Best places to eat near Britain’s train stations
Published 20 May 2025

This cosy and buzzy neighbourhood venue has raised the bar for Spanish food in Brighton significantly. The cheerful and stylish red-painted frontage is easy to spot on a side street close to the city’s Open Market and is just a short walk from the train station. The small, subtly themed dining room features decorative porcelain wall tiles, tasteful framed prints and a semi-open kitchen headed by Iain Swainson (whose CV includes The Samling, Pennyhill Park and The Pass at South Lodge Hotel). With partner Justyna Maria Ciurus (formerly front of house at The Little Fish Market in Hove) they bring the sort of attention to detail you’d expect at far swankier places than this good-value casual dining spot.

Indeed, a fillet of torched mackerel – skin beautifully crisp, flesh cooked to perfection - wouldn’t have looked out of place on a smart tasting menu with its pearlescent sorrel and Gordal olive dressing and bed of smoky cod’s roe mousse. Even simple items such as cep croquetas and a textbook patatas bravas over-deliver on flavour and texture.

Although you could easily order a traditional three-course meal here, we chose to share a selection of snacks, starters, main courses and sides. With our crockery and cutlery replaced with each new dish, it meant we weren’t eating a boldly favoured dish of crispy chipirones with fideuà and squid-ink velouté off the same plate as a perfectly roasted skate wing pil pil. You can drink well too, with well-made and nicely presented cocktails and a concise list of Spanish wines and sherries from top producers.

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 Luca Montuori, the proposition is a picture of regional Italian gastronomy, pairing premium Italian imports with bountiful Welsh produce. 

The concise menu, supplemented by a paper slip of specials, will transport you from the humdrum lookout onto an NCP car park, while charming service invites you to kick back and relax. From the list of antipasti, there might be spinach and ricotta gnudi, or thick-cut bruschetta, messily laden with stracciatella, sweet blistered tomatoes and the peppery undertones of good olive oil. Pasta dishes such as pappardelle with venison and pork ragù rule the mains alongside fresh fish from the market (halibut on our visit) and rosy-pink Welsh lamb rump with Parmesan mash. Dessert might be a simple almond panna cotta or a glass of passito with cantucci. Look out for the good-value lunch menu (£28 for three courses at the time of writing) or, if choosing is beyond you, there's a tasting experience of five courses for £60. 

As for wine, there’s a whole handbook of help available, although it's better to rely on the easy-going, knowledgeable staff when it comes to picking something from the all-Italian line-up. An upstairs dining room is warmly lit for a convivial evening, though we think the toilets could do with a makeover to bring things up to scratch.

The Dishoom group has the knack of picking atmospheric locations for its various restaurants, and this Edinburgh outpost is no exception – although one local thought it felt ‘a bit like a pub’. Occupying three floors of a handsome Art Deco building overlooking St Andrew Square, it is dedicated to hirsute Scottish botanist and all-round man of the people Sir Patrick Geddes, who helped improve living conditions in Edinburgh's Old Town during Victorian times and had strong links with Bombay. Appropriate, since Dishoom aims to recreate the essence and ambience of that city's classless Irani cafés, with a lively all-day menu of Anglo-Indian tiffin and tucker.

Roll up early for buttery maska buns with hot chai or a chicken kathi roll, lunch on a couple small plates (perhaps a hot potato vada pau or chickpeas, halwa and pickles in a puffy puri); otherwise, get sociable by sharing a feast of different dishes. Grills such as Dishoom’s invigoratingly spiced lamb chops share the billing with slow-cooked biryanis, various ‘Ruby Murrays’ and the house special – salli boti (braised lamb in rich gravy served with crunchy ‘crisp chips’ and buttered roomali roti).

To finish, a creamy, cooling kulfi fits the bill admirably. Drinkers are also handsomely served with a bewildering array of ‘sharbats’, coolers, esoteric beers, wines and cocktails on offer: don’t miss the special Horniman’s Old Fashioned, named after Benjamin Horniman - a friend of Patrick Geddes and editor of The Bombay Chronicle.

After years of pop-ups, this Italian-inspired restaurant group is firmly established south of the river with a permanent spot in Peckham (Forza Wine). Now its most ambitious project to date is to be found on the second floor of The National Theatre. The concrete, wood and glass 160-seater is the place to pop in for drinks – Forza’s special cherry Negroni leads the cocktail charge and there’s an interesting list of approachable, modern European wines including plenty by the glass.

