24 of our favourite Local Gems
Published 26 September 2023

A charmingly eclectic bookshop, café and bakery with a vintage vibe – think mismatched furniture, high stools perched at the sea-facing picture window, and retro velvet sofas where you can curl up with a flat white and thumb through the secondhand books. The owners' previous business was the Skye Bakehouse, famous for its sourdough bread and homemade cakes. On offer are warming bowls of soup (spicy Moroccan harira, say) as well as chunky sourdough sandwiches – the Scottish 'Reuben' perhaps, filled with Great Glen venison salami and Comté cheese. Also look out for unusual blackboard specials such as Burmese chicken curry with lemongrass and jasmine rice.

One of those perfect, no-frills seafood spots you dream of finding in every fishing village but rarely do. Despite the name, this is a proper restaurant rather than a shed, while its haul of crabs is landed and boiled a stone's throw from the quay. Other plus points include a good wine and beer list, local spirits, waterside terrace seating and far more variety than just whole crabs cracked and served cold or warm with garlic butter. Expect anything from fish and chips to bouillabaisse; crabs are also available ready-dressed for those who don't fancy getting messy.

Shake off the humdrum location (beside the busy Otley Road in north Leeds) and relax into the easy enjoyment of Dastaan. Sibling of the original restaurant in Epsom, with Nand Kishor Semwal (ex-Gymkhana) as executive chef, it bears many of the same hallmarks: faultlessly warm, attentive service and a fresh, snappy menu which skirts all the curry-house clichés. Start with spinach and kale bhajiya or generous, charred wedges of paneer tikka with bright mint chutney before delving into a pork cheek vindaloo or Malvani fish curry. The vast 130-cover dining room has its own bar serving up cocktails, mocktails, local Kirkstall Brewery beer on draught and a selection of mainstream wines.

The broad expanse of shingle stretches as far as the eye can see, dotted with quirky huts and the late Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage, with Dungeness power station looming in the distance. Here you'll discover a fishmongers and the weather-dependent Snack Shack – a 'fantastic find' serving cooked-to-order seafood from a hatch, to be eaten at picnic benches on the shingle. The brief menu reflects the day’s catch: there's always a griddled fish with fried potatoes but other options could include fat, juicy scallops on flatbread or an outstanding fisherman’s roll filled with two super-fresh fish fillets. Smoked cod chowder is a warming wintertime treat (weather permitting). Check the website for opening times.

*St Monan’s-based organic craft brewery Futtle has taken over the reins at the Smokehouse. Watch this space.*

There is nothing fancy about East Pier Smokehouse except that this functional blue-painted building on the edge of St Monans harbour serves food that is so simple and delicious you really don’t care that your lobster and chips, whole hot-smoked sea bass, crab croquetas with romesco sauce or smoked fish curry come to you in a cardboard box. You don’t care because you can also eat their fabulous seafood (and more besides) in the little whitewashed room upstairs (complete with a woodburner for chilly nights) or on the elevated terrace with superb views across the Firth of Forth and the North Sea. Booking essential. 

Located on a residential side street in Stoke Newington, this is the most perfect contemporary brunch spot in the Aussie London tradition. It's appealing inside and out with simple, light wood interiors, a counter stocked with expertly baked treats and a busy back garden filled with mismatched tables. Excellent coffee comes from Hasbean while the ever-evolving menu is far more creative than most, featuring top-notch suppliers such as Hodmedods and Flourish Produce. Think braised lamb shoulder with crushed chickpeas, spigarello and pickled cucumber salsa verde or something sweet such as French toast with Mairac apple, toasted hay cream and cobnut buckwheat crunch.

In-the-know locals call ahead to ensure they don’t have to endure a long wait at this tiny, cash-only Vietnamese spot. Designed and run primarily as a takeaway (although there are a few foldable seats and one table inside), Hoa Phuong is essentially a one-woman show and you’re expected to play by her rules: opening times are hit and miss, and everything comes in disposable packaging (although regulars often bring their own containers). The spicy beef noodle soup gets rave reviews, but the short menu also features one-plate rice dishes (lemongrass chicken, grilled pork), plus spring rolls and suchlike. We recommend grabbing your takeaway and heading to nearby Elephant Park for a picnic.

