REVEALED: 15 Of The Best Independent Restaurants in the UK You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

The nation’s best places to grab dinner in the UK based on TripAdvisor reviews

The top 15 best restaurants in the UK have been named – and you may never have even heard of them, according to research our company – Coffee Friend – did.

Good food is easy to come by these days with so many options available, but great food is sometimes a little harder to find.

Our curious Coffee Friend team have helped pick out some of the highest-rated restaurants across the nation based on their TripAdvisor reviews, steering clear of the big franchises and popular household names.

Each establishment on the list is a 5/5 rated restaurant on the platform and has its own unique atmosphere.

From the list, one of the highest rated in the UK is the Gurkha Durbaar, a Nepalase restaurant in Peterborough that has been scored Excellent 284 times out of a total of 304 reviews.

Elsewhere, Olive Restaurant in Sheffield – a cosy, independent Mediterranean outlet – has also made the list alongside specialist mash potato restaurant Makars Gourmet Mash Bar in Edinburgh and Sunderland’s seafood and pizza specialist, Aperitif.

The research conducted by us – Coffee Friend – has looked at some of the highest-rated restaurants across the UK with more than 150 reviews on TripAdvisor – taking Excellent, Terrible, and overall comments into account.

The highest-rated independent restaurants

Aurimas Vainauskas, CEO of us, Coffee Friend, said: “We know the UK is a nation of foodies and that there is no better feeling than finding a local eatery to have a really quality whole-hearted meal – particularly away from the crowds and the big franchises that now dominate the high streets.

“We have picked out some of the highest-rated independent restaurants up and down the country from Nepalese feasts to terrific Tapas going by what the people on the street have said about these fantastic establishments.

“With the world now on the brink of normality again following a tough time for restaurants and the hospitality industry as a whole, we hope people will return to their old lives and begin to embrace the great food and drink on our local high streets once again.”