Britain’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2026: South West winners
Published 20 August 2026

It might be a tiny converted shed tucked behind Bridport’s police station, but this weekends-only restaurant is both sophisticated and instantly lovable. Sisters Connie and Jess Booth are floral decorators and growers by day, but come Friday and Saturday evenings, they chalk up a confidently short blackboard menu detailing exactly what you might want to eat for the time of year (and even the weather). Two sittings (6.30pm and 8.30pm) make the most of the 20 or so covers, which are quite comfortably accommodated around little bistro tables dressed with white paper tablecloths and colourful dinner candles. Start with a local pint or cocktail du jour to kick things off and let the buzzing atmosphere and vibey music wash over you. Thursday nights offer a single-choice dinner, often with live music, and are saved for walk-ins; otherwise, bookings should be made via their Instagram page. Don’t miss Selected Grapes, the wine bar and shop across the yard, for a pre- or post-meal bottle.

'Swim, massage, dine... what's not to like?' Part of a delightfully restored Victorian swimming baths turned private lido, this glass-fronted first-floor restaurant is a stalwart for local residents, who can dine as part of a package deal (a separate small-plates menu is offered in the ground-floor poolside bar). With a spa now added to the Lido’s offer, plus special events and guest-chef supper clubs, the owners have created a vibrant community space equally suited to family celebrations or entertaining clients. ‘It’s the epitome of the joy and connection that food can bring,’ noted one fan. Current chef Pash Peters has ‘transformed the place,’ according to one reporter, delivering ‘carefully considered food full of flavour’, with strong echoes of his Greek upbringing in Med-influenced dishes such as chargrilled octopus with taramasalata and ladolemono or gemista (roast vegetables stuffed with rice and pine nuts accompanied by whipped mizithra cheese). Enthusiastic staff receive universal praise, and the predominantly European list now has some Hellenic entries, with prices rising steeply from the good-value house options.

A vibrant tribute to the town's evolving restaurant landscape, Counter Culture is driven by chef Ben Harrison, who offers diners a relaxed small-plates experience that marries Basque-inspired cuisine with modern British ways. ‘It feels like you have left your daily life for a taste of escapism and fun,’ commented one reporter. The place is deliberately informal, even if the bar area is now filled with more bookable tables. You can still walk in for a drink and a snack (including excellent gildas), although some of the backstreet San Sebastián vibe seems to have disappeared. The menu is now dominated by ‘brilliantly executed’ tapas plates, so expect the likes of Tresemble beef shin with milk bread, spinach, kohlrabi, and crispy onions or Cornish monkfish with chicken sauce, bacon, sea herbs and crushed peas. To finish, don’t miss the outstanding Basque cheesecake. Service comes with a true Spanish welcome, and the excellent drinks list runs from organic wines to bespoke vermouths made by Atlantic Brewery. In short, ‘the very best of what you look for in a local restaurant.’

'I have visited multiple times,' observes a fan, 'and every time the food, hospitality and atmosphere have been exceptional.' We don't want to say we told you so, but we flagged Duncan Robertson and Kyu Jeong as Chefs to Watch in 2025, and here we are. In the Redland district of Bristol, their Korean venue's name means 'neighbourhood', signifying everything we expect in a local favourite. Kyu draws productively on her own gastronomic heritage, but also takes a looser approach, weaving Korean flavours and techniques into freshly inventive dishes that might act as gateways to those who are new to them. Charcoal-grilled meats, including pork skirt and wagyu striploin, are the heart of the operation, but seasonal asparagus or Cornish red mullet might find themselves sizzling too. Meanwhile, smaller plates offer pin-sharp seasoning elements – gochujang, baek-kimchi, mussel salt with soondae blood sausage – that set the palate alight. Low-intervention wines, including chilled reds and crisp bubbles, make for great partnerships. 

