The Best Restaurants Outside London: 10 Great Dining Experiences | englandexplore (2024)

Whilst London is rightfully known as the culinary capital of the UK, there are lots of great restaurants outside of London.

Here’s our list of the best fine dining outside the Capital…

1. The Great House Restaurant and Hotel, Suffolk

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Here we have one of Britain’s premier fine dining restaurants that is also a quaint boutique hotel. This delight of a place is found in Suffolk, right in the heart of the medieval village of Lavenham.

This restaurant-with-rooms means you get a 5-star accommodation option as well as incredible French meals on the menu.

2. Rocksalt, Folkestone

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Sitting right on the harbour and looking across the English channel, this restaurant combines top quality dining with a chic yet relaxed environment.

The ambience at Rocksalt will leave you feeling at ease and the food will leave your tastebuds feeling on cloud nine. Using the best ingredients, ethically sourced seafood, and effective recipes to create top quality Kentish food, Rocksalt is sure to impress.

3. Boutique Hotel, Brighton

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The Restaurant at Drakes located in this hotel on the South Coast upholds a high standard of cuisine and quality.

The subtle lighting and mellow bricktone create an ambience to the place for you to enjoy the options on the menu. From a Sunday roast to a midweek brunch, this place is not one to pass up.

4. Alimentum, Cambridge

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A Modern European dining experience awaits right in the heart of England at Alimentum, located in Cambridge.

The seasonal menus mean that there is always something new to try here. Each recipe is cooked with care and passion which reflects in the succulent flavours and aromatic textures that present on the plates here.

5. Gee’s Restaurant and Bar, Oxford

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Here is an incredible Mediterranean dining experience ready to mystify and impress any patron who walks through the door.

Situated in the historic university town of Oxford, Gee’s Restaurant and Bar offers locals and visitors a dining experience to remember in the rustic house and conservatory dining room. Enjoy the blends of flavours while admiring the olive trees and plants out the window.

6. Casamia, Bristol

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Towards the west coast in Bristol, a dining experience which treats all the senses is ready to welcome you.

Casamia believes that eating is about stimulating all the senses from taste, sight, hearing, smell, to touch. Through a top rated menu and beautiful aesthetics, Casamia delivers just that holistic experience.

7. The Fat Duck, Berkshire

By Oast House Archive, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

With Heston Blumenthal’s gastronomical talents, it is undoubtedly going to be a culinary experience to remember.

In the quaint English countryside, this resaurant of Heston’s is all about using food as a way to instil nostalgia and reminisce on those childhood memories of road trips and eating out. All the while, you’ll be creating new memories while indulging in this fine food.

8. Galleria Restaurant, Cambridge

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Overlooking the Magdalene Bridge in Cambridge, this dining experience is all about the fusion between the old and the new,

bringing different flavours together in the seasonal menus. With exquisite views of St John’s and Magdalene colleges, this restaurant is a historic delight, a treat for the brain as well as the taste buds.

9. Gravetye Manor, Sussex

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With a restaurant headed by Michelin star rated chef George Blogg, the menu is bound to impress.

Along with the stunning aesthetics of the wood panelled building and gorgeous gardens to look out upon, this is a dining experience for all the senses to enjoy. Enjoy a historic day out with stunning views and delightful food.

10. Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxford

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France meets England in this restaurant in Oxford, bringing alive ingenious menus using fresh vegetables and produce grown on the site in the two-acre kitchen and garden area.

The cellar also features some of the best French wine. There are over 600 bottles of wine from around the world here, over 60 per cent of which are from across the Channel.

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With these restaurants and the exquisite dining experiences that await, getting out and about from London city into the rest of England will be a real treat for all the senses.

Thanks to the accessibility of England and all towns being connected to the capital, these eating experiences can easily slip into your London itinerary.

The journey is often the destination when traveling.

So when the journey means a glimpse at the gorgeous rolling green hills of England and the colourful flowers that bloom in the country…and the destination means a gastronomical delight awaiting in a holistic experience, you really can’t go wrong!

What better way to enjoy a city, a country, and all it has to offer than by exploring its surroundings with the best restaurants outside London!