Perfect restaurants for Father's Day 2025 | Where To Eat

Bench

Sheffield, South Yorkshire ££

Unpretentious neighbourhood bar and restaurant

*Hannah Hall (ex-The Pearl at Park Hill) has taken over as head chef, with Ronnie Aronica moving to an executive chef role.* Jack Wakelin, chef Ronnie Aronica and house baker Dan Ward are in expansive mood, but their original nei… Read more

7b Nether Edge Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S7 1RU

Best Local Restaurant

Brassica

Beaminster, Dorset ££

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 wi… Read more

4 The Square, Beaminster, Dorset DT8 3AS

Casanova

Cardiff ££

No-frills regional Italian trattoria

Traditional and delightfully untrendy, this trattoria has been serving up a slice of Italy to appreciative locals for more than 20 years. Run by chef Antonio Cersosimo (from Calabria by way of Milan) and Neapolitan wine importer L… Read more

13 Quay Street, Cardiff CF10 1EA

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Furna

Brighton, East Sussex £££

Drinks List Of The Year 2024 After two decades cooking in such respected Brighton restaurants as the Coal Shed, the Salt Room and Gingerman, Dave Mothersill has set out his own stall. And what a stall it is. Located close to the … Read more

6 New Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1UF

Gamba

Glasgow, Strathclyde ££

Derek Marshall's piquant crab and ginger soup bobbing with tiny prawn dumplings was an instant hit with Glaswegians when he started serving it back in the day. Fast-forward more than 20 years and it's still an emblematic fixture o… Read more

225a West George Street, Glasgow, Strathclyde G2 2ND

Heathcock

Cardiff ££

From bar to beer garden, the Heathcock majors in laid-back sophistication: expect simple white walls, reclaimed furniture, a decent selection of beers, and warm, efficient service. Here, informality never equates to idleness, and … Read more

58-60 Bridge Street, Cardiff CF5 2EN

Higher Farm

Castle Cary, Somerset ££

Working regenerative farm serving fabulous seasonal produce

When the sun is shining, this simple but artfully decorated barn on a working regenerative farm feels a bit like heaven. The small dining room is flooded with light from a large picture window, while stone walls and a rough concre… Read more

Castle Cary, Somerset BA4 6QF

Best Local Restaurant

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Homestead Kitchen

Goathland, North Yorkshire £££

With the North York Moors unrolling before you like a full-scale map beyond the windows of this converted farmhouse and smithy, you won't lack for visual ravishment. The village of Goathland will seem topographically familia… Read more

Prudom House, Goathland, North Yorkshire YO22 5AN

John's House

Mountsorrel, Leicestershire £££

Triumphant food in contemporary bucolic surrounds

Farmer's son yearns to be a chef, leaves home to work for the likes of Claude Bosi and Simon Rogan, then returns in 2014 to open his own restaurant in a 16th-century farmhouse next to his family’s 4,000-acre farm. No, not a … Read more

Farmer's son yearns to be a chef, leaves home to work for the likes of Claude Bosi and Simon Rogan, then returns in 2014 to open his own restaurant in a 16th-century farmhouse next to his family’s 4,000-acre farm. No, not a storyline from Emmerdale, but the backstory of John Duffin. Given the off-grid surroundings (you can hear cows mooing from inside the farm shop), this is the full contemporary bucolic experience – one that is booked weeks in advance.

The first-floor dining room is rustic and homely, mixing exposed brick with wood (beams, floor) and well-spaced white-clad tables. By contrast, Duffin's cooking is refined and he's not afraid to take risks, maxing out his agricultural heritage along the way. In less accomplished hands, an ox sirloin tartare paired with pumpkin-seed emulsion and a smoky/salty charcoal and grilled cream could have been muddled – instead, it's a triumph. Other recent highlights have included a delicate truffle pudding accompanied by a soup of wild garlic and Beauvale Blue cheese, as well as poached halibut topped with asparagus and morels, paired with tapenade and elevated by a salted lemon sauce. We could also taste every component involved in a dish of home-reared Leicester Longwool hogget (shoulder and belly), bursting with flavour and served alongside allium, wild garlic, Jersey Royals and a full-bone reduction split with oil.

To start, some homemade charcuterie, plus a freshly baked onion and rosemary roll and soda bread (perfect with salty wild garlic butter as well as a creamy butter made smoother by the addition of a little yoghurt) was so good that we had to stop ourselves from eating more. To conclude, a scoop of yoghurt atop peanuts with yuzu, Szechuan pepper oil and kaffir lime was a subtle segue from savoury into sweet. For the final flourish, a delightful sweet cheese was matched with anise-infused poached rhubarb and a topping of hazelnut crumb.

The wine list has interesting bottles every which way, starting from £35 and heading skywards to the highly coveted millennial 'Pingus' at £1,200. Three dozen come by the glass (including Coravin), with the bonus of helpful and incisive notes. The wine pairings for the tasting menus are particularly well considered. Accommodation is now available in two self-contained cottages 'just a stumble from the restaurant'.

