The UK’s best restaurants ranked by experts – is your favourite on the list?

Competing for the top prize of being the best restaurant for 2025 is no easy feat.

The UK is home to a number of prestigious eateries all gunning for being hailed as number one.

Determining who makes the cut and ultimately named among being crowned in the top 20 went to restaurant guide, .

The difficult task of naming UK’s best restaurant was found after using a combination of trailing through thousands of reader votes with the opinions of SquareMeal’s own critics and produced two rankings – the best 100 restaurants in London and the best 100 restaurants for the rest of the UK.

From Michelin-starred hotpots to relaxed Greek eateries, the top restaurants have been found, with the number one spot outside of London going to Restaurant Sat Bains.

The eatery located on Lenton Lane took the number one spot for 2025 in the wider UK restaurant ranking.

The list included two restaurants in the top 20 being found in the West Midlands, with Northumberland and Powys making an impressive feature too.

The honourable prize of Restaurant Sat Bains being named the best restaurant came down to what chef, Sat Bains, believes he and his team bring, which includes “delivering an exceptional dining experience”.

“We are honoured to place top in this brilliant list of restaurants,” said chef Sat Bains.

“We strive for both consistency and relevance, continuously innovating what we do and how we do it to be the best we can, spotlighting some of the country’s best produce in all its glory.”

SquareMeal in a statement: “Not only has Restaurant Sat Bains set the standard for fine dining in the UK for well over a decade, it has also proven to be a breeding ground for superb chefs – the likes of Gareth Ward at Ynyshir, Alex Bond at nearby Alchemilla, Niall Keating at Luna and more have passed through this kitchen over the years, going on to hold Michelin stars of their own.”

Sat Bains said of the honour: “After 25 years of dedication to our concept and little pocket of Nottingham we are, of course, humbled to place No.1 in the UK.”

SquareMeal’s top 20 best restaurants outside of London:

1. Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms, Lenton Lane, Nottingham
2. Pine, Vallum Farm, East Wallhouses, Northumberland
3. Ynyshir, Eglwys Fach, Machynlleth, Powys
4. Grace & Savour, Hampton Manor, Hampton-in-Arden, West Midlands
5. Woven by Adam Smith, Coworth Park, Ascot, Berkshire
6. L’Enclume, Cavendish Street, Grange-Over-Sands, Cumbria
7. Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms, Prescot Road, Aughton, Lancashire
8. Skof, Federation Street, Manchester
9. Opheem, Summer Row, Birmingham, West Midlands
10. Myse, Main Street, Hovingham, North Yorkshire
11. Lyla, Royal Terrace, Abbeyhill, Edinburgh
12. Updown Farmhouse, Deal, Kent
13. JÖRO, Old Mill Lane, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
14. Osip, Kingsettle Hill, Bruton, Somerset
15. The Angel Inn, Hetton, North Yorkshire
16. The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, Perthshire
17. Higher Ground, New York Street, Manchester
18. Heft, High Newton, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria
19. The Greyhound Beaconsfield, Windsor End, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
20. The Kinneuchar Inn, Kilconquhar, Fife & Angus

SquareMeal’s top 20 best restaurants in London:

1. AGORA, London Bridge
2. KOL, Marylebone
3. Aulis London, Soho
4. Lyle’s, Shoreditch
5. Kolae, London Bridge
6. The Ritz Restaurant, The Ritz Hotel, Mayfair
7. Humble Chicken, Soho, London
8. Da Terra, Bethnal Green
9. BiBi, Mayfair
10. The Ledbury, Notting Hill
11. Quality Wines, Farringdon
12. Kiln Soho
13. Brat, Shoreditch
14. Sollip, London Bridge
15. Ikoyi, Aldwych
16. Cornus, Belgravia
17. Ibai, Farringdon
18. Akoko, Fitzrovia
19. Josephine Bouchon, Chelsea
20. Counter 71, Shoreditch