Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2026 campaign shines a spotlight on the places shaking up their neighbourhoods – and this year, one theme is looming large: global cuisine. Forget bog-standard ‘international food’ – these kitchens are dishing up personal histories, regional traditions and genuinely fresh takes on recipes from every corner of the globe. String them all together and you get a picture of Britain where the high street isn't just somewhere to grab a quick bite – it’s a passport to a whole world of flavour.
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Wangs, Bristol
Wangs, our South West Winner, celebrates China's regional cuisines far beyond takeaway clichés. Former Tare chef Emily Xin Xin Chan's seasonal menu spans Sichuan's numbing spice to Xinjiang's smoky char, with sharing plates like chilli-sesame wood ear mushroom salad and charcoal-grilled lamb rump, best enjoyed with a Szechuan Margarita in hand. Book ahead.
Janda Diner, Peckham, London
Janda started life as a pop-up and residency before landing in Peckham proper, and it still has that party energy. Chef-owner Ady Yacob trained classically but cooks from the heart – his Malaysian heritage shines through in dishes that are generous, playful and packed with punch, from beef rendang to sticky milk-fried chicken. It’s the kind of place where you go for one dish and end up ordering four more.
Lucky Lychee, Winchester
Proof that global flavours and good old British produce get along just fine. Tucked into a Winchester pub, Nicole Yeoh and James Harris serve up Malaysian and Chinese-inspired cooking rooted in Yeoh’s Penang upbringing. Bold spicing, clever twists and smart pairings feel wonderfully traditional and completely modern at the same time.
Mambow, Clapton, London
Malaysian food, East London swagger. Chef Abby Lee and Vanessa Fernandes run a spot that’s part neighbourhood gem, part happy chaos – fiery flavours served with a relaxed, slightly scruffy charm. The menu keeps changing to reflect just how varied Malaysian cooking really is, mixing inventive seasonal dishes with punchy classics. This is a place built for lingering over one more plate.
Soi 1268, Birmingham
Sai Deethwa and James Fitzgibbons took their much-loved street-food van and turned it into a proper Stirchley destination. Hospitality matters here just as much as the food, and that food is big, bold and unmistakably Thai: think beef massaman and chicken panang that could hold their own in Bangkok, let alone Birmingham.
Namo, Brighton
Chef Bookie Mitchell draws on his Northern Thai roots and Brighton’s excellent local produce to push Thai cooking to new heights. Expect generous portions, real depth of flavour, and dishes – from claypot rice to zingy Laotian-inspired salads – that bring proper regional Thai cooking to the seaside, no compromises.
Little Clove Kitchen, Liverpool
Tucked away in Aigburth, this little Thai café is a good reminder that brilliant food can turn up absolutely anywhere. Warm, unfussy service and deeply flavoured cooking win locals over fast. This isn’t your standard pad-thai-and-done menu, it’s carefully balanced spicing and interesting ingredients that show just how much range Thai cuisine actually has.
Dongnae, Bristol
‘Dongnae’ means neighbourhood, and that’s the whole point of this place. Chefs Duncan Robertson and Kyu Jeong strike a lovely balance between doing right by Korean tradition and cooking with a contemporary eye. Add strong hospitality and a real sense of community, and you’ve got exactly the kind of local restaurant every street wishes it had.
Calong, Stoke Newington, London
A stylish, intimate little bistro where Korean food gets the fine-dining treatment. Chef Joo Won trained in classical French cooking, but it’s his Korean roots that give the menu its character – kimchi fritters, mushroom claypot rice, BBQ onglet. It’s proof that mixing culinary traditions can create something that feels contemporary rather than confused.
Shwen Shwen, Sevenoaks
A proper celebration of Sierra Leonean heritage. Maria Bradford mixes comfort, elegance and genuine discovery – you’ll come across ingredients like fonio and kankankan spice blends that many diners won’t have tried before. Expect colourful surroundings, warm hospitality, and a menu that’s basically an invitation to stay and explore.
Mori Mori, Margate
This one nails the relaxed, unpretentious vibe of a Japanese izakaya and drops it into Margate’s ever-evolving food scene. No frills, no fuss – just fresh Japanese cooking built for sharing with smartly compiled sushi boxes, noodles, okonomiyaki, gyoza and an impressive list of savoury nibbles.
Ebi Sushi, Derby
Great sushi isn't reserved for glamorous surroundings, and Ebi Sushi is the case in point. It’s all about bringing genuine sushi craft – precision, quality, care – into a proper local setting. From the cold soba noodles and soft-shell crab tempura to the green-tea ice cream, this is not rarefied omakase but no-frills Japanese dining done well.
Tonka, Hastings, West Sussex
Bold, creative, flavour-first cooking that’s helping put Hastings on the culinary map. Tonka’s got that independent, adventurous streak that ties this whole list together – food that feels genuinely exciting to eat, while never once feeling unwelcoming or over-serious.
The Orange Bird, Sheffield
Chef Matthew Duggan-Jones is paying homage to his heritage here, and it shows in every plate that comes off the braai. This is South African cooking at its finest, with venison boerewors, mosbolletjies and piri-piri chicken as menu must-haves, and it’s exactly the kind of place that proves brilliant global cooking doesn't need a city-centre postcode to thrive.
Logma, Hackney, London
At Logma, Iranian and Iraqi cooking arrives generously portioned in a genuinely warm setting. Mornings and afternoons find it functioning as a cosy local café – coffee, pastries and hearty homestyle lunches featuring long-braised stews, fragrant herb soups, rice dishes and sandwiches. Come Wednesday nights, the mood shifts for 'Logma Lates': weekly BYOB supper clubs where communal tables share regional fusion fare.
A Se Anar, Blackpool
Just off the South Promenade, this Highfield Road Indian favourite serves dishes steeped in the Subcontinent's ancestral traditions. Family-style sharing platters like Kashmiri pulao sit alongside beef bagla bhuna and Afghan chicken, with Darjeeling chicken momo and lahsuni houmous to start. Add a supper club, live music and proper Indian brunch, and it’s Blackpool’s tastiest local secret.
Bauji, Worthing
Chef-proprietor Dayashankar Sharma brings the flavours of Rajasthan to Worthing, inspired by his own childhood – and the balance he strikes is spot on. Familiar Indian favourites sit alongside dishes that dig into regional tradition, careful spicing, and proper generosity. A neighbourhood spot that proves Indian food still has endless stories left to tell.
