The Good Food Guide 2025: UK's Best Restaurants — Page 10

Bao Lexington Street is the Michelin Bib Gourmand-recognised original that launched the group in 2015. Walk-in only, with queues that move faster at opening, it delivers chef Erchen Chang's Taiwanese steamed buns and xiao chi small plates at the £ price tier. Arrive at noon or 5 pm on weekdays to minimise the wait; Friday evenings are the longest.

Mesen is a sensible Cardiff pick when you want an easy-to-book dinner with Good Food Guide 2025 recognition, not a heavily signposted tasting-menu or drinks-led destination. Choose it for a calmer neighbourhood meal; cross-shop Thomas for a clearer higher-spend Modern British brief or Heathcock for British Contemporary at a known ££ tier.

Noah's works for a relaxed Bristol meal that feels more intentional than a casual fallback without pushing into formal tasting-menu territory. The Good Food Guide 2025 recognition gives it a useful credibility signal, the easy booking profile makes it a practical choice when the group needs a dependable table rather than a high-effort splurge.

A Michelin Plate-recognised neighbourhood bistro in Clifton, 1 York Place serves pan-European food; from squid ink bomba rice to Pyrenean lamb shoulder; at a mid-range price that is hard to argue. Chef Freddy Bird's date-stamped, seasonal menu rewards those who order across the sharing plates rather than sticking to three courses. Book ahead; it fills consistently.

Book The Running Horses for a relaxed Mickleham date night when the priority is a proper pub meal with a credible food signal. Its Good Food Guide 2025 recognition makes it a safer dinner choice than an unvetted village-pub fallback, though drink-led evenings may be better served by a clearer bar-first venue.

670 Grams delivers one of Birmingham's most distinctive tasting menu experiences from a deliberately cramped Custard Factory unit in Digbeth, with graffiti walls, loud rap music, cooking that earned Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025. At £££ per head, it sits below the city's ££££ tier and offers something none of those venues do: a genuinely confrontational atmosphere alongside technically confident creative cooking. Book 3–4 weeks ahead for weekends.

Rothay Manor's Rowan restaurant holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, serving ingredient-led Modern British cooking on a three-course à la carte in a recently refreshed Regency-era dining room. At £££, it occupies the middle tier of Ambleside dining; more flexible than the tasting-menu-only venues above it in price. Book summer evenings or Sunday lunch for the best atmosphere; winter dinners can feel subdued.

Skua is a candlelit basement in Edinburgh's Stockbridge with back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmands (2024, 2025) and a ££ price tag; which makes it the clearest value-per-credential option in the city. The seasonal small-plates menu is tightly composed, the natural wine list is genuinely curated, the intimate counter seating makes it as good for solo diners as it is for pairs.

Hinnies is worth booking for a relaxed Whitley Bay meal when convenience and broad appeal matter more than ceremony. The Good Food Guide 2025 nod is a useful trust signal, but the better reason to choose it is flexibility: it works for casual lunches, easy dinners, groups that need a dependable coastal option.

Kushi-Ya holds two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmands (2024 and 2025) and prices at ££, making it the strongest value-to-quality proposition in Nottingham's restaurant scene. The charcoal-grill skewers are the anchor, but the specials board and prawn toasts are where the kitchen shows its range. Walk-in only for the sub-£20 lunch; arrive early.

Skosh is the strongest argument for eating on Micklegate. Neil Bentinck's 40-seat small-plates kitchen holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for the second consecutive year, delivering pan-Asian Modern British cooking at ££ pricing; individual dishes run from a few pounds to just under a tenner. Book well ahead; this is York's most consistent value-for-quality address and the default first recommendation for food-focused visitors.

Amaya has anchored upscale Indian dining in Belgravia since 2004, ranked in the Opinionated About Dining top 250 in Europe two years running. The sharing-plate format, built around tandoor, tawa, sigri grills, suits special occasions and group dinners. Book well in advance; this is one of the harder reservations in SW1 at the ££££ tier.

Angler holds a Michelin star on the seventh floor of South Place Hotel, with a seafood-focused menu built on restrained technique and high-quality sourcing. The set lunch is the best entry point at this price tier; the eight-course tasting menu suits special occasions. Book at least three to four weeks out; weekend slots fill fast.

A town-centre Pontypridd pub with Good Food Guide 2025 recognition, The Bunch of Grapes is the practical choice for a casual date, small group meal, or low-effort celebration. Book it when ease and reliability matter more than ceremony; check outdoor seating directly if terrace space is central to the plan.

The Rose & Crown is a sensible Snettisham pick for a relaxed pub date or first visit, especially if you want food with Good Food Guide 2025 backing without a formal dining-room mood. Choose it for conversation and village-pub ease; cross-shop wider Norfolk peers if you want a bigger destination feel.