 From the kitchen comes a compact, seasonally aware list of Italian-style small plates to share. To begin, we enjoyed a generous serving of cauliflower fritti with aïoli, as well as a satisfying plate of potato, pancetta and porcini mushrooms. As dishes arrive when they are ready, we happily discovered that roasted Delica pumpkin set atop a pool of creamy pearl barley and sage worked really well with pink, well-flavoured slices of lamb shoulder, celeriac and salsa verde. Each of these items was simply executed and tasted deliciously of its excellent well-sourced ingredients, although not everything we sampled passed muster.

However, there was nothing awry about our milk soft serve with roasted apple and a topping of candied walnut; the famed ‘Custardo’ – an affogato made with custard – is not to be missed, either. While on-the-ball staff check if you are dining pre-theatre, such is Forza’s following that few people depart when the final call sounds for the Lyttelton Theatre one floor down – the atmosphere remains lively. It's also worth checking out the pleasant, partially covered terrace looking onto the river and Waterloo Bridge.

‘The highest quality meat and cheese we’ve tried anywhere,’ thought a fan of this popular charcuteria/bar/bottle shop hard by Leeds railway station. The many marvels of the curer’s and cheesemaker's craft are on display via a series of customised sharing boards loaded with artisan classics – from instantly addictive Ibérico secreto and bresaola di Montagna to Baron Bigod and cave-aged Gruyère. A few tapas plates (butter beans in lardo broth, say) are also on offer, along with sourdough sandwiches and affogato, although cured meat (matched with a glass or two of natural wine) is the main reason for befriending this cool, cashless gem. There’s a branch in Ilkley.

Handy for a classy train snack to go, this excellent bakery next to Bristol Temple Meads station is also a hugely popular destination in its own right. Inside, it’s simply decorated with moveable counters on castors and a gleaming coffee machine in front of the open-plan workspace. There are also a few tables inside and a couple of outdoor benches for those who want to linger over their doorstep sourdough toasties or cinnamon buns. Open from early doors till 3pm, its daily menu of baked goodies is supplemented by lunch specials such as chicken and tomato broth with asparagus and peas. Coffee is from the local Extract roastery. é

A block or two from Piccadilly Gardens, Higher Ground is run by a triumvirate who met while working at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills in New York State. They have now rocked up at the corner of an office building in, naturally, New York Street, to bring up-to-the-minute bistro food to a vanguard gastronomic city. Much of what comes into the kitchen is supplied by their own farm Cinderwood, a market garden smallholding in Cheshire, and its vivid intensities of flavour inspire chefs and diners alike. Eaten in a bright, spacious airport-style space, with counter seating as well as tables, the result is dishes that you will want to share, rather than merely being told that you have to. Green pea and spring garlic fritters enriched with Isle of Mull Cheddar won't touch the sides, and there are pedigree cured meats such as 12-month air-dried culatello or the cannily sourced salami taormina from Curing Rebels of Brighton. Fish cookery is of the first water: Scottish turbot with grilled lettuce, spring onions and basil is perfect with a side order of waxy Marfona potatoes dressed in roasted yeast and smoked butter. Desserts are, surprisingly, of a more delicate persuasion than puds and cheesecake. Try house-cultured yoghurt with preserved gooseberry and bay leaf, or milk ice cream given a little fairground pizzazz with chocolate malt fudge. Speciality bottled ales from the English regions are a plus point, and wine-drinkers can be sure their tipple will have been left to its own devices as far as possible, turning burnt orange for Ardèche Marsanne or abashed pink for Sicilian rosato. House fizz is a Crémant de Limoux.

The sophisticated big sister to Slad’s Woolpack Inn, this all-day bistro marries a modern European menu with a decidedly old-world French vibe. Large windows flood the long, narrow white room with light, while linen-draped tables, black leather banquettes, rich mahogany sideboards and a parquet floor evoke the understated elegance of a bygone era.

The menu is arranged as a series of sharing plates of escalating size, brought in order, so that one might start with an oyster or oeuf mayonnaise from the snacks, before a more substantial dish of clams with Tropea onion and asparagus or beef tartare with pommes allumettes. Portions are generous, with the final dishes (maybe a butterflied mackerel scattered with agretti and bottarga) the size of a conventional main course.

Will Rees (formerly head chef at Wilsons in Bristol) and Oliver Gyde spin magic from sustainably sourced local ingredients, including salad leaves grown in owner Dan Chadwick’s walled garden at nearby Lypiatt Park. Lashings of grass-green olive oil, presumably not locally produced but none the less delicious for it, enriches many dishes and looks so pretty against the white plates. The standout from the short dessert menu is a decidedly grown-up apple tarte tatin, caramelised to within an inch of its life and served with crème fraîche.