Stonehurst Farm, 139-141 Loughborough Road, Mountsorrel, Leicestershire LE12 7AR

Killiecrankie House

Killiecrankie, Perthshire & Kinross ££££

Thoroughly contemporary restaurant with rooms

Following a stint running the popular Elia supper club in London, chef Tom Tsappis and his partner Matilda Ruffle headed north to the village of Killiecrankie and took over what was the village’s old rural lodge. The resulti… Read more

Pass of Killiecrankie, Killiecrankie, Perthshire & Kinross PH16 5LG

Best Local Restaurant

Lark

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk ££

Generous small plates and cool vibes in a compact, contemporary setting

Punching above its tiny, 24-cover weight, youthful Lark has added some fresh energy to already well-fed Bury St Edmunds. 'It’s imaginative, quirky, friendly and delicious,' noted one reporter; for another, it's simply the 'e… Read more

Punching above its tiny, 24-cover weight, youthful Lark has added some fresh energy to already well-fed Bury St Edmunds. 'It’s imaginative, quirky, friendly and delicious,' noted one reporter; for another, it's simply the 'epitome of a great local restaurant'. Book ahead or get lucky on a sunny day with one of the outside tables kept for walk-ins.

The menu is designed for sharing, and dishes arrive as and when ready. Regulars may home in on fixtures such as smoked cod’s roe dip with a lick of chilli heat to be scooped with house-made crisps, rich sopressini cacio e pepe (showered luxuriously with black truffle), or a trifle that shifts with the seasons and the chefs' whims. Come summer, courgette flowers, still connected to their firm young vegetable and stuffed with goat’s curd, are tempura-battered and deep-fried into lacy eccentricity, the sharpness of the curd balanced by sweet chilli jam. Crab is piled high onto warm hash browns with slivers of radish and a little Umai caviar (the latter is a supplement, but its layer of saltiness takes this dish to the next level).

Find surprises on the specials board such as monkfish tartare, positively, lip-smackingly alive with lime and ginger; it’s a masterclass in the chef's meticulous sourcing and hands-off approach. And check out the ‘kitchen selection’ menu, an absurdly generous feast for £70, where you’ll discover the golden-crusted shank pie that has become a Lark signature. It's switched up regularly, but you could land on a rabbit and black pudding day, or local hogget with harissa, or even the stunning muntjac. Dessert? Yes, you can make room for that trifle – a dessert that will satisfy every retro pudding fantasy, right down to its stemmed glass bowl. Or return to the specials board for a jaunty choux bun filled with bright passion fruit curd and that most seductive, short-seasoned of fruits, alphonso mango.

A compact wine list, created in collaboration with local bottle shop Vino Gusto, opens at around £26 for a Portuguese red and white. There’s particular value at the top end, with bottles such as Au Bon Climat ‘Santa Maria Valley’ (a classy Californian Pinot Noir) and Gaia Wines ‘Wild Ferment’ (a zippy Assyrtiko from Santorini) in the £70+ bracket.

6a Angel Hill, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 1UZ

Best Local Restaurant

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Les 2 Garçons

Crouch End, London ££

A genuine restaurant du quartier, if ever there was, this Crouch End spot is run by the titular duo of Robert Reid at the stoves and Jean-Christophe Slowik (JC, to the army of regulars) out front. If only one of them is French, he… Read more

14 Middle Lane, Crouch End, London N8 8PL

Manifest

Liverpool, Merseyside £££

Attention-grabbing flavours in a trendy setting

Located in the Baltic Triangle regeneration district, amid towering redbrick former warehouses, Manifest is a sure indicator of where Liverpool's contemporary dining scene is right now. ‘This place is incredible,’ writ… Read more

4a Watkinson Street, Baltic Triangle, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 0AG

Medlock Canteen

Manchester, Greater Manchester ££

Day-to-night easy eating in a funky, contemporary setting

Manchester's inner-city development may have changed the city skyline but at ground level the space seems strangely soulless, yet here is a smartly kitted-out haven of funky warmth and exuberance. Its design aesthetic is a mash-up… Read more

5 Owen Street, Deansgate Square, Manchester, Greater Manchester M15 4YB

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Menu Gordon Jones

Bath, Somerset ££££

Surprise tasting menus and a delightfully idiosyncratic vibe

Visitors heap praise on this ‘delightfully individual’ boutique restaurant – the kind of place that ‘leaves you feeling you’ve had a special experience’. Don’t let the website’s mono… Read more

2 Wellsway, Bath, Somerset BA2 3AQ

Miga

Hackney, London £££

Hugely hospitable, family-run Korean eatery

Make no mistake, Miga is a Korean family business in the most deep-rooted way. Grandma sold ox-bone broth in Seoul before a transcontinental uprooting of the clan led to the establishment of a venue in New Malden, epicentre of the… Read more

1 Mare Street, Hackney, London E8 4RP

Moor Hall

Aughton, Lancashire ££££

Its roots may stretch back to the time when Henry VIII was reinventing the English Church, but Grade II-listed Moor Hall is now at the pinnacle of present-day hospitality, thanks to a stunning renovation. Here you will find a ligh… Read more

