UK Restaurants by Classification

Bistros
Bistros – relaxed, informal restaurants of approximately 60 seats or less often serving French inspired food. Restaurants included in this guide may serve a local neighbourhood but also attract customers from further afield due to the quality of the cooking and service.

Brasseries
Brasseries – large, bustling restaurants offering a flexible dining experience at most times of the day. Often serving French inspired food, brasseries should offer the option of eating a three course meal or one course and a glass of wine. They may open all day and offer breakfasts and light mid-morning and afternoon snacks alongside lunch and dinner.

Country House Hotel Restaurants
Country House Hotels – Restaurants housed in a converted ancestral home in the British countryside. Although you may expect to dine in a wood panelled dining room, the style of cuisine offered may vary considerably from classic French to some of the most cutting edge food in the country.

Fine Dining Restaurants
Fine Dining – expect to dine in luxurious surroundings with well-spaced, linen covered tables and high quality tableware. Service will be of the highest order and there will often be an extensive wine list overseen by a sommelier (wine waiter). The restaurant may offer a variety of menus including a multi-course tasting menu and will serve the best quality ingredients cooked with skill, imagination and verve.

French Restaurants
Restaurants exclusively serving regional French food or French haute cuisine.

Gastropubs
Gastropubs – restaurants in a public house or coaching inn. Although there are a huge range of styles of gastropubs in the UK, you can expect those included in this guide to offer very good food in comfortable surroundings. There will usually be a strong British accent to the menu, but many chefs will also display a grounding in classic French cuisine.

Italian Restaurants
Restaurants exclusively serving Italian cuisine.

Modern European Restaurants
Modern European Restaurants – a light, seasonal style of cooking that incorporates Mediterranean influences and ingredients into well presented, contemporary dishes. Expect to see pasta and risottos served as accompaniments to fish and meat. Increasingly, Modern European cooks in the UK are reviving and re-inventing classic British recipes for the 21st century.

Seafood Restaurants
Restaurants serving predominantly fish and other seafood.

Spanish
Restaurant exclusively serving Spanish cuisine including tapas.

Vegetarian Restaurants
Vegetarian restaurants serve food prepared without meat or fish.