UK Top 100 Restaurants 2018
A huge thank you to everyone who took part in our quest to find the SquareMeal Best UK Restaurant of 2018. Thousands of votes have flooded in from all over the country. So – drum roll, please – here are our top 100 UK restaurants
Updated on • Written By Ben McCormack
Congratulations to our Best UK Restaurant 2018, Casamia in Bristol. It has been 12 years since brothers Peter and Jonray Sanchez-Iglesias transformed their parents’ suburban Italian into something altogether more individual; two years since it moved location to slick, ultra-urban new premises on Bristol’s historic waterfront, with a reduced number of tables; and less than a year since it launched a ticketing system for its tasting menu-only offering, with opening hours restricted to dinner Wednesday to Saturday, and lunch on Friday and Saturday.
The seasonally inspired dishes are served, often by the chefs, in an elegant room that blurs the boundaries between kitchen and customers, and where stunning attention to detail is apparent at every stage of a deeply impressive dining experience.
Jonray died of cancer in 2015, but the ambition of the brothers’ vision has well and truly paid off and Peter’s restaurant is winning plaudits by the sack-load. “Inventiveness taken to a new level in a perfect room,” says one SquareMeal reader; “a phenomenal experience” involving “consistently excellent food that exceeds expectations” chimes another, with further support for “enthusiastic service, relaxed atmosphere and a top-class wine list”.
On hearing the news of his win, Peter said, “We’ve always thought outside the box and questioned everything, down to the last little detail, to be able to make the restaurant into the dining experience we want it to be. This award shows that what we’re doing could be even more incredible in the future, and it should encourage everybody to believe that you can have a number one restaurant based in Bristol.”
We’ve no doubt that Casamia will get even better in the future – but we urge you to visit now.
Click here to read our full interview with Peter Sanchez-Iglesias.
A place anywhere on the list is a major achievement – congratulations to all of the restaurants in our top 100. The full list is below, but you can also find more information on each individual restaurant in our SquareMeal UK top 100 selection.
Restaurants 1 - 10
Restaurants 11 - 30
11. The Artichoke, Old Amersham
12. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac (pictured)
13. Fraiche, Wirral
14. The Elephant, Torquay
15. Matt Worswick at The Latymer, Bagshot
16. Isaac At, Brighton
17. Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, Padstow
18. The Kitchin, Edinburgh
19. Little Fish Market, Brighton
20. Benedicts, Norwich
21. The Black Swan at Oldstead, York
22. The Whitehouse Restaurant, Lochaline
23. André Garrett at Cliveden, Maidenhead
24. Salt Room, Brighton
25. Stovell’s, Chobham
26. Moor Hall, Aughton
27. Raby Hunt, Darlington
28. The Three Chimneys, Colbost
29. Ynshir, Powys
30. Pony & Trap, Bristol
Restaurants 31 - 50
31. Ondine, Edinburgh (pictured)
32. The Woodspeen, Newbury
33. The Man Behind the Curtain, Leeds
34. Cin Cin (Brighton), Brighton
35. The Seahorse Restaurant, Dartmouth
36. Where the Light Gets In, Stockport
37. Lake Road Kitchen, Ambleside
38. Sticky Walnut, Chester
39. The Coal Shed, Brighton
40. Adam’s, Birmingham
41. The Hinds Head, Maidenhead
42. Restaurant Mark Greenaway, Edinburgh
43. Pascere, Brighton
44. Orwells, Henley-On-Thames
45. The Seafood Restaurant, Padstow
46. Forest Side, Grasmere
47. L’Ortolan, Reading
48. Morston Hall, Holt
49. Whatley Manor, Malmesbury
50. Salt, Stratford-upon-Avon
Restaurants 51 - 70
51. The Jetty, Christchurch
52. Beckford Arms, Warminster
53. The Pig, Brockenhurst
54. The Hardwick, Abergavenny
55. Nut Tree Inn, Kidlington
56. Y Polyn , Carmarthen
57. Bohemia, St Helier
58. Freemasons at Wiswell, Clitheroe
59. Adam Reid at The French, Manchester
60. The Crown at Burchetts Green, Maidenhead
61. Gravetye Manor, East Grinstead
62. The Walnut Tree , Abergavenny
63. Rogan & Co, Cartmel
64. Sorrel, Dorking (pictured)
65. Purnell’s, Birmingham
66. Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham
67. The Coach, Marlow
68. Castle Terrace, Edinburgh
69. Craig Millar @ 16 West End, Fife
70. Alimentum, Cambridge
Restaurants 71 - 100
71. The Idle Rocks, St Mawes
72. The Gingerman, Brighton (pictured)
73. Sir Charles Napier, Chinnor
74. Leaping Hare Vineyard Restaurant, Bury St. Edmunds
75. The Greyhound on the Test , Stockbridge
76. Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Perthshire
77. Bulrush, Bristol
78. Northcote, Blackburn
79. Coombeshead Farm, Lewannick
80. Hambleton Hall, Oakham
81. Skosh, York
82. Restaurant James Sommerin, Cardiff
83. Terre a Terre, Brighton
84. JSW, Petersfield
85. Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh
86. Simpsons, Birmingham
87. Read’s, Faversham
88. The Star Inn (Harome), Harome nr Helmsley
89. Roger Hickman’s Restaurant, Norwich
90. Burnt Truffle, Heswall
91. Maison Bleue, Bury St Edmunds
92. Chapter One, Locksbottom
93. World Service, Nottingham
94. Timberyard, Edinburgh
95. Luscombe’s, Henley-On-Thames
96. The Beehive, Maidenhead
97. The Whitebrook , Monmouth
98. Lympstone Manor, Exmouth
99. The Dining Room at Chewton Glen, New Milton
100. The Pointer , Brill
Congratulations to all at Casamia who join last year’s winner The Sportsman in our SquareMeal Hall of Fame.
We conducted our survey in April and May this year, so you can rest assured that this is the freshest UK list there is. Don’t forget, you can find out more information on each individual restaurant in our SquareMeal UK top 100 selection.
Portrait images by Dominika Scheibinger
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