Eating & Drinking

The best foodie breaks in the UK: the editors' picks

The most delicious corners in Britain for a hearty hideaway
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Taking a UK weekend break is a great chance to sample some of the country's most delicious produce and ingredients, try some of the UK's best restaurants or go back to old favourites, to spend hours holed up by the fire in a cosy pub or on a sun-drenched terrace by the coast. So where should you go if you want your next trip to revolve around eating? That's the question we're answering here, suggesting our favourite corners of the country to visit for an epic feast or three. We've recommended where to eat while you're there and where to stay over, too – from restaurants with rooms and country pubs with rooms to smart country house hotels and beyond.

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    Cornwall, England

    Best for: following the UK’s best chefs to the coast

    Cornwall is far enough away and difficult enough to get to from basically anywhere else in the UK that visiting it feels as though you’re travelling abroad. Cornish beaches can be as clear and beautiful as the Caribbean and the subtropical vegetation supplies restaurants all over the country. Some of the UK’s top chefs have deep roots here: Rick Stein put Padstow on the culinary map years ago and local chef Nathan Outlaw helms a two-Michelin-starred, ocean-front restaurant in Port Isaac. Meanwhile, London cooks have been quietly setting up on the Cornwall coast for a while now: North London favourite Prawn on the Lawn launched a second space in Cornwall, from where they were sourcing their fish. Plus, Cornwall is home to possibly the UK’s most exciting food-focussed place to stay: Coombeshead Farm, where two of the UK's top chefs, April Bloomfield and Tom Adams, are aiming to be totally self-sufficient, cooking up true farm-to-fork feasts for those checking in.

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    North Berwick, Scotland

    Best for: homegrown chefs

    An hour’s drive east of Edinburgh, the seaside town of North Berwick sits on a jagged bit of the Scottish coastline that sticks up and out into the Firth of Forth. In the past few years, Edinburgh’s clued-up chefs have started to sweep east to this long-forgotten corner of the country, where once-struggling High Street stores are now being turned into independent bakeries and fine-dining restaurants doing a roaring trade. Catherine Franks, who started serving coffee from the back of an old VW camper van at Edinburgh’s Stockbridge Market, is behind cosy café Steampunk Coffee Roasters, and Bostock Bakery gained so much attention for its pastries that René Redzepi sent his assistant to learn how they’re made. The harbourfront Lobster Shack serves super-local fish, while NB Distillery bottles dry gins, citrus vodkas and dark rums. All this, backed by wild sandy beaches overlooked by grassy banks, rolling into the chilly sea.

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    Cumbria, England

    Best for: starry dining

    In 2023, Cumbria became the UK county with the most Michelin stars – a fact which makes sense if you’re familiar with this gorgeous, far east slice of the country, but might be surprising to visitors to the UK who never stray far beyond London. Cartmel, a little village on the edge of the Lake District, is the foodie nexus. Here, you’ll find three Michelin-star L’Enclume, one of the best restaurants in the UK. But there’s also a more casual little sister spot, also overseen by Simon Rogan, called Rogan & Co, and Heft at High Newton, just down the road, received a nod from the Michelin guide in 2023, too. As is often the way in places with a high density of Michelin stars, the more casual dining options, such as pub The Drunken Duck in Ambleside, are excellent too. “This perennially popular inn-with-rooms does elevated pub food with quirky twists,” long-time fan Antonia Quirke says. “Glazed ox cheek with jalapeño sourdough or venison suet pudding for dinner, sage popcorn with brunch pancakes, plus boulder-size tea-time scones and beers brewed on-site. Twelve bedrooms are cute and colourful – a table in the restaurant is guaranteed when you stay over, too.”

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    Bruton, Somerset, England

    Best for: restaurants rooted in the artsy surroundings

    In 2019, we called Bruton the coolest town in the West Country – and its star shows no sign of dimming. In 2014, gallerists Hauser & Wirth opened their UK outpost here, triggering an onslaught of excellent openings in the following years. The Newt, possibly the foodiest of all UK hotels, opened down the road. And a slew of brilliant restaurants has set up, too. Osip is still the clever table to book, with one Michelin star and a green Michelin star (a nod to its eco-credentials), thanks to chef Merlin Labron-Johnson. Elsewhere in town, make tracks for Roth Bar and Grill at Durslade Farm or The Old Pharmacy for doorstop sandwiches and homemade cakes. Make a weekend of it at Grade-II listed Georgian house Number One Bruton, which is a cute and colourful guesthouse set above Osip.