At one end of a parade of shops and cafés above Carlyon Bay, there is more culinary glamour to Edie's than might first appear. Co-owner and chef Nigel Brown has worked at several fine-dining aristocrats, but Edie’s looks and feels like a true neighbourhood spot – not least because it is run with such sympathetic charm. Contemporary European brasserie cooking is the name of the game, with a good-value fixed-price menu supplementing an impressively adventurous carte delivered with a ‘real eye for detail’ – even in the simplest, most straightforward dishes. Freshly landed Cornish seafood is always a good shout, be it lobster with courgette and tarragon hash brown or hake partnered by a colourful melange of golden beetroot, radish, pancetta and herb yoghurt dressing. Otherwise, there are always plenty of takers for the dry-aged fillet steak with chips, beef tomato and peppercorn butter. Finish with something sweetly seasonal such as strawberry soufflé with elderflower juice or lemon posset with raspberries and Turkish delight. The short, helpfully annotated wine list is notable for its reasonable mark-ups.

Across the waters from bustling Padstow, this plum spot on the Camel Estuary surveys the domains of Rick Stein and Paul Ainsworth and throws its own hat in the ring as a seriously good place for dinner. Named for the four sons of caterer Fee Turner and run by two of them, it’s a family affair but one with touches of influence from London greats such as Trullo (the crab taglioni) and St John (the stubby-stemmed flutes) that bring a slice of cosmopolitan life to this holidaymakers' landscape. When doors open for the season, a weekend evening sees the handsome but minimalist dining room buzzing before 7pm with some sandy-footed blow-ins from the beach, others dressed up for an evening out, babes in arms, children, dogs and all. The Italianate menu is set up for sharing, though you wouldn’t be penalised for going it alone with a big plate of fresh pasta. The seafood is as local and seasonal as you’d expect, and delivered with enough aplomb to keep Nathan Outlaw’s team down the road in Port Isaac coming back regularly. Start your meal with a well-made Martini or a glass of Camel Valley sparkling wine in the adjoining bar or take a table on the terrace for a prime waterside view when the weather's fair. 

The Friskney-Bryers have created ‘a Fowey institution’ in their converted boatshed restaurant overlooking the comings and goings of small craft out on the creek. The couple are fully committed to seasonality and sustainability, and their staff are also impressively clued-up when it comes to all things local. An infectiously informal vibe prevails in the main dining room with its long communal table, festoon lights, open kitchen and simple blackboard menu. Each week, the kitchen has a fish soup on the go, made from trimmings that can’t be used elsewhere; otherwise, the roll call of fabulous seafood specialities, might take in anything from cured pollack with fermented chilli dressing or confit sea bass with Cornish ‘earlies’, mayo and lovage to salt fish gratin. Away from the sea, you might also find slow-cooked lamb bolognese or nettle gnudi with mushrooms, and it's hard to resist the chocolate mousse with caramel and salt. To drink, a handful of natural wines by the glass do the trick – or you might fancy some grape juice from the Tamar Valley.

‘Very deserving of some proper recognition for what they are bringing to the locale,’ affirmed one reporter, citing Other’s ‘relaxed vibe, wonderful staff and amazingly cooked food’. Kitsch, colourful and extremely good value, this small-plates diner fits right into graffiti-splattered Bedminster with its bright orange walls and bare tables pushed together for communal dining. Chef Zak Hitchman trained at Ynyshir and Casamia 2.0 (now closed), but this is far from fine dining – and the better for it.  He cooks what he likes and changes things up regularly (the name ‘Other’ reflects the hard-to-define menu). Snacks and sharing plates dominate the repertoire, with daily fish specials and a couple of larger options added to the mix – perhaps a char siu pork chop with crispy panko or roasted aubergine with cornbread, ranch dressing and raspberry hot sauce (vegetarians and vegans have their own menus). Hitchman’s technical skills are also given free rein when it comes to dessert (don’t miss his sourdough doughnuts). To drink, there are eight wines by the glass and assorted beers from Bristol craft breweries.