Should you wish to take advantage of the impressive list of low-intervention and artisanal wines, Stroud train station is a mere stumble away. Service from the team of young, passionate staff brims with pride and enthusiasm.

Most izakaya restaurants in Japan are in tucked-away locations within the city, and Kushi-Ya, which moved to a new address in 2024, has found its own home along a gated walkway off a side-street in the centre of Nottingham. Blond wood and dark-blue tiles are lightened by big windows, and there's an outdoor terrace too – making the most of the East Midlands sunshine. A quotient of tables is kept free for those who arrive on spec, although it's walk-ins only for sub-£20 lunches.

The name means ‘skewer-shop’, and a range of speared items forms the centrepiece of the menu: chicken tsukune with egg yolk and beef with black garlic mustard were both hugely pleasing at our visit. Also look to the specials, where more unusual offerings such as duck hearts are often to be had. Before those appear, do not miss the prawn toasts.We cannot stress this enough. Little barrels of toast are piped full of the prawn filling and served with furikake and savoury mayo. You'll never forget them. A plate of excellent pickles sharpens the appetite in every sense, with red radish and daikon, mushrooms and cucumber, all prickling with acidity. Our special of mackerel crudo with shiso and high-grade wasabi gained from the intensely savoury mayo in which it was bound.

A small-plates selection encompasses a clever Japanese/Korean prawn cocktail as well as soy-braised pork shoulder with condiments for the meatily inclined. Finish with the supremely well-balanced pairing of black-sugar parfait with a charred sesame-seed crisp or the sweet-and-sour combination of matcha cheesecake and lime meringue. A concise drinks list includes cups and cans of sake, Koshu wine, Japanese whiskies and an exciting cocktail range. Anyone for a gochujang Old-Fashioned (whisky, pineapple rum and gochujang-honey syrup)? 

Standing proud by Rye’s 14th-century Landgate, Martin Peacock’s neighbourhood bistro has been a local benchmark for many a year, and it’s still ‘a great little place with a perfect ambience.’ The interior has a suave contemporary look, while the food is dependably on track, mixing rock-solid Gallic traditions with impeccable local sourcing (including some produce from a little plot not far away).

Elderflower vinegar adds a floral note to a starter of beetroot, goat’s cheese and homemade gnocchi, while pickled carrots and harissa aïoli bring depth and variety of flavour to a dish of buttermilk rabbit. Romney Marsh lamb (served three ways) is an occasional addition to the menu, likewise local venison (cooked two ways and served with pickled blackberries, red cabbage, green beans and croquette potato). Otherwise, consider something from the waters of the South Coast – perhaps poached fillet of lemon sole with pea purée or baked fillet of sea bass accompanied by griddled sea kale and squid-ink risotto.

Sorbets and ice creams are made on the premises, or you could round off with a seasonal tart (say, quince and almond with crème fraîche). Organic wines from Sussex feature on the carefully selected international wine list, which keeps its mark-ups in check.  

A cheerful celebration of multicultural Oxford, Lula’s fits perfectly into its community-centre home near the railway station. Fairy lights and vibrant wall displays of ethnic artefacts temper the capacious, functional surroundings – as do enthusiastic staff and a menu of great-value dishes. Communal eating is the norm, with the classic meal consisting of various curries served on spongy injera flatbread: tear off some and scoop up the food. There’s plenty for vegetarians (try the gomen curry of carrots, cabbage and potatoes), although the best bet for newcomers is a sharing platter of four vegetable dishes plus a non-veg centrepiece – the tender lamb zigni is recommended. Accompany the feast with tej (honey wine).

‘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.

From the people behind Nether Edge’s excellent Bench, this no-bookings cocktail bar is every bit as chic as its concrete-and-couches interiors suggest. Highly inventive cocktails are Pearl's USP, with ingredients ranging from spent coffee to pea-pod cream, but you’re in safe hands. Drinks are fantastic value considering their quality, as are the ‘plates’ – seasonally changing dishes offering comfort food in its fanciest guise. There are chicken wings with harissa and lime, salted new potatoes with aïoli and interesting combos including tangy marinated mushrooms tangled up with a cured egg yolk and dill. Just add assorted beers and natural wines on tap. In summer, the terrace buzzes with drinkers enjoying the panoramic views over Sheffield.

