445 Best Restaurants in England

This charming, intimate local favorite is near an uncompromisingly busy intersection, but the friendliness of the staff and classic bistro food more than make up for it. Typical mains include Cajun swordfish with green bean salad or beef Wellington. Ask to be seated in the lovely walled garden if the weather's fine.

Right next to the Old Royal Naval College Visitor Centre, The Old Brewery is a great spot for a laid-back summer drink with a view of the river and the grand buildings of the college. The all-day menu is mainly British pub classics, but with a focus on locally sourced ingredients. Inside, there's an artful, high-ceilinged dining room with a more sophisticated feel—its past life as a brewery is evident in the copper brew tanks lining one wall. Brunch is also served. 

A colorful, friendly old pub near the cathedral, the Old Buttermarket is a great place to grab a hearty lunch and sample some traditional English fare with a modern inflection. You can sip a pint of fresh English ale while sampling a wild boar and chorizo pie or perhaps a warming bowl of Cheddar-crumbed mac and cheese. There's been a pub on this site for more than 500 years; historical records show that there were once secret tunnels connecting it to Canterbury Cathedral.

This welcoming tearoom and restaurant offers homemade scones and cakes as well as authentic Devon cream teas served with clotted cream and jam. The menu also lists a range of breakfast dishes, light lunches, and snacks to keep you going, including salads, sandwiches, and Welsh Rarebit, and the daily specials board is also worth consulting. Gluten-free and vegan/vegetarian diets are catered for. It's popular, so call ahead to be sure of a table.

Bristol's former stock exchange has found a new role as an atmospheric Indian eatery. It's the perfect setting for classic and innovative Indian dishes such as nilgiri korma (chicken or lamb in a creamy almond sauce infused with rose petals) and machi mazadaar (salmon with mustard seeds and tamarind water). All the opulent trimmings have been restored, including the mahogany paneling, rich drapes, tiled staircase, and elegant statuary.

With so much competition, it takes a bold establishment to claim its Bakewell puddings as "original," but those served here are among the best. The "pudding" in question is actually a dense, sugary pie with a jam and almond filling and a puff pastry crust, eaten cold or hot with custard or cream (a more common variant, the Bakewell tart, is made with short-crust pastry, but aficionados consider the pudding to be more authentic). The cozy oak-beam dining room also turns out commendable brunch dishes, sandwiches, and main courses including a "blacksmiths' skillet" (local black pudding and farm bacon in a peppercorn sauce.)

What is perhaps Bath's tiniest restaurant is also one of its tastiest. Order a glass of wine and a bowl of patatas fritas (chunks of fried potatoes, made in-house daily) while you browse the tapas menu, and then pick three to four dishes per person to share. The pulpo a la Gallega (octopus and spicy paprika) and boquerones (fresh anchovies in olive oil) are heavenly. Located on the first floor of a historic building in the city center, Ole Tapas has just half a dozen tables, so it's worth making a reservation in advance.

A location a little hidden away from the main throng makes this gastropub a popular choice for locals and in-the-know visitors. Inside, the wooden tables and floors have a worn, lived-in look that helps create a relaxed atmosphere, and the secret courtyard is a real delight. Local ales are on tap, but it’s the inventive menu with twists on favorite pub dishes that really hits the spot, with items such as the shrimp burger or the Asian-inspired coleslaw served with some dishes.

Hearty, warming meals are offered at this informal, family-style restaurant in a 16th-century building on the main dining street near the theaters. The updated English and international dishes win praise from the locals. There’s a good range of light options and fixed-price menus as well. Make reservations a month ahead in summer.

Set in the airy Pavilion at Siddington Park and with a glorious south-facing terrace overlooking the gardens, The Orangery is a fine 2024 addition to Cirencester's dining scene. The chefs' focus is on fresh, seasonal flavors, with an all-day menu of light and more substantial options featuring many ingredients grown in the restaurant's own kitchen garden. The afternoon tea menu is especially popular and includes a tea selection from Born Wild as well as delicious finger sandwiches, scones, and homemade cakes.

This most traditional of old English tearooms is named for a kind of cheese tart invented near here in Tudor times. Legend has it that Henry VIII loved them so much he had the recipe kept under armed guard; this place has specialized in the authentic royal recipe for more than 120 years now and still bakes the maids by hand on the premises. Full afternoon tea is served all day. During busy periods, the tearoom may impose a minimum spend per person. 