‘Always full of Newnham locals’ (especially when the excellent-value lunch deal is available), this beautifully restored Post Office building is now a fantastic boutique bistro and bottle shop that is enhancing the town’s already ‘cool’ reputation. Owners Ben Thompson and Florence de Maré are both successful designers, and it shows. ‘Ever-present’ head chef Fred Page (ex-Marle at Heckfield Place) commands the room from behind a high-top counter surrounding his open kitchen, but wherever you sit, there are no bad spots here. Likewise, there are no bad choices on Page’s weekly changing menus. Everything is made in-house, from the cordial in your rhubarb Bellini to the unbelievably crispy olive oil-soaked spelt rolls, and Page’s small plates tease out the very best from locally sourced ingredients. Feast on an oozingly rich pig’s head croquette or saltfish beignets before tackling a beef-heart tortilla with chimichurri and chipotle or chalk stream trout with slow-cooked cuttlefish and chickpea stew – ‘all beautifully thought out and presented with an impressive choice of accompanying wines.’ Delightfully warm, personal service makes you feel like an old friend. 

Expect ‘beautiful local food’, vivid flavours, vibrant colours and inspired creativity by the bucketload at this vegetable-led, sharing-plates restaurant – part of Josh and Holly Eggleton’s Pony Restaurant Group. Chef Rob Howell (who opened the original Root in Bristol’s Wapping Wharf) incorporates influences from around the globe into his daily changing seasonal menu. In springtime that might mean new season’s potatoes with ranch dressing and ancho BBQ sauce or asparagus dressed with sauce gribiche and hazelnuts. Snacks, including ethereal Old Winchester cheese puffs with brown sauce (one of the kitchen’s signature dishes), are definitely worth a nibble, while desserts stay close to home for the likes of oat-milk lemon posset with poached cherries and crumble. An open kitchen adds some theatre to the elegant and comfortable dining room, where service from a team of engaging professional staff is singled out for special praise. Organic, biodynamic and low-intervention bottles dominate the short, mostly European wine list, which offers great value across the board.

At first glance, Soulshine is a humble café – a cluster of bar stools fronting a silver espresso machine, with a selection of cakes placed on the bar. Follow a corridor, however, and you enter a semi-secret dining room – a bohemian space with a profusion of potted plants, artworks and lots of primary colours. Locals drop by to plunder a similarly colourful small-plates menu four evenings a week. The kitchen lets ‘truly locally sourced ingredients’ speak for themselves: moreish Baron Bigod brie with salted walnuts and a drizzle of Devon honey, for example, or Dorset venison, pork and sloe salami with cornichons. There’s also plenty of imagination at play in tightly choreographed medleys such as peach with whipped ricotta, pickled onion and almonds or beetroot with barley, black garlic and hazelnuts. Puddings include simple, satisfying offerings such as a spiced apple tart or affogato with locally roasted Goose & Badger coffee. Also look out for set-menu supper clubs, winning breakfasts, and special events including ’a special sausage festival’. A succinct but eclectic wine list seals the deal. 

In a Devon barn where grain was once threshed, the Lost Kitchen inspires readers with fresh ideas, a menu supplied by local farmers, and wood-fired cooking that scores highly on the all-important 'scrumptiousness' scale. A gorgeous terrace overlooking the gardens is a must when the sun comes out. Sharing plates mobilise plenty of assertive flavours, as do the tempting pizza variations, while grilling and roasting bring out the best in meat, fish and veggie options. A flexible approach means you can pop in for cake and a hot drink at most times, but tables go quickly for main meals, so always book ahead. West Country cheeses and multi-layered fruity desserts are not to be missed. Everyone agrees that the phenomenal staff help make this an experience to remember, as does the in-house beer and cider brewing. Meanwhile, there are enough wines by the glass to ring the changes for repeat visits.

