4 Best Restaurants in The Southeast, England

No seaside town would be complete without an ice-cream store, and the delicious, house-made, artisanal gelato here is a real treat. Everything is made fresh daily; try the cherry cheesecake flavor or maybe a scoop of the delicious chocolate and sea salt. There are also dairy-free options available, as well as a full menu of desserts, including the "gelato burger" (sandwiched between brioche with chocolate sauce) and the old-school British concoction known as the knickerbocker glory (a tall glass filled with a mixture of ice cream, whipped cream, fruit, and nuts). Alternatively, if you have high levels of self-control, you could just have coffee.

Despite the fact it has no hot meals, no waiters, and no tables, Knoops has been one of Rye's most consistently popular "restaurants" for years. Step inside and it's easy to see why: this unassuming little shop serves perhaps the best hot chocolate in England. You can select your chocolate from a dizzying array of clipboards that highlight cocoa percentages and tasting notes, and then add all manner of extra flavors, from herbs and spices to fruits. Knoops has become very successful, with stores across the country, but this is where it all started.

What started in the early 2000s as a distinctly Lewes café-restaurant has since grown to become a full-blown chain, with dozens of restaurants across the United Kingdom. This is where it all began, and the casual, eclectic, mostly Modern European food remains as reliably good here as it is everywhere. Start with a plate of garlic and herb flatbread, then move on to spiced crab cakes with chili, then a flavorful cheeseburger with grated black truffle. Breakfasts here are excellent, too.

Relaunched in 2024 as an upscale steak house, this sleek, plant-filled restaurant offers a pared-back menu of prime-cut, grass-fed bavette, sirloin, and rib-eye steaks cooked over charcoal. The meat, which you can watch cooking in the open kitchen, comes medium-rare unless otherwise specified. To accompany your steak, choose from a selection of tasty sauces (from peppercorn to chimichurri) and sides (from sweet potato fries to macaroni cheese). There's a good choice of desserts too (try the lemon posset), along with a tempting wine and cocktail menu.