Past Best Local Restaurant award winners
Published 12 April 2023

With its 'lovely vibe' and 'inventive food', Brassica has undoubtedly given a welcome jolt to the dining scene in Beaminster, which is exactly what its owners Louise Chidgey and Cass Titcombe set out to do. Inside the bay-windowed corner site, the decorative tone vibrates with idiosyncrasy, thanks to brightly coloured prints and plates on the walls and a connoisseur's approach to vivid cushions. Business gets going at the back end of the week, with lunches and suppers Thursday to Saturday, and a well-supported Sunday lunch offering.

Cass Titcombe has a cool instinct for the combination of accented seasoning and lightness of substance that are today's hallmarks, resulting in main dishes such as orecchiette with prawns, agretti and tomato, or a precision-timed halibut fillet with borlotti beans, fennel and spring onions, given creamy pungency with aïoli. The smaller plates have a distinctly tapas-like air, from Ortiz anchovies with sourdough to sliced raw courgette freshly dressed in mint and lemon. Those Sunday lunches proved a winning formula for one couple, who enjoyed the careful treatment accorded to both hake and pork, as well as the inspired choice of veg. If vegetables are to be the main element, they might be roast leeks with pickled mushrooms, lentils and chard.

Desserts are a canny exercise in how simple resources can produce extravagant satisfaction: chocolate and ginger sundae; almond cake with raspberries and crème fraîche; apricot fool; affogato. A small but expertly curated wine selection is packed with on-trend flavours, from Grüner Veltliner to Blauer Zweigelt. Small glasses start at £5, and damn us for pointing out that even the £105 for a bottle of developing Gevrey-Chambertin is hardly an act of grand larceny hereabouts.

Combining the virtues of a deli and informal restaurant (open from breakfast onwards), this ‘genuinely lovely place’ makes the most of its spacious location at the bottom end of Liverpool’s waterfront. Now boasting a sparkling new extension, it’s a versatile place for bigger groups and families. You can arrive via the deli or head directly into the restaurant where there’s a mid-century feel to the decor: plain dark-wood tables, striking pale-green upholstered seating and banquettes as a room divider, plus a bar running almost the full length of the venue.

A printed menu with sandwiches and sharing deli platters shows the way during the day, with eclectic, globally inclined specials chalked up on several boards. Fish dishes receive plenty of plaudits from readers, Sunday roasts are ‘amazing’, and the kitchen’s repertoire also extends to the likes of warm goat's cheese with honey and rosemary on sourdough, confit duck with white bean and pancetta cassoulet, steaks with chunky chips, and exotic ideas such as khorest gheimeh (a Persian stew of lemony split peas with roasted courgettes, peppers and wild rice).

To finish, expect classics such as fruit crumble with custard or bread and butter pudding. Service is friendly, efficient and down to earth. As for drinks, there are lots of speciality beers, plus some aptly chosen wines taken from the lower price points of the deli selection (an excellent Vinho Verde, perhaps).

*The pub is closed until further notice following a devastating fire at the beginning of June 2026.*

Stablemate to The Heathcock in Cardiff, this snug village pub brims with folksy features: wonky whitewashed stone walls, stripped floorboards, a Welsh dresser loaded with jars of preserved fruits, and a wood burner in an inglenook that contrasts with the polished metal of the open kitchen. The ever-changing menu takes its cue from the setting – traditional by inclination, but shot through with contemporary freshness. Executive chef (and local boy) Tom Watts-Jones previously worked at Fergus Henderson's St John in Clerkenwell, and it shows. Welsh rarebit (unctuous, glossy and perfectly charred) arrives on a chunky piece of sourdough (from the Hare & Hounds Bakery in Cowbridge) with a bottle of Worcestershire sauce on the side, while seasonally attuned starters might range from a thick, silky soup of new-season's asparagus and wild garlic topped with a runny-yolked crispy egg to a fresh, light risotto incorporating plump mussels and more wild garlic. To follow, our braised, crisp-skinned duck leg – an absolutely wonderful combo of crunchy and fatty – was teamed with velvety butter beans, chunky bacon and a rich cider sauce cut through with the spiky brightness of aïoli. We also enjoyed a tender, perfectly rosy hanger steak with flawless chips and a punchy peppercorn sauce. For dessert, dainty brown butter cakes – oven-fresh and nutmeg-spiced, fluffy in the middle and caramelised on top – were a huge hit, as was the almost impossibly thick and creamy honeycomb ice cream. A compact list of European wines offers plenty by the glass or carafe.