Hidden away in the depths of a Mayfair hotel, Ormer delivers modern British cooking at its finest. In the art deco–inspired basement haven, you can indulge in elegant dishes from executive chef Sofian Msetfi, which celebrate the seasonal and the foraged. You'll find options from roast anjou pigeon to warm Iberico ham jelly. The wide-ranging wine list features an excellent selection of English fizz. At £79 a head, the tasting menu is exceptionally reasonable for the quality you receive.

This Islington institution is a foodie's heaven. With the accent on North African and Eastern Mediterranean cuisine, the inventive, tasty, and healthy veg-centric dishes, along with fresh salads, flaky pastries, and artisan cakes, make this deli-bakery-café worth an hour of anyone's time. Go home with a knockout chocolate meringue or a plum-and-quince tart, and pick up Ottolenghi's outstanding Israeli- and Palestinian-inspired cookbook, Jerusalem, on the way out.

One of the country's foremost chefs, Nathan Outlaw, has established a base in Port Isaac, where he has two top-notch seafood restaurants. The Fish Kitchen, right on the quay, is the more casual of the two, occupying a 15th-century fisherman’s cottage with just eight tables. The three-course fixed-price sharing menu (£95 per person) features the freshest seafood available, all creatively prepared and sustainably sourced; at lunchtime you can also order à la carte. Your meal might include crispy fried monkfish with fennel and soused sea-bass with saffron and carrot, followed by a dessert of basil custard, oat, and strawberry. The smarter, roomier, and pricier Outlaw's New Road at the top of the village also serves a seafood tasting menu for lunch and dinner at £175 per person or à la carte at lunchtime (Tuesday through Saturday). No children under 10 are allowed in either restaurant.

This airy, light-filled modern brasserie on a restaurant-heavy street close to the docks is known for its melt-in-your-mouth fare for meat eaters but also offers vegetarian options. The menu leans toward fish classics like pan-fried cod, grilled meats, and Modern British stalwarts like slow-cooked pork belly and braised lamb shank.

Stroll west along the Thames, past the interesting architectural remnants of the Greenwich Steam Ferry, to this bright, friendly, waterside pub. Downstairs, you'll find upmarket pub fare—think fish pie with lobster or artichoke and mushroom hotpot with hispi cabbage—while there's a fancier, fine-dining menu upstairs.

This thatched pub on a creek 4 miles north of Falmouth is a great retreat, with both a patio and a moored pontoon for summer dining. The menu features standard pub grub—for example, sandwiches and baguettes, fish pie, mushroom and red wine pie, and garlic and lemon pork loin with lyonnaise potatoes—but you may be satisfied with just a local ale or a West Country organic wine by the waterside. Maritime memorabilia and fresh flowers provide decoration, and there's a blazing fire in winter. You can sit in the flagstone bar, in the oak-beamed room upstairs, or outside.

For some, the waterfront and city views through the floor-to-ceiling windows of this 34th-floor restaurant might outdo the fine dining itself, but there's no denying the ambition and love that's gone into the Modern European set menus. You can also just come here to soak up that vista over afternoon tea or a cocktail. 

Tucked away from the busy harbor, this French-owned local favorite serves classic Gallic dishes such as onion soup, eggs Benedict, and croque monsieur, plus simple seafood dishes like king prawns in garlic butter. If you're looking for an afternoon pit stop, try the substantial, and very English, cream tea selection and other superlative baked goods. A set-menu, monthly supper club held on Fridays and Saturdays serves dishes like bouillabaisse or a supreme of chicken filled with goat's cheese and tarragon. It books up fast.

This lively Israeli-Levantine restaurant offers excellent tapas with Mediterranean influences from North Africa up through the Middle East and Turkey at relatively friendly (by Kensington standards) prices. Start with fluffy Yemeni challah bread and move onto beetroot crème brûlée with grilled asparagus, prawns in a white chocolate and lemon sauce, sea bass with a pistachio crust, or a mushroom and chicken hearts polenta. This is the kind of place where you're expected to share plates and eat with your fingers, and if you have something dribbling down your chin, no one will mind. Service can occasionally be a bit brusque.