A neighbourhood favourite on the route of one of south Manchester's most characterful passeggiatas, Indique continues to generate enthusiastic feedback. The kitchen's hand with flavour extends across its Indian street food, grills and signature curries, with classic vegetable dishes especially well-judged. Striking presentation and the odd visual flourish may be contemporary, but they contribute to a sense of old-fashioned care.

Visitors consistently praise the ‘welcome and engaging’ service at this laid-back pasta emporium that has come a long way since its days as a pop-up. Watch owner Chris Davis beatifically shaping a seemingly endless ribbon of pasta in the restaurant’s shopfront window workspace. Inside, the lived-in decor of rough wood floors, bare tables and salvaged chairs, plus high shelves housing trailing plants and bottles of wine, creates a relaxing vibe.

The short menu naturally showcases Davis’s freshly made pasta, though starters could be anything from monkfish carpaccio with orange and shallot to a wonderfully moreish white bean, fennel and sausage ragù with chive butter. Mains are expertly crafted, precisely cooked and lavishly dressed delights, say a generous plate of half-moon casoncelli stuffed with roast celeriac and Parmesan and bathed in honey, butter and chopped pickled walnuts or tagliolini with prawn-head sauce, chilli, basil and butterflied prawn. After such a high, desserts (including traditional favourites such as tiramisu and affogato) can be a bit of an anti-climax.

To drink, a modest list of almost entirely Italian and French wines offers a decent selection by the glass. Visit Tuesday to Friday lunchtime to take advantage of the great-value set menu (three courses for £26 at the time of writing).

Normah Abd Hamid, affectionately known in the local Malaysian food community as 'Auntie Normah' cooks entirely on her own in this bijou, simply furnished space deep inside Bayswater Market. It's not that easy to find but well worth the effort for generous portions of Malaysian hits at low prices. Start with flaky roti canai and dhal before tucking into tasty curry laksa with king prawns or mee goreng. Nasi lemak comes with aromatic beef rendang, and whole sea bass is paired with asam pedas or belachan. No alcohol is served, so drink hot, milky teh tarik ('pulled tea') instead.

Housed in Apparel Tasker, a sustainable garment factory in Bow, this Italian café is a cosy corner sealed off by glass so guests can observe the production line while enjoying their coffee and cake. Humble home cooking of Italian and Austrian origin is on offer for weekday lunches and a Friday evening supper club. The simple, affordable menu ranges from soups and sandwiches to pizza and pasta. It changes daily, so don't come expecting anything specific  though you might be rewarded with Sardinian wild fennel soup layered with pane carasau and cheese or fettuccine alla romana with chicken offal.

Fashions come and go, but the personal charm of Mark and Felicity Seager’s intimate 15th-century cottage restaurant endures – the couple celebrate their 32nd year in 2023. What’s on offer is a set-price dinner menu of tried-and-tested favourites, such as roast rack of Welsh lamb with Dijon and herb crust or fillet steak with brandy, peppercorn and cream sauce, both served with homely roasted potato wedges and steamed vegetables. Treacle tart, with its crunchy breadcrumbed topping, continues to delight, while Felicity’s cheerful service and a value-for-money wine list (from £20) explain the venue's popularity.

Set on the pretty green of sought-after Great Massingham, this is everything you could want from your local pub. It's a sizeable operation too, spanning a drinkers' bar, a bookshelf-lined dining room, a barn for events and generous outdoor space. They even show sports on TV and serve wood-fired pizzas. The kitchen offers competently executed pub classics (fish and chips with zippy homemade tartare sauce) alongside more global ideas (Sri Lankan curry; soy-glazed duck with bao) but it’s the ever-buzzy atmosphere and the admirably capable young staff that make this a happy place to be.