Its roots may stretch back to the time when Henry VIII was reinventing the English Church, but Grade II-listed Moor Hall is now at the pinnacle of present-day hospitality, thanks to a stunning renovation. Here you will find a light, contemporary dining room (all clean lines, glass walls and thoughtfully considered detailing), plus glorious guest rooms, and a meticulously maintained kitchen garden that's always worth the tour – unless the weather is particularly grim. Indeed, that tour forms part of what we can for once call 'the journey', in that it is a staging-post on a canapé trail that starts in the lounge and ends in the kitchen, amid a whirl of activity from one of the most talented brigades in the land led by Mark Birchall. ‘His passion and drive are there for all to see,’ notes an admirer, and his startling culinary conceptions are brimming with imaginative panache. Expect a succession of multiple small courses that rarely miss a beat, while surprising and captivating even those already familiar with the style. A dinner that opens with a melt-on-the-tongue ‘flying saucer’ of puffed black pudding filled with gooseberry purée means business. By the time you arrive at your destination table, an oyster with white beetroot, dill and buttermilk might well turn up to greet you. Reporters often say it is nigh-on impossible to pick out highlights from the seasonally changing repertoire, but let's mention the richest, silkiest and most decadent mouthful of cod roe, chicken and chervil with a hint of salty/briny caviar, accompanied by beautiful-looking biscuits pressed with flowers from the garden. For some readers, fish is the undoubted highlight: a supremely delicate Mull scallop is brought to earth with asparagus and the merest suggestion of truffle, while a booming, deeply flavoured mussel and roe sauce shines the spotlight on a pairing of turbot and salsify – simplicity and richness taken to a world-beating new level. Superlative meat dishes have ranged from Spoutbank Angus beef (aged for 60 days) with BBQ celeriac, mustard and shallot to a startling plate of sika venison from Dorset with kale, beetroot, elderberry and some of the liver, dressed in whey and truffled honey. Desserts are often voguishly fragrant (woodruff, birch sap and marigold lending their scents to an apple and gooseberry assembly), while the ice cream suffused with Ormskirk gingerbread (a fine old Lancastrian speciality) is an essay in how to be luscious and spiky at the same time. As one reader observed: ‘Every taste and detail in every course is perfection.’ Some have felt that the wine flights are not quite as imaginative as they might be, and wine service could sometimes be more engaging (an odd tendency when there is such an authoritative and extensive core list to choose from), although everything will be right with the world once the fabulous array of petits fours arrives to give you a send-off back in the lounge.

Prescot Road, Aughton, Lancashire L39 6RT

Mountain

Soho, London £££

Best New Restaurant 2024 Can Tomos Parry ever put a foot wrong? His follow-up to Brat – and Brat x Climpson’s Arch – has opened with a bang in Soho. There’s a familiar no-frills vibe to the large, light-fi… Read more

16-18 Beak Street, Soho, London W1F 9RD

Noble Rot Mayfair

Mayfair, London £££

There’s something reassuringly old fashioned about this self-confident restaurant (the latest in what is now a trio of London-based Noble Rots) – and that’s a large part of its charm. With a dark green frontage, … Read more

There’s something reassuringly old fashioned about this self-confident restaurant (the latest in what is now a trio of London-based Noble Rots) – and that’s a large part of its charm. With a dark green frontage, ground-floor windows sporting café-style net curtains and two slightly cramped dining floors, it feels as if it has been around forever – an impression reinforced by the simple polished wood tables, red banquettes, wooden chairs and mottled walls covered in framed Noble Rot magazine covers. Clued-up staff, a general air of warm-heartedness and a commendable wine list all contribute to the appeal. The regularly changing menu is reflective of both the season and head chef Adam Wood's many enthusiasms – his food is a delight. The short, Euro-accented menu offers dishes that are (mostly) straightforward assemblies with inspired finishing touches – beef tartare with green tomatoes and Ossau-Iraty (Basque ewe's milk cheese), say, or smoked ravioli with courgette and preserved lemon. We enjoyed tender squid with a chorizo sauce – so good we regretted not ordering bread to mop it all up – followed by two generous slices of tender Ibérico pork, served with a heap of runner beans, sliced apricots and juicy whole blackberries. And we couldn’t fault the rich, delicate duck-egg custard tart – a sprinkling of sea salt proved a sharp foil that really enhanced the flavour. The wine list is simply one of the best in London, an outstanding, deeply researched and inspiring document. Predominantly organised by grape variety, with regional sections where blends are predominant, it spans a massive range of top-drawer growers and estates. The principal focus is Europe, though there are some pedigree New Worlders too. Portuguese and Greek selections are encouragingly thorough, and the listings of sparklers and sweet wines (rotted and late-picked) are tremendous. Wines by the glass are in small enough measures to make comparative tasting feasible. Coravin pours will test the budget, but are uniformly glorious.

