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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Ketsuda Phoutinane

The 11 Scottish restaurants celebrated in UK top 2023 list by top food guide

From cosy gastropubs to innovative fine dining sourced from homegrown ingredients, food lovers in Scotland have a growing list of restaurants to visit.

Gourmands have a veritable feast of choice as chefs show off their passion, flair and expertise every day in eateries across the country. Even as the hospitality industry continues to battle the headways of the pandemic, many businesses are still at the top of their game.

A few of these stellar establishments — 11 to be exact — have been highlighted by SquareMeal's top 100 UK restaurants for 2023. Based on the opinions of in-house critics and thousands of diners' votes, the restaurant review and booking website's annual list has named the places worth adding to your itinerary this year.

Sitting at number 14 is The Kinneuchar Inn, making the 17th century pub and restaurant the highest entry in Scotland. Rounding up the top three Scottish eateries are Inver in Argyll & Bute and Cail Bruich in Glasgow.

The gastropub in Leven's "affordable yet elevated" menu is applauded, as well as its produce which is mainly sourced from the nearby Balcaskie Estate.

Elsewhere on the list, Edinburgh and Glasgow are well represented with three and four mentions respectively alongside showings from restaurants in Perthshire and the Highlands.

Michelin star winners and family-run restaurants sit beside each other on the ranking. Taking the crown overall is Grace & Savour in Birmingham followed by Osip in Somerset and Ynyshir in Powys.

Read on for why 11 Scottish restaurants featured on SquareMeal's list, plus the ranking in full.

The top 100 restaurants in the UK for 2023 by SquareMeal

14. The Kinneuchar Inn, Fife

The Kinneuchar Inn is a 17th century pub and restaurant (Daily Record)

"This 17th-century pub and restaurant serves an affordable yet elevated a la carte menu. Produce is primarily sourced from the nearby Balcaskie Estate along with a handful of other local growers to keep menus seasonal and local."

23. Inver, Argyll & Bute

Inver offers both delicious food and incomparable views (DAILY RECORD)

"Set in a converted ferryman’s cottage on the Insta-friendly shores of Loch Fyne, Inver blends ultra-fresh local produce - sometimes straight out of the loch - with clever Nordic technique."

33. Cail Bruich, Glasgow

"With a spectacular chef’s table for two, plus a luxurious, contemporary main dining room, Cail Bruich is a special occasion spot worth saving up for. Here you’ll be treated to Lorna McNee’s unique flair for elevating the best of Scottish produce."

39. Celentano's, Glasgow

Celentano's in Glasgow (Instagram/@celentanos_glasgow)

"This relaxed, Italian-inspired eatery is headed up by husband-and-wife team Dean and Anna who offer simple, unfussy dishes designed to be shared with loved ones. Sustainable initiatives are put into practice too, with many of its biodynamic and organic wines available on tap to reduce glass waste."

45. Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Perthshire

SquareMeal says Andrew Fairlie's legacy continues at his namesake restaurant (Gleneagles)

"The legacy of the great Andrew Fairlie continues at this luxury hotel restaurant. You know what you get at Gleneagles - precise, sumptuous dishes, rooted in European tradition and the very best Scottish produce."

49. Glenturret Lalique Crieff, Perthshire

(Perthshire Advertiser)

"With just six tables available per night, dinner at this distillery restaurant is pretty exclusive. The trip is absolutely worth it, though, as Mark Donald’s globetrotting menus are out of this world."

53. Eleanore, Edinburgh

(PR Handout)

"Roberta Hall-McCarron’s second restaurant has smashed all expectations. We love the soothing interiors almost as much as we love Hall-McCarron’s delicious, inventive cooking."

56. Bar Brett, Glasgow

Bar Brett's food was said to be even better than its wines (Instagram/@barbrett)

"A wine bar where the food is as good - if not better - than the carefully selected low-intervention drinks list, Bar Brett turns out plates full of the hum of wood-fired cooking that borrow inspiration from across the globe."

