A leading reviewer said that the chef’s cooking is ‘nothing short of transcendent’
The UK’s finest restaurants have been revealed in a new map – and only one Cambridgeshire venue has made the list.
SquareMeal has published its Top 100 UK Restaurants for 2026. The reviewer said that each establishment merits its place amongst the country’s leading restaurants, based on “performance, value, and quality”.
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.”
According to SquareMeal, the finest restaurant in Cambridgeshire and the only one to make its exclusive top 100 list is Restaurant 22, in Cambridge. Run by head chef Sam Carter and his wife Alex, SquareMeal described the Michelin-starred venue as “a charming Victorian townhouse off Chesterton Road”.
The restaurant review said: “Sam’s cooking is nothing short of transcendent. Expect technically precise, endlessly creative tasting menus that showcase the county’s natural larder.”
Restaurant 22, ranked 12th in the UK, has previously received a Gold Award, SquareMeal’s highest honour. In its review of Restaurant 22, SquareMeal wrote: “It’s not every day that a restaurant fills you with an otherworldly sense of joy.”
All the restaurants listed in the UK top 100 are outside London, with SquareMeal producing a separate ranking exclusively for venues in the capital. You can use our interactive map to find the closest top 100 restaurants near you, as well as a full list below.
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)