SquareMeal has named the best eateries around the country
Wilsons is a small, independently owned and run farm-to-table restaurant in Redland, Bristol(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
A Michelin-star restaurant in Bristol has topped a list of the 100 best eateries in the UK for 2026. Wilsons, on Chandos Road, was named SquareMeal’s Restaurant of the Year.
The restaurants selected by the restaurant, bar and venue publisher were chosen based on “performance, value, and quality”.
Wilsons was established a decade ago by Mary Wilson and Jan Ostle, and describes itself as a farm-to-table restaurant. SquareMeal found the cuisine was “already exceptional”, but its low-waste philosophy, use of a kitchen garden and “frankly astonishing” prices meant it was “hard to find another restaurant offering so much for so little”.
Second on the list was Manchester’s Skof, which is based on Federation Street and run by chef Tom Barnes. The eartery is Barnes’ first solo venture and since opening in May 2024, has earned a Michelin star and numerous other accolades. According to SquareMeal, it is “nothing short of outstanding”.
Placed in third was Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms, a two-Michelin-star venue in Nottingham, serving modern British cuisine. SquareMeals said that Sat Bains’ creative methodology produced “brave, unique dishes that celebrate flavours and textures”.
Experts at SquareMeal said: “It’s no secret that the UK’s restaurant sector is facing formidable challenges. And yet, with each year that passes, hospitality pros continue to invest everything they have into projects for the love of what they do.”
Ten of the top 100 establishments are located in North Yorkshire, seven in Cumbria, and six in Edinburgh.
All the restaurants listed are outside London, with SquareMeal producing a different top 100 list, focusing exclusively on the capital.
The UK’s Top 100 Restaurants (outside London)
1. Wilsons (Bristol)
2. Skof (Manchester)
3. Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms (Nottingham)
4. Vraic (Guensey)
5. L’Enclume (Westmorland and Furness)
6. Grace & Savour (Solihull)
7. The Greyhound Beaconsfield (Buckinghamshire)
8. JÖRO (Sheffield)
9. Pine (Northumberland)
10. Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms (West Lancashire)
11. Ynyshir (Ceredigion)
12. Restaurant 22 (Cambridge)
13. Lyla (City of Edinburgh)
14. Woven by Adam Smith (Windsor and Maidenhead)
15. Upstairs at Landrace (Bath and North East Somerset)
16. Myse (North Yorkshire)
17. Updown Farmhouse (Dover)
18. Osip (Somerset)
19. The Little Chartroom (City of Edinburgh)
20. The Kinneuchar Inn (Fife)
21. Opheem (Birmingham)
22. The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant (Perth and Kinross)
23. The Old Stamp House (Westmorland and Furness)
24. Lark (West Suffolk)
25. Tallow (Tunbridge Wells)
26. The Angel at Hetton (North Yorkshire)
27. Alchemilla Nottingham (Nottingham)
28. Dogstar Edinburgh (City of Edinburgh)
29. Heft (Westmorland and Furness)
30. Argoe Newlyn (Cornwall)
31. Stow (Manchester)
32. Juliet (Stroud)
33. Bavette (Leeds)
34. Paul Ainsworth at No 6 (Cornwall)
35. Hansom (North Yorkshire)
36. Vetch (Liverpool)
37. Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall (North Yorkshire)
38. The Sportsman (Canterbury)
39. The Shed (Swansea)
40. The Parkers Arms (Ribble Valley)
41. Higher Ground (Manchester)
42. Moss (City of Edinburgh)
43. Meadowsweet (North Norfolk)
44. The Pony Chew Valley (Bath and North East Somerset)
45. Dongnae (Bristol)
46. Gorse Cardiff (Cardiff)
47. The Barn at Moor Hall (West Lancashire)
48. Fish Shop Ballater (Aberdeenshire)
49. OTHER (Bristol)
50. Winsome (Manchester)
51. The Wilderness (Birmingham)
52. Restaurant Interlude (Horsham)
53. The Pass at South Lodge (Horsham)
54. Furna (Brighton and Hove)
55. Big Counter (Glasgow City)
56. Roots York (York)
57. The Swine Bistro (Leeds)
58. Seasonality (Windsor and Maidenhead)
59. The Muddlers Club (Belfast)
60. The Abbey Inn Byland (North Yorkshire)
61. The Forest Side (Westmorland and Furness)
62. The Cottage in the Wood (Cumberland)
63. The Greyhound Inn – Pettistree (East Suffolk)
64. Root Bath (Bath and North East Somerset)
65. Upstairs by Tom Shepherd (Lichfield)
66. Forge at Middleton Lodge (North Yorkshire)
67. Maré by Rafael Cagali (Brighton and Hove)
68. Waterman Bistro (Belfast)
69. Gwen (Powys)
70. Bybrook Restaurant at The Manor House (Wiltshire)
71. Wild at Bull Burford (West Oxfordshire)
72. The Black Swan at Oldstead (North Yorkshire)
73. Cedar Tree by Hrishikesh Desai (Cumberland)
74. Long Friday (Newcastle upon Tyne)
75. Aven (Preston)
76. Olive Tree Bath (Bath and North East Somerset)
77. Emilia (Teignbridge)
78. The Jackdaw Conwy (Conwy)
79. Manifest (Liverpool)
80. Shwen Shwen (Sevenoaks)
81. Catch at The Old Fish Market (Dorset)
82. Riverine Rabbit (Birmingham)
83. Amari (Brighton and Hove)
84. Ardfern (City of Edinburgh)
85. The Blue Pelican (Dover)
86. Skosh (York)
87. 670 Grams (Birmingham)
88. The Coach Marlow (Buckinghamshire)
89. Gloriosa (Glasgow City)
90. Cardinal Edinburgh (City of Edinburgh)
91. The Victoria Oxshott (Elmbridge)
92. Briar (Somerset)
93. Bench Sheffield (Sheffield)
94. Henrock at Linthwaite House (Westmorland and Furness)
95. Lapin Restaurant Bristol (Bristol)
96. The Suffolk (East Suffolk)
97. Tharavadu (Leeds)
98. Belzan Liverpool (Liverpool)
99. The Oarsman (Buckinghamshire)
100. Legacy at The Grand, York (York