‘A welcoming place with real heart and passion,’ the Kinsella family’s authentic Catalan tapas joint and deli has been one of the city's roaring success stories of the past few years, offering a taste of sun-splashed Spanish tradition beamed into the Liverpool One shopping complex. A large red map dominates one wall for geographical orientation, while views into the kitchen are an education in themselves, assuming you haven't opted to sit out in the bright Merseyside sunshine.

Kick-start the day with a traditional Catalan migas (country breakfast) of cured meats sautéed with breadcrumbs, onion and garlic, topped with a poached egg. The full menu gives meat, fish and vegetables (almost) equal billing. Here you’ll find everything from fragrant morcilla balls coated in cornflakes and slathered with a rich sauce of orange-blossom honey and pomegranate molasses to boquerones from Cantabria's finest (Pujadó Solano), accompanied by Spanish potato crisps – not forgetting roasted parsnips tossed in maple syrup and dusted with dukkah.

There are also deli platters aplenty, as well as big pans of paella and tasting banquets for the whole table to plunder; they even serve a Catalan riff on Liverpool’s classic ‘scouse’. Round things off with vanilla ice cream served with turrón and pelted with PX-drenched raisins. Gins are almost as much of a speciality as sherries, and there is a regionally diverse slate of artisan Spanish wines in two glass sizes from around £6.80.

Finding a long-standing culinary offer at the bottom of Byres Road can be a challenge. To find one that has been doing the business since 1999 and still consistently delivers imaginative and tasty dishes at reasonable prices makes you value the commitment of small, passionate local restaurateurs. The premises are petite and whether you're on the bijou mezzanine or at street level, you’ll be cosy with your neighbours. However, loyal regulars and visitors are here for the food and the friendly service. With well-priced set lunches and a fuller carte on offer, expect to see locally sourced ingredients given contemporary makeovers. Start, perhaps, with cured sea trout confidently matched with watermelon gazpacho, compressed melon flesh and pickled rind – any residual sweetness offset by dried ribbons of nori, baby chervil and salty pops of trout roe. Main courses are strong on local meats and fish, although more limited vegetarian choices also show care and craft. Slow-cooked Ramsay’s pork belly segues confidently from its Lanarkshire origins to more exotic climes in company with pineapple, pak choi, coconut and chilli sauce – they’re clearly not afraid to mix things up in the tiny kitchen. Elsewhere, tender Gressingham duck in various forms has been described as 'one of the best dishes I have eaten this year'. Desserts offer both sugar ‘overload’ and fresher options – a deconstructed crowdie cheesecake with intriguing salted pistachio and almond ice cream plus some dark fresh cherries bridges the two extremes. Like the menu, the wine list is well-balanced, with comforting staples alongside some more interesting options – all at reasonable prices.

There is a soothing sense of isolation to this white-fronted former pub in an Oxfordshire village near Henley, but that has not stopped scores of readers from nominating it as a local favourite. The sense of good cheer that irradiates the place is a tribute to Liam and Ryan Simpson-Trotman's skills in the arts of hospitality, and its understated modern spaces provide a chic backdrop to some stunning cooking.

Following a stint working front of house, Ryan is back in the kitchen, marshalling thoroughbred produce from the length and breadth of the British Isles, while making good use of pickings from Orwells' own garden and local hedgerows. The cooking demonstrates nerveless confidence in a range of techniques, from a starter of flame-grilled lobster teamed with girolles, apricots, verjus and sea fennel (aka rock samphire) to mains such as the fabled Chilterns muntjac with morels, asparagus and carrot. An assured sense of artistry means that dishes always look extraordinary, but the symphonic array of flavours they offer up seals the deal.

Another first course sees crisped veal sweetbreads with Ibérico lardo and salsify, given the gentlest hint of east Asian exoticism with spring onion and sesame dressing, while a vegetarian main looks to the Caribbean for Bajan-spiced hispi with romesco and hen of the woods. You might also find a simple offering of day-boat fish – perhaps Cornish turbot with seashore herbs and Jersey Royals.

The inventive streak continues into desserts that bridge the divide between the familiar and the not-so-familiar – crème brûlée spiced with cardamom and accompanied by rhubarb, pistachios and ginger. Eight-course tasting menus offer a virtuosic display of the kitchen's abilities, in notations that give nothing away. Orkney scallops? Yorkshire rhubarb? Wait and see. There are Sunday roasts too. A very distinguished wine list means that the wide-open Oxfordshire sky is the limit on bottle prices, but there are plenty of options by the glass, as well as an engaging range of cocktails, bottled beers and speciality gins to go at.