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    Aberystwyth, Wales

    Best for: seafront suppers

    We’ve long been waxing lyrical about West Wales, where the sea has scruffed up the candy-coloured towns, and there’s an easy, almost hippie way of life to dial into. Once known predominantly as a student town, Aberystwyth has found its feet in recent years. Right on the beach, Aberystwyth is now known not only for great little pubs and charming Victorian architecture but for a boundary-pushing food scene, too. In town, there is a lovely, authentic tapas spot Ultracomida for a more casual lunch (the hot chocolate is a must-order), and you can’t deny the appeal of a 99 with a flake down the beach, either. From here, you’re well placed to visit more of the best restaurants in Wales – Ynyshir is just 30 minutes north by car, in Machynlleth. “A fire pit smoulders in the drive; frosty lawns end in a tangle of rural wilderness, with Snowdonia rearing up and the fluttery, shimmery waterlands of a bird reserve next door,” contributor Rick Jordan says. “Quite bizarrely, this Georgian country house in what feels like nowhere is the most wonderful place in Wales for Japanese-inspired food, an umami journey across 19 little courses.”

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    Norfolk, England

    Best for: locally sourced, grown and produced ingredients

    Norfolk is big sky country, where rolling farmland seems to stretch for miles. Unsurprisingly, local produce and ingredients are top-notch, and local chefs have been making the most of what’s on their doorstep for years, whether at fine-dining restaurants or chilled-out pubs. We like Benoli for Italian food, brasserie Benedict’s and award-winning Neptune on the coast. Another team favourite is The Gunton Arms. Strolling into this pub is like finding yourself in a surrealist painting. There’s the crimson glow of a Tracey Emin neon and a monumental set of elk antlers mounted above a huge open fireplace. Outside the window, a herd of deer seemingly floats in a back-lit mist. The Blythburgh pork belly with Bramley apple and pea shoots and local venison sausages are so good you’ll want to stay for dinner, then, after that, the night too.

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    The New Forest, England

    Best for: a rural weekend away

    The New Forest is one of England's prettiest corners thanks to its landscapes alone – winding roads, fairy-grove forests, charming villages and rolling heathlands. But it's really famous for its population of wild horses, who roam the length of the area, adding a magical quality to this already covetable corner. The Pig in Brockenhurst is the original and longest-standing of The Pig Group, which has now expanded to a litter of sister hotels nationwide. As with its younger siblings, this is a food-lovers dream: a locavore 17th-century manor house with a long roster of repeat guests who keep returning for the delights the kitchen team can whip up from the burgeoning kitchen garden. Elsewhere, Angela Hartnett oversees Hartnett Holder & Co at country house hotel Lime Wood. The Terrace at the Montagu Arms is a three-AA Rosette restaurant that is a lovely spot for afternoon tea. Of course, the New Forest also has some of the UK's best hotels: check into Chewton Glen or The Four Seasons Hampshire to eke your visit out.

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    Bristol, England

    Best for: keeping it casual

    Plenty of UK cities have a burgeoning food scene. But if you're going to pick any to visit for a foodie weekender, we'd make it Bristol. Meals here will be more laidback than those found in many of its counterparts; brunch spots and restaurants serving casual small plates are as lauded as fine-dining restaurants. You might get lunch at Korean hangout Bokman or Thali, an Indian spot. Supper might be at eco-thinking bistro Wilson's or Paco Tapas. You could sample street food from St Nicholas Market, or have brunch at Rosemarino. The craft beer scene in Bristol is strong, too – we like microbrewery Moor Beer Co. Stay over at Artist Residence Bristol, which launched a couple of years ago and is still the sweetest place to bed down in the city, a true neighbourhood hangout to base yourself from.

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    Birmingham, England

    Best for: a surprising foodie break

    It might not be the first place that springs to mind for a gourmet getaway, but England's underrated second city has a food scene to rival any of the more widely loved city breaks in the country. There are four Michelin stars across the city (five if you count Grace & Savour in Hampton in Arden, just outside). Purnell's, Simpsons and Adam's all have one Michelin star apiece, while Opheem received a second Michelin star in the 2024 awards. Away from its exemplary fine dining scene, indie food and drink is flourishing across the city – neighbourhood cocktail bar Couch, in south Birmingham, regularly makes lists of the UK's best drinking dens, while Italian spot Tropea is well-loved for its sunny Mediterranean menu. Stay at Hampton Manor, home to Grace & Savour, to make a weekend of it.

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    Yorkshire, England

    Best for: hyper-local ingredients

    These days, Yorkshire rivals Cumbria for cooking inspired by its terroir. New openings The Abbey Inn (from local hero Tommy Banks) and Myse both placed on Condé Nast Traveller's UK's Top New Restaurant Awards, while classic tables to book in the region include The Star Inn at Harome and legendary tearoom Bettys in Harrogate. The Abbey Inn has rooms which clever travellers book for a full weekend of eating: a two-night stay includes dinner downstairs as well as at the Banks family's flagship restaurant, The Black Swan.

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