Though the South Indian street-food venue near Hackney Wick is now defunct, the latest in Prince Durairaj and Glen Leeson’s stable, which also includes Islington’s Tamil Prince and Tamil Crown, is a modern, lively and informal curry house not far from King's Cross station (there’s another branch in Clapham). It’s contemporary in its approach to Indian cookery, too, with the kitchen viewable to diners on the ground floor (there’s further seating in the cosy bar-basement) and a short menu of snacks, small plates and curries. Judging by the turnover of tables at our weekend lunch, it's clearly been taken to heart by the locals – so booking is advisable.

Fresh ingredients and whole spices are the building blocks, and dishes celebrate the sweet astringency of South Indian cooking – perhaps a crisp tangle of fried baby sweetcorn with a sweet chilli chutney or pancake-shaped masala dosai to be dipped into a superb sambar (lentil stew). The traditions of the classic British curry repertoire are also respected. Order the rich, creamy paneer butter masala with unmissable buttery, flaky roti – the undoubted star of the menu – then select the tandoori chicken with its pronounced smoky, charred flavour.

We really appreciated the warmly embracing style of service, with staff proffering good advice on food and drink. As regards the latter, a brief, spice-friendly selection of wines competes for attention with whizz-bang cocktails – we recommend the Tamil Negroni and the charcoal Old Fashioned; there's also Tamila lager on draught.

The Bull describes itself as an 'organic, radical, ethical' pub, which is what it's about these days. Who doesn't love a radical pub? Just round the corner at the top end of Totnes' main drag, it's certainly a comfortable and welcoming place to enjoy good beers, adventurous wines, and some conscientiously sourced local produce that is treated with respect for its innate quality.

Johnny Tillbrook's blackboard menus offer a wealth of choice, turning Jersey-milk Ogleshield cheese, Jerusalem artichokes and leeks into a warming gratin topped with pangrattato, or curing monkfish in paprika, alongside electrifying accompaniments of blood-orange, fennel and chilli oil.

No lily feels over-gilded, and yet every dish has plenty to say for itself, through to sustaining mains such as sea bass in ajo blanco with spinach and roast courgette, or chicken breast with greens, turnip, onion, skordalia and green sauce. Basque cheesecake, perhaps with prunes soaked in Earl Grey, is a sweet stalwart. The small plates arrangement remains a good way to go for an enterprising group (how about venison koftas with cumin yoghurt, preserved lemon and pomegranate salad?). Wines are arranged by style, and (not surprisingly) embrace a healthy showing of biodynamic and natural specimens.

A modern French, all-day dining spot with 'Swiss Army Knife' versatility, easing a lunchtime drop-in, wine bar, casual restaurant, café-deli and private-dining balcony into a repurposed railway arch where a buzzy atmosphere reverberates all around. The small-plates menu is equally suited to light repasts and grande bouffes, ranging from frog's legs, escargots and moules marinière to confit duck, boeuf bourguignon and grilled lamb rump with rosemary jus. Alternatively, spend an afternoon at the bar in the company of the brilliant staff, eating plates of artisan charcuterie and fromage with homemade chutneys while working your way through tasting flights of their wine list (reckoned to be ‘the best in the city’). Glasses of vin de la maison start at £6.

‘I have felt welcome and at home here for many years,' comments one regular. Some restaurants can make you happy as soon as you step over the threshold. Such is the case at this locally loved eatery tucked within a farmers' market, a stone’s throw from Canterbury West station. With its own farm and deep connection with local producers – the Goods Shed celebrates its quarter centenary in 2025 – it fits the whole farmers’ market ethos perfectly: you’ll often see a chef picking out produce from the market stalls.

There are no tasting menus here, just a daily changing blackboard with about five choices per course. Former sous-chef Morgan Lewis has taken over the kitchen, and his devotedly seasonal and unfettered menu doesn’t beat about the bush, delivering the likes of grilled squid with lemon and green sauce or cold roast pork with anchoïade, fried capers and pickled cucumber – two starters that say it all. Generous mains are often reboot of old-school classics such as a meaty pork chop with a richly indulgent cauliflower purée, cauliflower salad and a glossy, meaty sauce. Or you could savour a brandade fishcake with a butter sauce dotted with caviar and topped with rocket and salmon roe.

To finish, choux buns filled with strawberry and vodka ice cream and white chocolate provide a perfect parting shot. To drinks, there’s a brief, efficient list of European (and English) wines plus a small selection of cocktails, as well as a decent line-up of Kentish ales and cider. Charming service seals the deal.