When the wind is whistling through Notting Hill, but you still doggedly want to sit outside, the Portobello has a retractable-roof terrace with heaters and blankets, so you can get well bedded in and let the weather do what it likes. It's just one of the reasons this place has such a loyal following, though the benchmark pizzas might have something to do with that too. Properly puffy in texture, the raised edges blistered a little from the wood oven, their toppings are all about pedigree Italian produce – Spianata Calabrian salami, 20-month Parma ham, creamy burrata, buffalo mozzarella, piccante Gorgonzola. A whole one is fairly filling, but if you've arrived with an appetite, there are preliminary pastas such as spaghetti vongole, or paccheri with veal ragù and pecorino, to prime the pump. Simply prepared fish and meat mains are on hand to tempt any pizza denialists, and meals might end with something like bonet – Piedmontese chocolate custard with caramel sauce and amaretto. Get your bearings with the regionally divided Italian wine map that prefaces the list. Prices might seem a bit tough, but there is a serviceable glass selection from £7.50 for house Sicilian blends.

‘I won’t let you over-order,’ declared the enthusiastic, knowledgeable waiter, who parked himself on a seat to take down our choice of tapas. Moderation isn’t easy here, given the enticing weekly changing selection, which is boosted by an impressive array of barbecued meats ­– from various cuts of wagyu or Hereford to pork solomillo. Owned by chef Andres Alemany and his wife Marie-Lou (front of house) for more than a decade, Pulpo Negro is a real find in the beautiful little market town of Alresford.

Behind its Georgian frontage, there’s a dark interior of bare floorboards, exposed brickwork and blackboards advertising the meats and the odd special (gazpacho on our visit). A soundtrack of insistent beats keeps things buzzing and casual, but the eye-catching action happens in the open kitchen towards the rear, where a young team produce dishes that deftly balance flavours, textures and colours.

A couple of snacks followed by five or six tapas is the recommended quantity for two. Highlights at our visit were ‘pregnant bread’ (five exquisitely light little empanadas filled with chorizo meat and topped with grated cheese and blossom honey); slippery charred peppers matched with flavour-packed Ortiz tuna sauce and crisp croûtons; a mouthwatering salad of summer legumes with tangy tarragon vinaigrette and crisp jamón; a classic disc of tortilla encasing a luscious, liquid, eggy interior; and precisely cooked, harissa-spiced octopus with chickpeas, surrounded by a creamy tahini dip. To finish, burnt Catalan cream with rum sponge, though well-executed, was prosaic by comparison.

Wines are another forte, with the well-chosen (mostly) Spanish list bolstered by a fine choice of sherries and cocktails. Pulpo Negro’s legions of admirers have been wowed by the cooking (‘just fabulous’), the staff (‘they really care about the food they bring to you’) and the ambience, which is ‘chic and cool, but also warm and welcoming’. 

There’s a phenomenal amount of creative cooking going on at this former butcher’s shop – even the bread is addictive. Sosban is understated, unassuming and unpretentious – earthy colours, four plain tables and a kitchen work bench where chef/patron Stephen Stevens can be seen beavering away solo, expertly combining invention, balance and taste while pacing everything perfectly (the whole experience involves nine courses). And anyone who fears the lack of a menu (and no knowledge of what you will eat until it arrives at the table) need not worry. The cooking is rooted in the region, a homage to all that is local and sustainable, with zero waste as a guiding principle. An opening mouthful sets the scene: a crisp cracker comprising layers of cod skin, filled with curried banana and soured peanut – a mini masterpiece. There are many other unusual combinations too: delicate chicken liver parfait embedded with diced eel, plus sweet/umami notes from IPA vinegar and finely grated Hafod Welsh Cheddar, simply bursts with savoury intensity. A fabulous dish featuring nuggets of confit lamb’s tail (assertively flavoured, gloriously fatty), is enhanced by a silky mustard custard as well as apple, mustard leaf and coffee. Our day-boat cod, blowtorched and served with onion fudge and fermented spring onions, benefitted from the subtle addition of liquorice, which worked beautifully with the other flavours. Liquorice appears again in a delectable savoury-to-sweet crossover (a creamy layering with lemon and olive oil), which paves the way for a confection of whipped buttermilk, compressed apple and celeriac ice cream – something of a signature dish that has evolved over the years. There is no wine list, but the drinks pairing is imaginative; individual glasses are available by the 125ml pour. The framework within which all of this takes place could do with some fine tuning but the cooking is sheer culinary dazzlement.

