Where to eat

Our top 10 favourite member perks
Published 19 November 2024

Longstanding Good Food Guide readers will remember the ten £5 off vouchers that came with the printed guide book, to be redeemed at participating restaurants. And very popular they were too. The current Good Food Guide member perks are an updated version of those vouchers, offering everything from the promise of a complimentary cocktail or glass of bubbles to extra dishes or money off your bill. To access all the perks, including our current top ten, all you have to do is download the app and start your membership today. Not only will the app tell you what’s new and nearby, you’ll find local guides and first looks of the latest openings around Britain, alongside those fabulous money saving perks.

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The Good Food Guide Membership: Save £100s at Britain's best restaurants, try for 2 weeks

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MEMBER PERK

Àclèaf

Plympton, Devon ££££

Technically assured, special-occasion cooking in fabulous surroundings

‘A top restaurant experience in an incredible setting,’ commented one fan after visiting this impressively proportioned, Grade I-listed Elizabethan manor house. Aclèaf – oak leaf in Anglo Saxon – is … Read more

Boringdon Hall, Plympton, Devon PL7 4DP

MEMBER PERK

Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill

Mayfair, London £££

Venerable seafood institution

A ‘very reliable’ Mayfair fixture since 1916, the self-titled ‘grand dame of Swallow Street’ is still shucking oysters with a vengeance under the stewardship of chef/patron Richard Corrigan. These days, reg… Read more

11-15 Swallow Street, Mayfair, London W1B 4DG

MEMBER PERK

Cedar Tree by Hrishikesh Desai

Brampton , Cumbria ££££

* Desai is launching a 10-seater chef's table (aka Hrishi's Table), which will serve a 16-course taster utilising produce from Farlam Hall's kitchen garden alongside matching wines. * Built of Lakeland stone and with architectura… Read more

* Desai is launching a 10-seater chef's table (aka Hrishi's Table), which will serve a 16-course taster utilising produce from Farlam Hall's kitchen garden alongside matching wines. *

Built of Lakeland stone and with architectural roots dating back to the 15th century, Farlam Hall’s fortunes were once closely entwined with the Cumbrian coal-mining industry. It's a country house on the human scale, with gardens to wander in and bright interiors that owe nothing to sickly chintz, while the Cedar Tree restaurant puts Farlam in the first rank of regional cooking in the UK. Hrishikesh Desai, formerly at The Gilpin, Windermere, is an accomplished and energetically inventive chef brimming with smart ideas. Appetisers include fragile tartlets of peanut and coriander tartare with cauliflower and coconut foam – a whole world of flavours in a mouthful. Desai’s gastronomic signature is the artful incorporation of Indian nuances and seasonings into contemporary western cooking: a serving of red and golden beetroot fresh from the garden, for example, comes with thick, chilled beetroot rasam (a South Indian soup) as well as apple and ginger chutney and coconut bavarois. Dishes often match great flavour impact with astonishing delicacy of technique: a piece of salmon is very slowly poached, and then supported by salmon rillettes and a gently herbed and spiced garden gazpacho, while cured hake in a subliminally light batter comes with roasted pineapple topped with lemon mayo and caviar for a wondrous combination. That sense of travelling around the plate, encountering new surprises at every turn, also illuminates a main course of salt-aged Creedy Carver duck breast with a sweet-sharp blackcurrant sauce, the braised leg, pressed duck and hazelnut terrine and, on the side, a samosa containing layered shaved celeriac, topped with a little Parmesan and truffle. It takes formidable ingenuity and poise to bring so many elements together without creating a culinary brawl, but Desai is a skilled conductor. A délice of strong Valrhona chocolate with spiced orange panna cotta and milk sorbet, or perhaps a golden raspberry soufflé with matching coulis and toasted pistachio ice cream, are the kinds of desserts that hit the sweet spot for most of us. Despite the monotonous pop muzak piped provokingly into the dining room, which views over garden and lake do their best to nullify, it's a gorgeous experience. A varietally arranged wine list with garrulous tasting descriptions suits the country-house mood. Glasses (from £7.50) are a trifle dull, almost as though they are tiptoeing round the food rather than squaring up to meet it head-on. Braver selections would round out the offer.

Farlam Hall, Hallbankgate, Brampton , Cumbria CA8 2NG

Best Local Restaurant

MEMBER PERK

Darleys

Darley Abbey, Derbyshire ££

Back in the day, Darleys was a destination address for those looking for a ‘posh option’ when celebrating significant birthdays, anniversaries or graduations. But the current owners, who took over in 2019, have refurbi… Read more

Waterfront, Darley Abbey Mills, Haslams Lane, Darley Abbey, Derbyshire DE22 1DZ

MEMBER PERK

Embers

Brighton, East Sussex ££

A joint venture by local chefs Dave Marrow (Terre à Terre) and Isaac Bartlett Copeland (Isaac At), Embers is deliciously warm and glowing, the air full of the sweet scent of smouldering birch and ash – thanks to the f… Read more

42 Meeting House Lane, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1HB

MEMBER PERK

Mana

Manchester, Greater Manchester ££££

A power move across multiple courses, Mana is the home of the heavy culinary flex. It's not just about the money (although at around £175 for 13 courses, it is inevitably somewhat about the money). The double-height space, m… Read more

42 Blossom Street, Ancoats, Manchester, Greater Manchester M4 6BF

MEMBER PERK

Maremma

Brixton, London ££

Inviting neighbourhood venue with a Tuscan accent

Brixton has a reputation for exciting startups and on-trend eateries, so it’s curious to find a traditional Italian neighbourhood restaurant in this part of town. The venue itself is done out in minimalist style (think expos… Read more

36 Brixton Water Lane, Brixton, London SW2 1PE

MEMBER PERK

Quince

Westgate-on-Sea, Kent ££

‘Brilliant cooking, kind owners, great team, seriously reasonable pricing,' commented a fan of this well-liked venture from Ben Hughes and Rafael Lopez (formerly at the Goods Shed in Canterbury). The intimate, simply decorat… Read more

39 Station Road, Westgate-on-Sea, Kent CT8 8QY

MEMBER PERK

The Angel at Hetton

Hetton, North Yorkshire ££££

The Angel has been a fixture in the Guide for many a decade, surviving various culinary eras and changes of look. Its present incarnation, under chef-patron Michael Wignall (ex-Gidleigh Park et al), offers a smartly attired suite … Read more

Hetton, Hetton, North Yorkshire BD23 6LT

MEMBER PERK

The West House

Biddenden, Kent £££

Long-serving, personally run Kentish favourite

Graham Garrett’s delightfully laid-back restaurant with rooms certainly has formidable staying power – it celebrated its 20th birthday in 2022. The 16th-century weaver’s cottage is fittingly discreet from the out… Read more

28 High Street, Biddenden, Kent TN27 8AH

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