5 Trebeck Street, Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London W1J 7LT

Best Local Restaurant

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Paternoster Farm

Hundleton, Pembrokeshire £££

A 'field to fork' farmstead restaurant is always a bracing proposition, and this one, deep in the Pembrokeshire wilds is no exception. Whatever beaten track there might be hereabouts (actually the B4320 near Hundleton), they're of… Read more

Hundleton, Pembrokeshire SA71 5RX

Riley's Fish Shop

Tynemouth, Tyne & Wear

Having scored a resounding hit with his Fish Shack on the beach at St Edward’s Bay, seafood crusader Adam Riley opened this fishmonger’s/weekly workshop dedicated to educating people about the glories of sustainable No… Read more

3-5 Percy Park Road, Tynemouth, Tyne & Wear NE30 4LZ

GFG AWARD WINNER

Sael

St James's, London £££

Confident, punchy fine dining from Jason Atherton

It isn't exactly news that top-end dining in London has become even more riotously expensive than it has ever been, but one heartening development is the willingness of proven chefs to venture into the more affordable end of the m… Read more

It isn't exactly news that top-end dining in London has become even more riotously expensive than it has ever been, but one heartening development is the willingness of proven chefs to venture into the more affordable end of the market without compromising on quality or excitement. One of Jason Atherton's newest such ventures is here, on a corner of St James's Market, a cheering venue flooded with light from deep windows. In a classy ambience of marble and leather, with chandeliers and flowers to boot, Sael (the name is Old English for season but also, fittingly, for an occasion) offers a tribute to British heritage cooking in an all-day format.

The more democratic approach does not preclude extraordinary attention to detail, as head chef Dale Bainbridge (ex-Pollen Street Social) demonstrates with a range of appetisers that includes an intensely savoury Marmite custard tart (optionally topped with caviar) or tempura rock oyster with malt vinegar-doused batter scraps. Small plates encompass a memorable assemblage of Orkney scallop, razor clams and smoked leeks.

From a menu section headed ‘mid-plates’ comes a fantastically delicious, multi-layered lasagne of Hereford snails and ox cheek, while the British fondness for east-Asian food is celebrated in gochujang-grilled cuttlefish with soy-braised pork cheek. Prime cuts of meat and fish cooked in embers take in the expected Aberdeen Angus and shorthorn beef, but also a tronçon of aged brill on the bone. Sides rise above their role as mere extras – especially when the broccoli is dressed with smoked anchovies, and the mash is lubricated in chicken gravy.

Nursery puddings are creatively reworked, as in a recklessly sweet jam roly-poly made with brioche, smoked butter, strawberry jam and Jersey custard, or you could come to a quite satisfying sticky end with apple-vinegared English burnt cream and a brandy snap. The wine list is quite a corker, casting a very wide net, with glasses from £8. Otherwise, order by the pint (just over half a litre, for the youngsters among you) from £36.

1 St James's Market, St James's, London SW1Y 4QQ

Sargasso

Margate, Kent £££

A taste of London by the sea

Fizzing with renewed energy thanks to the arrival of chef-patron Will Gleave (ex-Hill & Szrok in Hackney), Sargasso has given Margate a restaurant with the sort of edge that the town craves. This place is cool. A small brick b… Read more

Unit 13, Harbour Arm, Stone Pier, Margate, Kent CT9 1AP

Skosh

York, North Yorkshire £££

Neil Bentinck took York by storm when he arrived in 2016 and started serving exciting, inventive modern dishes with a pan-Asian twist. Since then, he has barely put a foot wrong, earning Skosh something of a cult following –… Read more

98 Micklegate, York, North Yorkshire YO1 6JX

The Angel

Dartmouth, Devon £££

*After more than four decades on Dartmouth quay, The Angel will be closing permanently with Elly Wentworth taking up post at Fowlescombe Farm*On the quayside at Dartmouth, this venerable venue has gone through a fair few evolution… Read more

After more than four decades on Dartmouth quay, The Angel will be closing permanently with Elly Wentworth taking up post at Fowlescombe Farm

On the quayside at Dartmouth, this venerable venue has gone through a fair few evolutions since the late Joyce Molyneux presided over one of Devon's best-loved addresses. Under the aegis of the Holland Group, with the extravagantly talented Elly Wentworth at the kitchen helm, it looks set fair to become a notable destination once again. In a sparely designed room, with quality furniture, lushly linened tables and a rectangular crystal ceiling ornament that could best be described (through gritted teeth) as 'interesting', it still enjoys picture-window views over the busy Dart to the rising hillside cottages on the far bank. A tasting menu on Friday and Saturday evenings will be the main draw, but there was no lack of culinary energy on a bargain winter lunch menu. A cubic chunk of cured Loch Duart salmon is lightly cooked and served with a butter sauce of smoked cucumber, purple shiso leaves and pickled mustard seeds for a dazzling opener, before majestically flavoured Creedy Carver chicken breast is furnished with variations of both kinds of artichoke – poached baby globe and brown-buttered, puréed and crisped Jerusalems – all doused in a sauce piquante of immaculate stock with diced gherkin, onion and wine vinegar. Otherwise, there might be loin of fallow deer with glazed salsify, hazelnuts and cocoa nibs in red wine jus, or brill in mussel cream with charred leeks, fennel and caviar. Elly Wentworth's signature dessert, given a perfect 10 on Great British Menu in 2021, is a spectacular tribute to the inventor of the Uniform Penny Post, Sir Rowland Hill. Surmounting a sesame cake layered with chocolate marquise and banana bavarois is a flawless imprint of the Penny Black stamp, with a sesame-seed tuile and banana sorbet on the side – the banana elements rendered not in fairground-yellow but, rather bravely, in cement-grey. Service is entirely charming, and the wine list, while seemingly still at the developmental stage, has some excellent selections including a fine Sancerre Rouge and Charles Heidsieck, no less, as the house Champagne.