A centuries-old village local atop a hill midway between Hadrian's Wall and the conurbations of Tyne & Wear, the Feathers continues to provide sustenance for locals and visitors alike. Inside, it looks the part with beams, log-burning stoves, Northumbrian ales and old-fashioned pub games as part of the offer, although the place has built its current reputation on locally sourced seasonal food, industrious home production and a commitment to ethical practices. The kitchen cures its own charcuterie, makes black pudding and pickles North Sea herrings (‘as good as most I’ve had in Scandinavia,’ noted one visitor) – as well as producing bespoke spirits including mulberry gin. They have a published list of more than 60 local suppliers, including foragers and growers, Northumbrian farmers specialising in rare breeds and day-boat fishermen catching sustainable species off the East Coast. An outdoor fire pit works its magic on flatbreads, grilled vegetables (used for vegan meze) and Haydon Bridge beef patties (slotted into brioche buns with Gorgonzola piccante and dill pickles). Otherwise, the kitchen’s eclectic approach sees battered haddock and fillet of wild halibut with chilli and rosemary velouté alongside braised local roe deer with celeriac purée, English lentils and emmer wheat or Spanish-style home-cured pork chop with fried potatoes and bravas sauce. For afters, the Northumbrian cheeses are well worth a punt, as are the homemade ices and homespun desserts such as blackberry and apple sponge with custard or steamed gingerbread pudding. To drink, vermouth-based cocktails and keenly priced, well-chosen wines fit the bill nicely.

The Swan is ‘on the up again’ – and looking better than ever, according to its many fans. Situated by an S-bend in the road on the outer fringes of the Norfolk Broads, this pristinely re-thatched inn with rooms is still standing proud, with original stone walls, beams and odd bits of stained glass adding some heritage clout and rustic personality to the comfortably refurbished dining room. Chef/patron Daniel Smith (who also runs The Wildebeest outside Norwich) is committed to using local and seasonal produce for a wide-ranging repertoire of eclectic dishes offering quality as well as value. He earned his stripes at Le Gavroche and later at Morston Hall, so expect classical precision and sharp technique as well as freewheeling modern ideas – as in charred new season’s asparagus with cow’s curd dressing, pickled mustard seeds and granola or beef medallions paired with rocket salad, king oyster mushrooms and chimichurri. Fish from the East Coast boats is always a good call, perhaps dressed Cromer crab with brown crab emulsion, heritage tomato salad and tomato consommé or lobster with garlic butter, samphire and leek-ash fries. To round off, try blackberry soufflé with freeze-dried raspberries and chocolate ‘snow’. Fixed-price deals and a Norfolk-themed tasting menu span the pricing spectrum, but do save some pennies for the diverse wine list, with its ample by-the-glass selections.

Nothing is quite as reassuringly rural as eating in a raftered barn, especially a 400-year-old one. Throw in some landscape pictures, crisply clothed tables and staff who radiate enthusiasm from every pore, and we're sold. Of course, the plentiful local produce that teems forth from the kitchen has something to do with it too, and here is where chef Charlotte Oliver really shines. His dishes are a mix of traditional European cooking and modern ideas, but with Wyken running through them like a stick of rock.

The estate's venison might feature in a rissole to start, teamed with celeriac rémoulade and jam from Wyken damsons, while wine from the surrounding vineyards (an aromatic Bacchus enriched with garlic and cream) is used as the cooking medium for Brancaster mussels. More of that wine makes a silky velouté to sauce smoked cod, which appears with pickled oyster mushrooms and dill – or there could be a classic assemblage of pork belly and tenderloin with pommes Anna, sprouting broccoli, black pudding and Wyken apple in jus noisette.

Sweet favourites furnish a dessert selection that includes trifle, panna cotta and pavlova, as well as dark chocolate mousse with poached pear, olive oil and sea salt. The estate's wines feature strongly on the list, and there is also a hoppy, malty house ale called Good Dog.