Formerly home to the coastguard’s horse-drawn rocket-firing equipment, this cute, single-storey Victorian building brings a unique energy to the handful of retail and café outlets lining the Boscastle estuary as it flows into the sea. There is modest seating inside and a surprisingly generous all-weather courtyard, thanks to huge, heated umbrellas, and the red-brick property provides a contrast to the centuries-old, whitewashed cottages for which the village is known. A daily changing blackboard menu features fish-led sharing plates using local catch, lamb that roam the pastures above the restaurant (gently braised Trebiffen lamb shank with a spicy Shanghai pepper sauce is typical), with room for excellent local vegetables to play a starring role too. Puddings make less of an impression, but local and artisanal cheese are worth a punt. A bijou drinks list includes wines, cocktails, beers and non-alcoholic tipples to suit all pockets.

‘There is some magical alchemy at work in this little corner of Dartmouth,’ notes one reporter, adding that the family-owned Seahorse delivers ‘seafood at its absolute best’. On the Dartmouth quayside, the restaurant is helmed by Mitch Tonks’ son Ben, who is maintaining its high standards and commitment to daily deliveries of locally sourced produce (especially fish). The Seahorse has always radiated a balmy sense of Mediterranean good cheer, and the cooking follows suit. Charcoal-roasted Torbay scallops with white port are never off the menu, and sunny flavours permeate the repertoire from fritto misto di mare to whole John Dory with Sicilian tomatoes and Leccino olives. There are lamb cutlets ‘alla milanese’ and chargrilled calf’s liver with polenta if you’re not in the maritime mood, while desserts maintain the theme of elegant simplicity – perhaps poached fruit with mascarpone and grappa. The fixed-price lunchtime ‘menu del giorno’ offers excellent value, while Ben Tonks’ monthly ‘open table’ gatherings in the private dining room (aka the Cantina) are a local hit. An excellent Eurocentric wine list does justice to the food.

‘The atmosphere makes you feel special as soon as you walk upstairs’, notes a fan of this charmingly relaxed small-plates bistro above Bath’s deservedly popular Landrace community bakery (famous for milling its Somerset grains in-house). Stone walls adorned with framed posters, high shelves lined with empty wine bottles and scruffy wood floors create a cool, rustic feel that’s matched by the kitchen’s equally rustic flavours. Chef Rob Sachdev’s passion for local sourcing is evident throughout the menu, and sharing is the name of the game, whether you’re into small plates or full-on main courses. Duck mortadella or pot-caught octopus with tomato and bread salad might be one way to start, or you can go big with a winning plate of pasta such as fettuccine with ragù di cortile. Otherwise, get satisfaction from a summery serving of Gotheleny pork with broad beans à la plancha. Desserts, meanwhile, are a great advert for the bakery's patisserie skills, as in pistachio and mascarpone mille-feuille. An adventurous list of natural and biodynamic wines offers a chance to be pleasantly surprised by something new. 

With its buzzing atmosphere, 90s hip-hop soundtrack and killer cocktails (seriously, try the Szechuan Margarita), this neighbourhood Chinese a stone’s throw from Stokes Croft is a breath of fresh air. You won’t find anything sweet ‘n’ sour on head chef Emily Xin Xin Chan’s short, seasonal menu of around a dozen flavour-packed sharing plates and sides. Instead, she raids China’s many regional cooking traditions to create an enticing carousel of complex, vibrant dishes that feel fresh and modern. Chan was formerly head chef at Tare, and her classical training shows in the presentation and clever layering of flavours, whether in a dainty salad of carrot, cucumber and otherworldly wood ear mushrooms in a chilli and sesame dressing or an indulgent plate of spicy charcoal-grilled Xinjiang lamb rump. Wangs is extremely popular with the loyal local crowd, so book to guarantee one of the tightly packed tables on the ground floor, or even a counter seat overlooking the open kitchen. When it's full, the long, thin room with its exposed brick and artfully distressed plaster walls, feels like walking into a party.