town, opened October 2025 on the former Fhior site, a wine-led bistro serving.
Tip: Cocktail bar Vivien sits one flight below, run by the same team; an aperitif there then a table upstairs is the move.
Crabshakk ★ 4.6 · Glasgow
finnieston · 1114 Argyle Street, Finnieston, Glasgow G3 8TD
Crabshakk is the tiny Finnieston seafood bar that sparked Glasgow's Argyle Street boom, a marble counter of langoustine, oysters and fried haddock.
Tip: The upstairs mezzanine and the counter both take walk-ins, so try your luck if the booking diary looks full.
The River Cafe ★ 4.6 · London
hammersmith · Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, London W6 9HA
Ruth Rogers's Italian dining room on the Thames in Hammersmith London, opened 1987 by Rose Gray and Rogers, still the city's defining seasonal Italian.
Tip: Sit on the riverside terrace in summer. The lunch sitting from 12:30 is markedly cheaper than dinner with the same kitchen.
Sabor ★ 4.6 · London
mayfair · 35-37 Heddon Street, London W1B 4BR
Nieves Barragan Mohacho's Mayfair Spanish dining room off Regent Street in London, opened 2017 and Michelin-starred, runs a tapas counter downstairs.
Tip: Counter seats downstairs take walk-ins. Upstairs has a six-week booking lead time but a fixed-price suckling pig set menu.
Manteca ★ 4.6 · London
shoreditch · 49-51 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3PT
Chris Leach and David Carter's whole-animal Italian dining room on Curtain Road in Shoreditch London, opened 2021, charcuteries pork in-house and rolls pasta.
Tip: Bar seats and the counter overlooking the open kitchen take walk-ins. Tables book a month ahead through Resy.
Adam Reid at The French ★ 4.6 · Manchester
spinningfields · 16 Peter Street, Manchester M60 2DS
Adam Reid runs the Belle Epoque dining room of the Midland Hotel in Manchester. Listed in the Michelin Guide; the historic 1903 room is the booking here.
Tip: Dinner only, Wednesday to Saturday from 18:00. The Midland's lobby bar handles aperitif.
The Sparrows ★ 4.6 · Manchester
noma · 16 Red Bank, Manchester M4 4HF
Kasia Hitchcock and Franco Concli run a Bib Gourmand kitchen under a Manchester railway arch. Tyrolean spaetzle, Polish pierogi, Russian pelmeni.
Tip: Bookings open one month ahead; weekday lunch is the calm shift.
The Edinburgh Castle ★ 4.6 · Manchester
ancoats · 23 Blossom Street, Manchester M4 6AN
The upstairs kitchen earned a Top 50 Gastropubs spot in the UK; Gabe Lea took over as head chef in late 2024. Located in Ancoats. Priced at £££.
Tip: Downstairs handles walk-in pints; the restaurant upstairs needs a booking.
Rudy's Pizza Napoletana ★ 4.6 · Manchester
ancoats · 9 Cotton Street, Ancoats, Manchester M4 5BF
Started as a 2014 Cotton Street pop-up in Manchester; now an AVPN-listed pizzeria. Dough ferments 24 hours, sixty seconds in the wood-fired oven.
Tip: Walk-in only at Ancoats; arrive by 17:30 on weekends or expect a queue running across Cutting Room Square.
This and That ★ 4.6 · Manchester
northern-quarter · 3 Soap Street, Manchester M4 1EW
Family-run Indian cafe since 1984, on Soap Street behind the Arndale. Rice-and-three counter, canteen-style, still under ten pounds a plate.
Tip: Open 12:00-19:00 weekdays; takeaway queue moves fast at lunch.
Lily's Vegetarian Indian Cuisine ★ 4.6 · 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 regulars. Best Vegetarian at the 2018 Food Festival.
Tip: Ashton-under-Lyne is twenty minutes by tram from Piccadilly; closed Monday and Tuesday.
Noto ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh
new-town · 47a Thistle Street, Edinburgh EH2 1DY
Stuart Ralston's Thistle Street dining room in New Town Edinburgh, opened in 2019, a Japanese-inflected small-plates kitchen in a former townhouse basement.
Tip: Bar seats look directly onto the sushi pass. Stuart's other rooms, Aizle and Tipo, sit within a four-minute walk.