South Embankment, Dartmouth, Devon TQ6 9BH

Best Local Restaurant

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The Barrington Boar

Barrington, Somerset ££

If it's worth finding a perfectly pristine English village – and it always is – it's also worth hoping that the local hostelry will be a forward-thinking ancient inn serving adventurous modern British food. Welcom… Read more

Main Street, Barrington, Somerset TA19 0JB

The Bonnie Badger

Gullane, East Lothian ££

The coastal village of Gullane is home to Tom and Michaela Kitchin's handsome boutique restaurant with rooms, an altogether different prospect to the Leith waterfront where Tom first pitched camp. Outside, the seductive East Lothi… Read more

Main Street, Gullane, East Lothian EH31 2AB

The Bull's Head

Craswall, Herefordshire ££

Local ingredients treated with respect in a stunning location

Only a few miles from Hay-on-Wye, this former drovers’ inn close to the Welsh border is so peaceful and secluded that it's no surprise many visitors remark on the ‘spectacular setting’. Sympathetically renovated … Read more

The Bull's Head, Craswall, Herefordshire HR2 0PN

GFG AWARD WINNER

Best Sunday Roast

The Devonshire

Soho, London ££

All-conquering Soho boozer with impreccable credentials

Are Oisín Rogers, Charlie Carroll and Ashley Palmer-Watts champions of a new era in pubs? The Devonshire is certainly one of the most enjoyable places to eat in the capital – if you can get in (far too many people wan… Read more

Are Oisín Rogers, Charlie Carroll and Ashley Palmer-Watts champions of a new era in pubs? The Devonshire is certainly one of the most enjoyable places to eat in the capital – if you can get in (far too many people want to eat here). Yet it looks set to become an institution – and long may it continue, for this is no ordinary pub. Ingredients are impeccable and the strong meat-focused menu serves the kind of dishes you want to eat, especially in the lively environment of a central London watering hole where drinkers have their own space and staff are noted for their relaxed expertise. Dining rooms are divided between the first and second floors where, under the direction of Ashley Palmer-Watts (formerly executive chef at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal), the kitchen applies a certain simplicity and accuracy of cooking to impeccable ingredients.

Flames are at the heart of the operation, with wood-fired Ibérico pork chops, lamb cutlets, fillet, ribeye and T-bone steaks (plus lobsters) keeping company with the likes of lamb hotpot or beef and Guinness suet pudding on the hand-scrawled menu. Three wonderfully meaty scallops, lightly roasted, served in the shell with nothing more than a buttery, vinegary sauce and strips of crisp bacon, is a terrific opener that hammers home the kitchen’s modus operandi – namely sourcing prime ingredients and treating them with the utmost simplicity. And there’s something deeply comforting about a fixed price, no-choice lunch that can deliver real quality and value in the shape of prawn and langoustine cocktail, skirt steak with excellent chips and béarnaise sauce, and light, luscious sticky toffee pudding – all for £29.

Sunday's roast ribs of beef carved from a silver-domed trolley are terrific value too and have helped restore the tradition in this part of town. To drink, everyone orders Guinness – it’s fast achieving cult status here – and you can drink well without breaking the bank from the mainly European wine list. The pub now has its own 40-cover rooftop terrace for fine-weather dining (note that you can't book this separately).

17-19 Denman Street, Soho, London W1D 7HW

The Dog & Gun Inn

Skelton, Cumbria £££

The Dog & Gun takes centre stage in the tranquil north Cumbrian village of Skelton. As befits its name, the place will welcome your canine companion (if you give notice), but perhaps leave the firearms at home. It's a welcoming di… Read more

Skelton, Cumbria CA11 9SE

Best Local Restaurant

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The Gordon Arms

Selkirk, Borders ££

Family-run venue showcasing local hospitality and local ingredients

A 20-year tenure at the Oxford Arms in Kirtlington earned Bryn and Oxana Jones a strong pedigree that stood them in good stead when they relocated to Scotland in 2022. It also gave them the opportunity to sensitively ref… Read more

Yarrow Valley, Selkirk, Borders TD7 5LE

Best Sunday Roast

The Gunton Arms

Thorpe Market, Norfolk ££

Spectacular art-filled venue serving big-boned British dishes

On the fringes of a 1,000-acre deer park just four miles from the Norfolk coast, this idiosyncratic pub/restaurant with rooms is quite a prospect. The grey-stone exterior may seem rather stark but inside all is comforting, thanks … Read more

Cromer Road, Thorpe Market, Norfolk NR11 8TZ

The Gurnard's Head

Zennor, Cornwall ££

Named after a brooding rocky promontory which is said to resemble the grotesque head of a gurnard, this gloriously remote clifftop inn is unmistakable, with its moniker emblazoned on the roof and its mustard-yellow exterior positi… Read more