Having honed their already-impressive operation still further, Aga and Lewis King are now custodians of one of Norfolk’s best restaurants – plus a new bakery and coffee shop next door. Dispense with all preconceptions about banks before dining here. The venue occupies a well-proportioned but hardly capacious old building in the centre of Snettisham, and its dining room is an ‘intimate, carefully lit’ space with just 22 covers. Local prints and photos hang on grey walls, while a jazz soundtrack and Aga's informal but informative service ensure a casual atmosphere much loved by couples. Vegan and dairy-free diets aren't catered for; the choice is between Lewis's 'short' menu and his (better-value) 'long' tasting menu. Poise, accuracy, outstanding ingredients and a mastery of strong flavours characterised an inspection meal, which began with 'snacks' of truffled egg yolk 'jam' on a chickpea cracker with Parmesan, and a well-matched apple and crab roe assembly topped with edible flowers. The fungal world is oft-explored here, and the following course of 'white onion, seeds, Wiltshire truffle' was a marvellously light soup made tangy with yoghurt and featuring a generous grating of truffle on top – plus toasted pumpkin seeds at the bottom. The eight-course bonanza continued with flavoursome cured mackerel partnered by crisp fennel and slices of kohlrabi onto which was poured a creamy horseradish and dill sauce: again, a triumph of carefully judged flavours and textures. So too, a dish of marinated beetroot with pungent goat's cheese, pine nuts and resilient slices of king oyster mushroom. No course disappointed: the halibut was meaty, fresh, and boosted by a deliciously savoury mussel sauce, although the Norfolk beef (both sirloin and short rib) was perhaps the highlight of the meal – a rich collection of juicy, flavour-packed meat sharing the plate with hazelnuts, a tangle of hen of the woods mushrooms, cep purée and an intense red wine jus. Some ingredients are grown in the Old Bank's organic allotment; others don’t travel far. Strawberries (from the nearby village of Sharrington) arrived covered by a Greek yoghurt mousse scattered with pistachios, while the finale – a second dessert involving a wobbly dark-chocolate tart matched with discs of peanut brittle, sliced black cherries (at their succulent peak) and a morello cherry sorbet – yieled even more delights. The drinks list allows plenty of scope for exploration, with decent house wines and ample by-the-glass selections (including an optional wine flight), as well as a few Norfolk beers. Our verdict? Outstanding.

Moored on the Dartmouth quayside, the Tonks family flagship is currently helmed by Mitch's son Ben, who is maintaining its ‘very high standards’ and commitment to daily deliveries of local produce (particularly seafood). The Seahorse has always radiated a balmy sense of the Mediterranean, partly for the sunny good cheer with which the place is run, and partly for the orientation of the cooking (as well as the wine list). If the best preparations of the freshest fish are ever the simplest, the menus here offer an object lesson in what is still a culinary discipline.

Torbay scallops, charcoal-roasted and dressed with a lick of white port and garlic, are a favoured way to start, unless you prefer a plate of red mullet ‘con saor’, pickled with onions and hazelnuts. Wine plays its ancestral role in seasoning and enriching the dishes: Dorset shellfish is steamed with Trebbiano and porcini, while fillet of cod is cooked in a paper packet, sauced with Lugana, and spiked with pepperoncini chillies, capers, and basil. A whomping £50 buys a whole Dover sole cooked on the bone, with nothing more complex than some rosemary and a meunière dressing. There are steaks, Middle White pork chops and whole roasted quail with salsa dragoncello if you’re not quite in the maritime mood, while desserts maintain the theme of elegant simplicity – perhaps amaretti cream or salted honey ice cream dressed in Pedro Ximénez and sultanas. 

The fixed-price lunchtime ‘menu del giorno’ offers excellent value, while Ben Tonks’ latest venture is a series of monthly ‘open table’ gatherings in the private dining room (aka the Cantina). An excellent Eurocentric wine list does justice to the food, with wines by the small glass from £6.75 and a 'knowledgeable sommelier’ on hand to proffer advice.

Arrival at the small coastal community of Lochaline is either by sea (on the ferry from Fishnish) or down the 20-mile single-track road that crosses the remote Morvern Peninsula. Husband-and-wife team, Chris and Agi Stanley-Fotos, brought their already well-developed kitchen/front of house partnership here in 2022, overlaying their contemporary culinary style on the sturdy whitewashed building that was once a canteen for 19th-century mine workers.

The couple's love of foraging means that wild and humble pickings take their place alongside game from the neighbouring Ardtornish estate and other produce from nearby crofts and artisan butchers. This commitment to sustainability and localism is matched by Chris’s well-honed skills as a chef – creating light lunches and a daily fixed-price dinner menu of well-crafted dishes built on classical foundations with innovative personal elements. An amuse-bouche of caramelised cauliflower with wild garlic pesto on a quenelle of beurre noisette cream sets the tone, ahead of, say, a spring-like asparagus panna cotta and pea salad perfectly balanced by an earthy foraged mushroom beignet. After that, a centrepiece dish of sesame-glazed local duck breast, spring roll and pak choi shows confidence in blending flavours and inspirations. To conclude, heightened anticipation accompanies the kitchen's 'truly excellent' soufflés  – perhaps a golden-hued sea buckthorn and gorse flower creation.

As for drinks, local spirits are paired with hedgerow gleanings to create distinctive cocktails such as the Morvern sour (made with homemade beech-leaf noyau, Nc'nean organic whisky and lemon juice), while a food-friendly wine list featuring some lesser-known regions starts at £27 a bottle.