SquareMeal announces the UK Top 100 Restaurants for 2026

The UK’s leading independent restaurant guide, SquareMeal, has revealed its UK Top 100 Restaurants for 2026, celebrating the very best dining experiences the country has to offer. Unlike any other list of its kind, SquareMeal’s UK Top 100 excludes London restaurants, allowing the wider UK dining scene to take centre stage.

Compiled using a combination of thousands of reader votes and insight from SquareMeal’s expert critics, the UK Top 100 Restaurants list offers a true snapshot of Britain’s diverse and dynamic food culture.

Across the UK, regional dining scenes continue to thrive. Edinburgh leads the way in 2026 with six restaurants featured, including Lyla, The Little Chartroom, and new entries Ardfern, Cardinal, Dogstar and Moss. Birmingham follows closely with five restaurants making the list, including former Top 100 champion Grace & Savour and two Michelin-starred Opheem.

The highest new entry on the list is Vraic in Guernsey, which makes an impressive debut at number four. Elsewhere, culinary powerhouses such as North Yorkshire, Kent and the West Midlands are all strongly represented with multiple entries in the UK Top 100.

SquareMeal UK Top 100 2026 Winner: Wilsons, Bristol

The number one restaurant in the UK for 2026 is Wilsons.

Wilsons in Bristol epitomises the ideal neighbourhood restaurant, delivering confident modern British cooking crafted almost entirely from produce grown in its own market garden. Intimate and charming, it’s one of only a handful of UK restaurants to hold both a Michelin star and a Green Star. Despite its sustainability credentials and world-class cooking, Wilsons remains remarkably good value.

Wilsons was opened in 2016 by partners Jan Ostle and Mary Wilson. Ostle leads the kitchen, while Mary Wilson’s background in biodynamic agriculture underpins the restaurant’s produce-led ethos. Mary also grew up in her family restaurant, which Wilsons is named in honour of.

Chef and Co-Founder Jan Ostle explains:
‘We feel incredibly honoured to have been named SquareMeal’s UK Restaurant of the Year 2026. This recognition is testament to the dedication of our entire team, the Bristol community that supports us, and the incredible farmers and growers whose produce shapes everything we do. 2025 was a landmark year for us at Wilsons, and this feels like the perfect way to begin 2026. We’re so excited for what the year ahead will bring.’

SquareMeal’s Restaurants Editor, Pete Dreyer, adds:
‘Few restaurants in Britain combine creativity, humility and value as convincingly as Wilsons. Achieving this from a tiny kitchen and a two-acre farm, without compromising its sustainable, waste-free ideals, is a phenomenal achievement.’

Content Director for SquareMeal Caroline Hendry explains the process behind the awards:
‘For 2026, judges placed renewed emphasis not only on exceptional cooking, but also on sustainability and a commitment to positive, people-first working environments. With professional kitchens often recognised as high-pressure spaces, this year’s list highlights restaurants actively prioritising staff welfare alongside culinary excellence.’

The full UK Top 100 Restaurants list can be viewed here:
https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/best/uk-top-100-res...
IMAGES and further information: Click here for high res images and info on Google Drive

Editor’s notes:
For additional information, industry comment and any queries please contact:
Caroline Hendry - Caroline.Hendry@squaremeal.co.uk

SquareMeal is the UK’s leading independent restaurant guide, trusted by millions of diners to find the country’s best places to eat. Founded over 30 years ago, the platform now reaches more than one million diners each month, combining expert reviews with genuine reader insights to spotlight exceptional dining across the UK. SquareMeal’s UK Top 100 Restaurants is its flagship annual list, celebrating the most exciting, high-quality restaurants outside of London and championing regional dining excellence nationwide.