Treen, Zennor, Cornwall TR26 3DE

The Jackdaw

Conwy £££

The small, busy town of Conwy, dominated by its huge castle, has a surprisingly cosmopolitan feel: a Turkish baker, French pâtissier and Italian coffee shop along with an excellent cheesemonger, butcher, deli and top-flight … Read more

The small, busy town of Conwy, dominated by its huge castle, has a surprisingly cosmopolitan feel: a Turkish baker, French pâtissier and Italian coffee shop along with an excellent cheesemonger, butcher, deli and top-flight chocolatier. It indicates a local constituency with the interest and ability to sustain such artisan outlets and perhaps explains why Nick Rudge chose to open his small, accomplished, first-floor restaurant here after a lengthy Fat Duck residency. The food scene of north Wales as seen through his eyes is proudly showcased in a choice of superb produce and often lesser-known regional traditions. He works closely with local farmers, especially Dilwyn Owen on Anglesey who provides lesser-known heritage varieties such as the almost extinct Bardsey apple (afal ynys enlli) and the y ddraig goch (red dragon) tomato. Without prior instruction you’d miss the entrance and modest name plaque. It feels like a semi-secret, almost medieval location, up winding stone stairs and along a dim corridor. The single room is tranquil and airy, simply furnished with fleecy rugs on the wooden chairs, a bar at one end, bookshelves the other. The welcome is friendly and relaxed, with a hint of formality but no pomposity. Set meals are thoughtfully constructed, conceived as a whole, in harmony with both season and location: the intent is genuine and not your usual nod to fashion. In a novel take on food miles, the wine list notes the distance each bottle has travelled to arrive on your ground-zero table. And it includes some fascinating Welsh names, along with mead and spirits to enhance the regional interest. ‘Bread of heaven’ has become a fixture; made with kefir and whole grains, it is irresistibly nutty and earthy – a Welsh sibling of soda bread. Served in hunks with salty, cultured butter and a sweeter barley-based variant, it requires considerable willpower not to fill up on this alone. But do keep some for mopping up purposes. Confit potato with barbecued leek, wild garlic and creamy velouté – typically poised and precise with well-defined flavours – launched our spring menu. The Welsh idiom continued strongly with barbecued wild sea bass caught a few miles down the coast. Light and delicate, falling off the fork, it was confidently matched with saturnine morels, vivid crisp asparagus and more wild garlic (a seasonally welcoming repeat). ‘Riwbob and cwstard‘ was a Welsh wizard dessert, the rhubarb transmuted into an inspired sweet-sharp granita on a velvety custard base. This was followed by ‘llymru’, an oat biscuit with a bitter, beer ice cream based on the ancient dish of flummery – superfluous perhaps, but still an intriguing taste of Welsh history.

High Street, Conwy LL32 8DB

Best Local Restaurant

The Kinneuchar Inn

Kilconquhar, Fife ££

The sign outside this whitewashed 17th-century inn – and its logo – reference the local custom of curling on the frozen waters of nearby Loch Kilconquhar, although most attention focuses on the output of the pub's… Read more

9-11 Main Street, Kilconquhar, Fife KY9 1LF

The Old Bank

Snettisham, Norfolk £££

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 … Read more

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.

10 Lynn Road, Snettisham, Norfolk PE31 7LP

Best Sunday Roast

The Pack Horse

Hayfield, Derbyshire £££

A picture-postcard place to unwind

Hayfield in the Peak District was the birthplace of Arthur Lowe, Dad's Army's Captain Mainwaring, and is a favoured rest-stop for those tramping the Derbyshire hills. At its heart, the stone-built Pack Horse aims to be more than j… Read more

3-5 Market Street, Hayfield, Derbyshire SK22 2EP

Best Local Restaurant

The Palmerston

Edinburgh, Lothians ££

Good-value Med-oriented cooking in atmospheric surroundings

In a retooled bank building in Edinburgh's Haymarket district, the Palmerston makes a virtue of the decorative style of yesteryear. Lots of dark wood, an uncovered floor and bentwood café chairs create an atmosphere of old-… Read more

1 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh, Lothians EH12 5AF

The Pipe & Glass

South Dalton, East Yorkshire £££

Impressive locally sourced food in a proper Yorkshire inn

Located in an impossibly charming village about an hour's drive east of York, this delightful inn has been home to James and Kate Mackenzie since 2006, and it has gone from strength to strength over the years. Happily, the ow… Read more

Located in an impossibly charming village about an hour's drive east of York, this delightful inn has been home to James and Kate Mackenzie since 2006, and it has gone from strength to strength over the years. Happily, the owners have never lost sight of their original vision of an informal country pub dedicated to impressive cooking with a local accent – ‘not fine dining but brilliant consistent food,’ according to one fan. There’s a commitment to Yorkshire’s bountiful larder, the same menu is served in the bar (no bookings) and restaurant, while afternoons bring sandwiches, soup and savouries. They even look after your children nicely with a sensible menu of roast chicken, sausage and mash, risotto and lots more.