If you were unable to get a decent piece of fish in a restaurant attached to a top-quality fishmongers then it would be a poor show but, thankfully, the Easy Fish Company take its job seriously. Apart from gigantic portions of super-fresh fried cod and thick chips, you might find stylishly presented pan-fried John Dory with saffron potatoes, samphire and shellfish bisque or sesame-crusted tuna accompanied by miso- and soy-glazed vegetables, crispy noodles and Malaysian curry sauce. Shellfish sharing platters (including lobster, mussels and tiger prawns) are deliciously formidable. 

The Boswell family have been growing and selling garlic and garlic-themed products for many years. If you can tear yourself away from the shop – where the toasted garlic mayonnaise and the garlic jam with red chilli are must-buys – the welcoming farmhouse-style restaurant serves up breakfast and lunch daily. Unsurprisingly, garlic features throughout, from gentle notes in a crowd-pleasing spiced BBQ pulled beef burger to a dish of watercress and roasted-garlic pesto gnocchi that would see Buffy the Vampire Slayer able to leave her stake at home for the day. Accommodation is in self-catering cottages and yurts dotted around the farm.

There are stories of smuggling on these marshy edges of north Norfolk, and it’s easy to imagine them being shared over a pint or two of Wherry ale in this character-laden, fire-warmed hostelry. Food is of the hearty British school, the better to brace you for beach walks – so come for fish and chips, a steak pie to share, or a heaped bowl of Brancaster mussels. Sunday is all about magnificent roasts – those Yorkshire puddings! Visitors who fancy settling in for a night or two can take advantage of the attractive bedrooms upstairs.

Already winning with its location (a landmark spot in prime Peaks territory), Max Fischer's self-styled 'village pub and restaurant' also boasts a strong kitchen and polished front of house team. Formerly Rowley's, it leads with seasonal ingredients – try gnocchi with butternut squash sauce, fried sage and a fieldful of mushrooms in autumn. It also offers plenty of spots in which to enjoy these delights, from a downstairs bar to an open kitchen and upstairs dining room. 

Open daily from the beginning of April to the end of October, this totally unpretentious catering trailer is a godsend for holidaymakers and locals alike. Be prepared for queues, and for outside picnic seating if you want to eat on site – although the quality of the locally caught, sustainable seafood is second to none. Hand-dived scallops with herb butter, creel-caught langoustines with hot garlic and thyme butter, hot-smoked trout from the Ullapool Smokehouse, and a tempura-battered haddock wrap that’s fast achieving cult status are typical examples from a daily changing menu that's in tune with the catch from the inshore boats.

‘The entire dining experience captures everything we love about the Lakes,’ commented one reporter; ‘from the rustic aesthetics, the friendly, knowledgeable staff, locally sourced produce, and – of course – the incredible food, every detail feels thoughtfully done.’ There’s a sense of true dedication about this family-run ‘bistro with beds’ found up an easy-to-miss track off the Grasmere to Keswick road. Here, an industrious kitchen produces daily menus specialising in fiercely local produce, including a mighty ‘brekkie’ offered to all-comers, as well as stupendous Sunday roasts (including ‘the best mash ever’). At dinner, local beef can appear in several guises and Grasmere Herdwick lamb stars in the signature shepherd’s pie, but the kitchen isn’t averse to going walkabout for the likes of Basque mussel stew or crispy sushi rice with wild mushrooms. Portions are hefty, so you might want to skip a starter (say, crab and sweetcorn fritters) or dessert (egg custard tart with gooseberry and elderflower compôte). As for drinks, there are non-alcoholic spritzes, homemade fruit cordials and on-trend cocktails, plus a short list of global wines.

Taking its inspiration from the Subcontinent's street-food vendors, Urban Choola offers an inviting mix of curry-house stalwarts and less predictable dishes. Expect anything from rogan josh, creamy Goan fish curry, rich dhal makhani and sticky gulab jamun to 'incredibly flavoursome' onion, kale and spinach bhajiyas or nalli gosht (tender osso buco-style lamb shank in a tomato-based sauce) – all delivered with due care and attention to detail. Cocktails complement a short but reasonably priced selection of spice-friendly wines. All in all, good-value food backed by warm, welcoming service.