The Rose is the Deal pick when dinner matters more than a casual drinks stop. Good Food Guide 2025 recognition gives it a stronger quality signal than many low-commitment nearby bar options, easy booking makes it useful for couples or small groups planning a High Street evening without weeks of advance work.

Book The Jetty when you want an easy Christchurch meal with a polished coastal-restaurant feel rather than a high-effort tasting-menu night. It is strongest for relaxed lunch, early dinner, or a small occasion where service pace and booking ease matter more than culinary theatre.

Box Tree has operated from two sandstone cottages in Ilkley since 1962, a major 2024 reinvention, new ownership, new chef, new tasting menu format, makes this the most interesting it has been in years. At ££££ with a no-choice menu, it is a genuine special-occasion commitment. The reflects a room that consistently delivers; the question is whether the kitchen's ambition has caught up with its history.

Chapter One in Locksbottom holds a Michelin Plate and OAD Classical Europe ranking while charging £££; well below the ££££ of comparable London fine dining. With decades of consistency, it is the most compelling special occasion booking in Southeast London. Book Thursday or Friday lunch for the best value; Saturday dinner for full atmosphere.

A Michelin Plate-recognised restaurant inside a 400-year-old vineyard barn on the Wyken estate in Suffolk. At ££, it delivers estate-grown seasonal cooking, enthusiastic service, one of the more characterful rural dining rooms in East Anglia. Strong for special occasions and group lunches, especially when the terrace is open.

Frog by Adam Handling is a restaurant on Southampton Street in Covent Garden, London.

Book Walcot House for a relaxed Bath meal or drinks-led evening with more atmosphere than formality. The Good Food Guide 2025 nod gives it credibility, but diners seeking a defined chef-led dinner should compare Henry's or Olive Tree instead.

Cru works when the brief is a recognised Eastbourne restaurant rather than a fully mapped tasting-menu destination. The Good Food Guide 2025 “GFG Good” listing gives it a useful quality signal, but the lack of confirmed cuisine, pricing, menu detail means it is a safer pick for planned local dining than for a high-stakes special trip.

Book Catch at The Old Fishmarket for a serious seafood dinner in Weymouth, not a casual harbour meal. The premium price tier makes sense when seafood is the point of the night, guide recognition supports treating it as a planned reservation rather than a spontaneous stop.

Morchella is a Michelin Bib Gourmand Mediterranean restaurant in a converted Clerkenwell bank, with a serious natural wine bar and a sharing menu that holds up across multiple visits. At ££ pricing, the set lunch is one of EC1's better-value meals. Book a table rather than the counter, spend time on the Funky end of the wine list.

A former village pub that now runs three serious menus; tasting, à la carte, a daily set; under two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmands (2024 and 2025). Chef-owner Daniel Smith's classical technique delivers considerably more than the ££ price range suggests. The strongest special-occasion option within easy reach of Norwich, one of the better value-to-quality ratios in East Anglia.

JÖRO holds a Michelin Plate and two consecutive OAD Top 300 Europe rankings from a converted 19th-century paper mill outside Sheffield. Luke and Stacey Sherwood-French run a kitchen that draws on Nordic fermentation and Asian technique in equal measure. Book the 90-minute Ö.5 lunch to get in the door; dinner tables go fast and the value case for lunch is hard to argue.

Broad Chare holds back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) and; making it the strongest case for hearty Traditional British cooking at ££ prices in Newcastle. Split across a proper ground-floor pub bar with 50+ beers and a rustic upstairs dining room, it is the Quayside's most reliably good table for the money.

Benedicts holds two consecutive Michelin Plates and; and at £££, it's among the best-value serious dinners in Norfolk. Richard Bainbridge's tasting menus lean hard on regional produce without the pretension. Book two to three weeks ahead for weekends. The alfresco small plates menu is a lighter alternative in summer.

Jason Atherton's all-day brasserie in St James's holds a Michelin Plate and charges at the £££ tier; a rare combination in this neighbourhood. Head chef Dale Bainbridge (ex-Pollen Street Social) runs a seasonal British menu with real technical depth: the snail and ox cheek lasagne and Marmite custard tart are the standout dishes. Book two to three weeks ahead for weekends.

Little Brickhouse is a good Nottingham pick for a relaxed date night or small celebration when quality matters more than ceremony. The Good Food Guide 2025 recognition adds reassurance, booking difficulty is listed as easy, making it more approachable than higher-pressure city options.

Bath Arms holds two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024–2025) and, making it the most credible dining option on the Longleat Estate. Estate-sourced meat and game, an open-fired bar, country house bedrooms make it worth booking for an overnight stay. At ££, the value is clear; booking is easy and walk-in pressure is low.