James Mackenzie doesn't trade in dolls-house portions or superfluous smears; instead, his dishes are hearty and substantial – as in a generous serving of Dales lamb (BBQ rump and a crispy croquette of belly meat) alongside a delicate tartlet of spring vegetables and Yorkshire Fine Fettle cheese, plus nettle and mint purée, beer and barley jus. Our springtime visit included grilled asparagus served with a dressing of Yorkshire’s own chorizo, followed by a substantial dish of cider-braised rabbit topped with a wild garlic crumble containing pancetta, black pudding and cannellini beans. Asparagus turned up again in a special of wild halibut with Jersey Royals (doused with seaweed butter and served in a mini copper pan). Desserts are hard to resist, especially the exceedingly lemony, lemon curd parfait and meringue ice cream. And if you just fancy a little sweet something, try the ‘treats’ – a trio of macaroons or mini salted caramel doughnuts, hot from the pan and rolled in sugar.

The thoughtful wine list is a fine match for the food, with plenty by the glass and half bottle (including a Pomerol and Margaux at £38), plus a selection of ‘fine and rare’ vintages; there's also a selection of Thomson & Scott non-alcoholic tipples. Five luxurious bedrooms are located in the pub and a further four are close by in the village.

West End, South Dalton, East Yorkshire HU17 7PN

The Small Holding

Kilndown, Kent £££

The winner of our 2020 'Chef to Watch' award has justified the faith we had in him. Not only has Will Devlin opened another restaurant in the area (Birchwood at Flimwell), but he's also built up the marvellously rural Small Holdin… Read more

Ranters Lane, Kilndown, Kent TN17 2SG

The Suffolk

Aldeburgh, Suffolk £££

Classic, contemporary cooking in an appealing coastal setting

'In short, we love the place, and we love the people,' – a note from one happy guest captures the vibe at this appealing restaurant with rooms on Aldeburgh’s High Street, and others echo the sentiment. The ‘… Read more

'In short, we love the place, and we love the people,' – a note from one happy guest captures the vibe at this appealing restaurant with rooms on Aldeburgh’s High Street, and others echo the sentiment. The ‘place’ in question is a handsome former coaching inn, transformed with a touch of class by owner George Pell who fell hook, line and sinker for the building and its surroundings during COVID. The ‘people’ include head chef Tom Payne, whose restrained touch with fine ingredients makes for delicious, uncomplicated eating. And how refreshing to be offered a straightforward carte with a couple of specials, something to share and some classic desserts rather than the prevailing 'taster' format.

Seafood beckons. Oysters from nearby Butley Creek require nothing more than shallot vinaigrette to spark the appetite, while scallops spend just enough time in the pan to get a good sear before bouncing onto a bed of buttered samphire – just add a spritz of lemon and a shard of salty bacon for a generous starter. A whopping brill (catch of the day) becomes a feast to share, seared on the Bertha charcoal oven and portioned tableside, while halibut en croûte is an elegant masterclass of fish and pastry cookery, the puddle of beurre blanc sauce zippy with dill and chives. Meat-eaters could be tempted by ultra-classic pork schnitzel Holstein (topped with an egg and anchovies) or a côte de boeuf to share (from Salter & King, the excellent butcher just over the road). Chips are a hot, salty, crisp must-order.

This kitchen takes no short-cuts with ingredients, and there’s no unnecessary faff on the plate. Nor is it a kitchen that sets out to challenge, because who needs that over lunch? A lemon tart couldn’t have been zestier, or you could try sharing an impressive tiramisu millefeuille. The compact wine list delivers familiar names and several by the glass (around £8), tempting at the top end with the likes of Bordeaux’s Left Bank winner, Château Palmer ‘Alter Ego’ 2009.

152 High Street, Aldeburgh, Suffolk IP15 5AQ

The Tamil Prince

Islington, London ££

Occupying a former pub in the Barnsbury quarter of Islington, this regional Indian restaurant has become a huge hit with knowledgeable locals. Set up by chef Prince Durairaj (previously at Roti King) and JKS GM Glen Leeson, it off… Read more

115 Hemingford Road, Islington, London N1 1BZ

The Waterside

Ruswarp, North Yorkshire ££

Deceptively simple seasonal food in a glorious riverside setting

If location is everything, then Chloe and David Ellis have it all. After making a big hit with Pizza West in Whitby, they have created a beautiful indoor/outdoor restaurant on an idyllic stretch of the river Esk. What was once a s… Read more

Chainbridge, The Carrs, Ruswarp, North Yorkshire YO21 1RL

Best Local Restaurant

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The Woodspeen

Woodspeen, Berkshire £££

The buzzy, anticipatory atmosphere among diners at this polished magnet for Berkshire’s food-lovers is contagious. Lucratively located near the M4, A34 and A4, the Woodspeen nevertheless occupies a quiet patch of verdant cou… Read more