Images: Sally Gurteen

Admirably surviving the COVID-related battering that commenced a few months after it opened, the Royal has raised the bar in St Leonards. It has done so without flash or hype, gaining a reputation for down-to-earth warmth, as well as its well-deserved status as the town’s best in show. With its spruced-up Hague Blue prow, it makes a beacon of well-considered gentrification bang opposite Warrior Square train station. The interior is unpretentious but grown-up, with quietly intriguing artwork – the perfect setting for Ben Krikorian’s well-executed, seasonal, robust cooking. Starters either veer towards classic (an irreproachable crispy pig’s head with gribiche sauce) or slightly jazzier (wild garlic soup with goat’s curd or an autumnal dish of duck ham with boozy prunes). At least two vegetarian mains (including a vegan option) might include charred hispi cabbage with tomato lentils or marrow curry with pickles. There’s also onglet and chips, as well as hake with anchoïade and superb crispy fried prawns. Very good tarts, ice creams, custards and outliers such as amazing chocolate fritters round things off. Service is responsive and on the ball. The wine list changes frequently, remaining decidedly Europhile with Berry Bros crémant by the glass and Sybille Kuntz Riesling, but also trying out New World reds that max out at £55.

Its scores of fans would happily upgrade this unpretentious pub with rooms on a busy road to a Gold Cup, with additional praise ladled on to the Sunday roasts (‘simply wow’) and the ‘exceptional’ steaks. Sadly, we arrived for a late lunch on what must have been an off day. Service had too many slips and the main course of oxtail and beef-cheek pie was a rather sloppy (and expensive) version of cottage pie, without any accompanying vegetables. That said, there’s undoubted talent in the kitchen.

A first course of lobster and crab tartlet was terrific: the prawn cocktail-like filling was abundant, creamy and flavourful, encased in a crisp, brittle cup resting on a purée of avocado. Our dessert was also a rich indulgence: the Silver Cup 'Snickers Bar'– a chocolate mousse with a nutty, chocolate casing topped with vanilla ice cream and surrounded by caramel.

Several main courses (roasted turbot with crème fraîche or Gloucester Old Spot pork chop with burnt apple, for instance) are for two to share, and a menu of snacks (merguez Scotch eggs or baby burrata with leek and walnut pesto, for example) is now served in the separate saloon bar and the garden. There's also a well-annotated, globetrotting wine list that’s several notches above the pub norm. The local siblings who have run this place since 2020 know how to please their regulars.

Bathed in a warm glow, with floor-to-ceiling shelves of speciality dry goods and deli produce beckoning like a sweet shop, this little pocket of Spain is alive and well. Head through to the back and you’ll find a vinoteca in full swing on weekdays, and until 8.30pm Thur-Sat. Chance a walk-in for a glass of organic cava rosado and a plate of fresh-out-the-fryer bacalao, or book ahead at the 10-seat counter and settle into a vermut flight and the full tapas menu. Wandering off to explore the extensive wine display is encouraged.

Originally a tiny garret above Bath’s deservedly popular Landrace community bakery (recently doubled in size), this charmingly relaxed and welcoming small-plates bistro has since expanded into a more generously proportioned second room. Stone walls adorned with framed posters and high shelves lined with empty wine bottles provide the decoration here. A corner bar with counter seats complements the black-topped tables on the scruffy wood floor.

Chef Rob Sachdev’s passion for sourcing incredible produce as locally as possible is evident throughout the menu. Sharing is the name of the game here, with dishes ranging in size from generous snacks to full-on main courses. Take it from our reporters, you'll kick yourself if you don’t start with the Cheddar curd fritters. Among the small plates, a thrillingly super-fresh combo of ewe’s curd, pea, broad-bean tops and crostini, glistening under a slick of grass-green olive oil, positively sings of summer. 

Larger dishes always include some seasonal pasta (perhaps nettle tagliatelle with Wye Valley asparagus or pappardelle with Westcombe veal ragù, sage and Parmesan) alongside complex and satisfying ideas such as beef rump with chickpeas, rainbow chard and salsa verde. Desserts, meanwhile, are a great advert for the bakery's patisserie skills, as in a warm cherry and almond tart (moreish, rich and crumbly) or pain perdu with lemon curd and candied zest. An adventurous list of natural and biodynamic wines offers a chance to be pleasantly surprised by something new: even the house white – a boldly flavoured, organic Catarratto from Sicily – doesn't play it safe.