Healthy snacks and lunches are served at this bright café next to the Royal Observatory. Homemade soups and sandwiches are good for a quick refuel, or try one of the delicious stone-baked pizzas for something more substantial. Check out the fancy weather vane on the roof of this quirky octagonal building, which depicts Lord Nelson looking through his telescope.

Aside from the punny name, this fine restaurant, in the upscale suburb of Jesmond, hits all the right notes, with chef Dave Coulson serving up delicious, flavor-packed, and beautifully presented dishes. Choose from a selection of seasonal, multicourse tasting menus (including vegetarian options) that make the most of fresh local produce; the four-course lunch offers incredible value at just £25. The interior is colorful and airy, and the waitstaff is friendly and attentive—in fact, you might struggle to catch your breath between servings of bread, drinks, endless amuse bouches, and regular courses.

Now in its third location, this Michelin-starred Gordon Ramsay flagship offers fine dining to the max without being overly stuffy or cautious. The cooking combines superb technique with creativity, blending complex and intricate flavors in dishes like Isle of Skye scallops with an olive oil sabayon; confit of turbot with tenderstem broccoli and clams; or an apple soufflé with crème anglaise. The wine list is divinely decadent, offering, if you can afford them, some of the best wines in the entire world. The service and the room are both relaxed without being casual. Three-course set-price menus (£65 for lunch, £120 for dinner) are available as are more elaborate tasting menus and there is a "preferred smart dress code."

This 600-year-old inn is home to one of the city's oldest pubs, making it a good stop for an afternoon pint of real ale and bowl of doorstop-sized potato wedges. Mind the low beams.

Just a 10-minute drive from the hustle and bustle of Padstow, this coastal retreat occupies an opulent old farmhouse surrounded by delightful grounds with glorious sea views. Like other branches of this hipster chain, the menu prioritizes ingredients produced within a 25-mile radius in such dishes as lamb rump with kohlrabi, broad beans, and nasturtium; middle white pork loin with red onions; harrisa-braised leeks with smoked quinoa and almonds; butterflied gurnard; and Newlyn plaice. The restaurant's wood-paneled main dining room, with its fine Jacobean ceiling, is augmented by less formal beamed and flagstoned areas, and there is also the outdoor Lobster Shed (late May to late September) for wood-roasted lobster and chargrilled meats. Round off your visit with a stroll round the kitchen garden, where much of the restaurant's produce is grown. A range of rooms is also available here.

A few minutes' drive from Bourton in the quiet hamlet of Cold Aston, the Plough occupies an old, restored 17th-century inn. Flagstones, original beams, a fireplace, a quiet bar area, and simple, classic pub fare done well make this an ideal retreat from the Bourton crowds in high season. Enjoy your pint in the sunshine, admiring the centuries-old tree opposite the pub. There are three quiet rooms for those wishing to prolong their stay.

Unbeatable for its location alone—on the broad, golden sands of Porthminster Beach—this sleek, modern eatery prepares imaginative lunches and evening meals that you can savor while you take in the marvelous vista across the bay. The accent is on Mediterranean and Asian seafood dishes, and typical choices include pan-fried skate wing with spider crab, samphire, and a caper and herb butter sauce; lobster tagliatelle with fennel and zucchini; and Indonesian vegetable curry. There's a beach bar and outdoor kitchen, too—a tempting stop in summer for breakfast, a snack lunch, an evening barbecue, or just a drink—and two sister restaurants (Porthminster Kitchen on the harborside and Porthgwidden Beach Café in the Downalong neighborhood) have smaller and cheaper menus that are equally strong on seafood.

A laid-back, airy, Art Deco--inspired gastropub serving up quality Modern British food, The Prince Bonaparte offers a fine selection of ales and carefully chosen wines. A stone's throw from Portobello Market, it's the perfect place for a drink or a bite to eat.

At this pub you can contemplate the quayside comings and goings over a pint of real ale and a sandwich, a pie, or a pasty, or a full meal of steak or seafood. The nautical theme comes through in pictures and the ship's wheel hanging from the ceiling. There are tables outside on the quay.

The 18th-century Pump Room, with views over the Roman baths, serves morning pastries and brunch, as well as afternoon tea (from noon until late afternoon), to music by a pianist or string trio who play every day. The stately setting is the selling point rather than the food, but do sample the the house-made cakes and pastries, including scrumptious scones.