Best restaurants in Chester
Published 03 May 2025

If you think Covino is just a touch snug in its dimensions, be aware that when it first opened, just around the corner, it was even teensier. Tuck your elbows in, and be prepared to be seduced by a high-achieving gastronomic wine bar that has become an integral component of Chester's dynamic city centre. The midweek evening offer extends to a lunchtime start on Fridays and Saturdays (as the end of the working week beckons), and it reliably encompasses lively small-plate dining of true distinction. A combo of beetroot and tofu dressed in gochujang and sesame competes with a salad of bitter leaves, Bleu d'Auvergne and orange in the vitamin stakes. Pasta is impressive, perhaps cavatelli with Marina di Chioggia squash and sage, while proteins get motoring with salt fish beignets and tarragon mayo or the properly satiating guinea fowl with borlotti beans and root veg. The reader who commented that the winning service is 'always charming, always funny,' reminds us that being entertained is an often overlooked, but essential, aspect of happy dining. That, and a bowl of muscovado pudding with Pedro Ximénez-lashed figs, probably. The wine selection continues to impress for its imaginative range.

On the Eastgate rows in the centre of Chester, Shrub specialises in plant-based cooking with a Mediterranean emphasis, illuminated here and there with east Asian seasonings. The room is expansive and relaxing, with lots of sustainable wood, rattan lampshades and fake foliage lending a gentle touch of urban pastoral. Staff are highly clued up and helpful at filling in any gaps the menu specs might expose, although much of it pushes the on-trend buttons for voguish vegan cookery.

Start with meze and small-plate selections to see how you go. Courgettes barbecued over coals acquire a deliciously lingering smokiness, and are accompanied by spicy tomato sambal and toasted coconut. The onion bhajis with tamarind and green chutney have rightly been a menu stalwart since Shrub opened in 2020, while artichoke 'wings' (we used to call them hearts) come with a dressing raunched up with Aleppo pepper and garlic mayo. A wine and miso dressing with pumpkin tortellini was everything our umami receptors could wish for, and made up for a rather heavy texture in the pasta parcels themselves. Gnocchi with sugar snaps, rocket and sorrel pesto is an appetising study in green, while sides include Szechuan fries with spring onion and chilli.

After that, something soothing such as chocolate and mint cheesecake should fit the bill. Shrub also does it own creative plant-based take on the Sunday roast: oyster mushroom Wellington is the main event, accompanied by a vegan ‘yorkie’, charred cabbage, assorted veg, seasonal purée and gravy. ‘You miss nothing and gain everything,’ noted one fan. Fragrant cocktails and no-waste infusions add to the drinks list, which also has characterful wines by the glass from £6.50.

Gary Usher's Elite Bistro group began at this fondly regarded neighbourhood joint in the Hoole suburb of Chester. Extending over two levels, the dark walls hung with jolly prints, the kitchen partly on view at ground-level, it's a happy place all round – one that elicits a wistful ‘I wish I lived just around the corner’ from a satisfied reader. Popular dishes at a summer visit for one couple included sweetly glazed streaky bacon with a leafy walnut salad in buttermilk dressing, and a splendid duck breast, the pink meat properly rested, served with a tartlet of the shredded confit leg, pickled shallots, gooseberries and spring onions. Another correspondent was full of praise for roast cod with lardo Ibérico, hen of the woods, puréed onion and toasted hazelnuts.

Menus turn with the seasons, arriving at the wintry end of the year with sustaining propositions such as braised featherblade of beef in red wine sauce with beetroot ketchup and the all-important truffled Parmesan chips (a Gary Usher signature). If your main dish doesn't incorporate these, order them on the side.

A self-confessed ‘sweetie’ thoroughly enjoyed the honeycomb ice cream that came with dark chocolate sauce and a wedge of whole honeycomb. Look to the top-value fixed-price menu (£20 for three courses) if you're on a tight budget. Helpful wine advice is readily forthcoming, and almost everything on the approachable list is available by the glass (from £6.50).

Owner Giacomo Guido has not only brought some Italian community spirit to Chester's historic Rows, he's also wowing the crowds with a 14-strong menu of best-in-class Neapolitan pizzas. The classic margherita is a lesson in simplicity (light and airy with a melt-in-the mouth softness that is rare to find), although there are more interesting riffs too – try the ‘white’ pizza topped with wild broccoli, Neapolitan sausage, smoked mozzarella and chilli oil. Prices are very reasonable, and the line-up is bookended by a few antipasti and desserts – from provola fritta to fried pizza balls with Nutella. Sit outside with a glass of something suitable and imagine you’re reclining on an Italian piazza.