The buzzy, anticipatory atmosphere among diners at this polished magnet for Berkshire’s food-lovers is contagious. Lucratively located near the M4, A34 and A4, the Woodspeen nevertheless occupies a quiet patch of verdant countryside and comes complete with a cookery school. In 2014, it was converted from a pub – though you’d hardly realise this when you're reclining on a smart grey banquette in the stylish modern dining room to the rear, with its soaring wooden ceiling (topped by a skylight), windows looking onto the garden and full-length open-view kitchen. The food continues to attract heaps of plaudits from a multitude of fans – and it's easy to see why. Roast halibut with crispy chicken-skin crumb, Bollinger and apple purée indicates the level of ambition to be found here, while beef Wellington for two is a speciality – although even the good-value set menu displays culinary flair and a feel for local ingredients (many from the restaurant’s kitchen garden). In May, for example, you might begin with the most delicate Parmesan arancino (crisp outside, creamy within) surrounded by a silky-smooth wild garlic and pea soup, the flavour of both ingredients skilfully balanced. Main courses are equally accomplished, a serving of succulent cured salmon, say, on crushed Jersey Royals, the whole dish elevated by a boldly flavoured fish broth and a modest sprig of purple sprouting broccoli in peak condition. After that, rhubarb pavlova makes a refreshing finale, with its light chewy meringue and delicately cooked cubes of rhubarb topped with blood-orange sorbet. Service attracts special comment from readers (‘exemplary’; ‘superb’; ‘fantastic and attentive without being overbearing’), and we found the knowledge, enthusiasm and expertise hard to fault. Second helpings of the first-rate spongy sourdough bread, served with whipped butter and a little pot of moreish black olive ‘houmous’ were provided without charge, once our appreciation had been noted. A studious, young sommelier takes his duties seriously, and the wide-ranging list is full of classy offerings – even a glass of entry-level Viognier comes bursting with juicy fruitiness. Cocktails, served in the front bar or out on the terrace, are yet another forte at this impressive set-up.

Lambourn Road, Woodspeen, Berkshire RG20 8BN

Wen's

Leeds, West Yorkshire ££

Family-run Chinese restaurant specialising in home-style regional dishes

The Wen family hails from Shandong province (between Beijing and Shanghai), and the cooking of that eastern region – along with some excursions into the Szechuan repertoire – constitutes the backbone of their appealing… Read more

72-74 North Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS2 7PN

Ynyshir

Eglwys Fach, Ceredigion ££££

The sense of almost mythological remoteness is accentuated as you head towards the west Wales coast, past the RSPB nature reserve, to the singular residence that is Ynyshir. Once owned by Queen Victoria, it has become one of the U… Read more

The sense of almost mythological remoteness is accentuated as you head towards the west Wales coast, past the RSPB nature reserve, to the singular residence that is Ynyshir. Once owned by Queen Victoria, it has become one of the UK's foremost destination dining options – thanks to Gareth Ward and his superlative kitchen and front-of-house teams. Ynyshir runs to its own agenda, with dozens of dishes over the space of four or five hours, requiring a level of concentration that will be amply rewarded with revelatory food rocking with stirring flavours, textures and temperatures, plus a soundtrack curated by the resident DJ. Highlights from our latest visit ranged from a lobster claw with peanut brittle and spritzed lime (served on a hot metal plate) to another appetiser of raw prawns in Thai green curry sauce with slivers of sugar-snap. When the music amps up a little (Iggy Pop's 1977 hit, The Passenger, in our case), it's time to sashay into the dining room. What makes the experience so enjoyable is that there is no set way to eat the food; use whatever implements look right and ignore the neighbours. When we had finished our corpulent Orkney scallop, we lifted the dish to our lips and drank up the milky wagyu-fatted sauce. East Asian notes are a golden thread running through many of these dishes, sometimes almost conventionally so – as with the maki rolls that begin with yellowfin tuna, nori, white soy, sesame and English wasabi. Among the sushi offerings, the sea bream with compressed apple and more wasabi is a textural triumph. Miso-cured duck liver mousse with smoked eel and puffed spelt has plenty to say for itself, but so does a piece of Irish duck served in a style somewhere between Peking and char siu, but before we peak too soon, there's lamb rib to come, slow-cooked for an eternity, tender as marshmallow in shiso and onion, ahead of confit wagyu and mushroom ketchup alongside egg-yolked rice. A culinary joke takes us from savoury to sweet, via a burger with pickle and a homage to the McFlurry, flavoured with banana, birch syrup and caviar. A glitterball suddenly switches on and the smoke bucket is carried ceremonially through the room, to the strains of Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy. Desserts gently return us to the comfort zone with toffee pudding (albeit sauced with miso) and an elegantly layered, liquorous tiramisu. There is a feeling that you might need to prepare for Ynyshir by forgoing solid sustenance for 48 hours, but our feedback files show how volubly people adore the novelty, the challenge and the sheer unadulterated fun of it all. And it is less relentless than it sounds: 'the tempo of the performance surges, then slackens and surges again, led by the music, and the fever-pitch deliciousness of some of the dishes,' our inspector noted. Wine picks are as original and as assertive as they need to be for the food, and are flexible enough to accommodate the gentler end of the spectrum (a Bulgarian Pinot Noir was a success with lamb). However, some cheaper options don't quite have enough impact for many of the potently flavoured dishes.

Eglwys Fach, Ceredigion SY20 8TA

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