57. Condita, Edinburgh

Edinburgh's Condita was deemed a 'culinary force to be reckoned with' (Condita/Squaremeal)

"A culinary force to be reckoned with, Condita is a leading light of Edinburgh’s restaurant scene where guests have no autonomy over what they eat. Instead, expect a three-hour long surprise tasting menu for £140."

78. The Palmerston, Edinburgh

(Daily Record)

"You won’t see the same dish twice even if you are a regular at The Palmerston. The cosy neighbourhood spot meticulously sources ingredients from local farmers, growers and fishermen."

87. Fhior, Edinburgh

Fhior is Gaelic for 'true' (Daily Record)

"Just north of Edinburgh’s city centre you will find Fhior (which is Gaelic for true). Opened in 2018 by couple Scott and Laura Smith, this family-run restaurant promises local produce on the menu along with small-batch natural wines."

SquareMeal's top 100 UK restaurants

  1. Grace & Savour, Birmingham
  2. Osip, Somerset
  3. Ynyshir, Powys
  4. L'Enclume, Cumbria
  5. Moor Hall, Lancashire
  6. Pine, Northumberland
  7. Opheem, Birmingham
  8. Paco Tapas, Bristol
  9. The Forest Side, Cumbria
  10. Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, Cornwall
  11. Holm, Somerset
  12. The Muddlers Club, Belfast
  13. Alchemilla, Nottingham
  14. The Kinneuchar Inn, Fife
  15. Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms, Nottingham
  16. The Jackdaw, Wales
  17. Solstice, Newcastle
  18. Roots York, York
  19. Northcote, Lancashire
  20. Hjem, Hexham
  21. The Greyhound, Buckinghamshire
  22. Heft, Cumbria
  23. Inver, Argyll & Bute
  24. The Angel at Hetton, North Yorkshire
  25. Kushi-ya, Nottingham
  26. SY23, Powys
  27. Furna, Brighton
  28. Raby Hunt, Darlington
  29. Casa, Bristol
  30. The Little Fish Market, East Sussex
  31. Fordwich Arms, Kent
  32. Argoe, Cornwall
  33. Cail Bruich, Glasgow
  34. Upstairs at Landrace, Bath
  35. Lilac, Devon
  36. Quince, Margate
  37. OX, Belfast
  38. Pensons, Herefordshire
  39. Celentano's, Glasgow
  40. The Small Holding, Kent
  41. Adam Reid at The French, Manchester
  42. Manifest, Liverpool
  43. Lunar, Stoke-on-Trent
  44. Home at Penarth, Penarth
  45. Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Perth
  46. Lumiere, Cheltenham
  47. The Fat Duck, Berkshire
  48. Tallow, Whitstable
  49. Glenturret, Crieff
  50. Orwells, Oxfordshire
  51. Carters of Moseley, Birmingham
  52. Coombeshead Farm, Cornwall
  53. Eleanore, Edinburgh
  54. House of Tides, Newcastle
  55. Tillingham, East Sussex
  56. Bar Brett, Glasgow
  57. Condita, Edinburgh
  58. Joro, Sheffield
  59. Lympstone Manor, Devon
  60. The Masons Arms, Devon
  61. The Wilderness, Birmingham
  62. Olive Tree Bath, Bath
  63. The Oarsman, Buckinghamshire
  64. Wilsons, Bristol
  65. Adam's, Birmingham
  66. The Parker's Arms, Lancashire
  67. The Whitebrook, Monmouthshire
  68. Skosh, York
  69. COR, Bristol
  70. Blank, Belfast
  71. Beach House, Swansea
  72. Purnell's, Birmingham
  73. Outlaw's New Road, Port Isaac, Cornwall
  74. The Woodspeen, Berkshire
  75. The Man Behind the Curtain, Leeds
  76. Erst, Manchester
  77. Bulrush Restaurant, Bristol
  78. The Palmerston, Edinburgh
  79. Glebe House, Devon
  80. The Set, Brighton
  81. Peace & Loaf, Newcastle
  82. The Old Butchers, Cotswolds
  83. Sargasso, Margate
  84. Home, Belfast
  85. Prevost at The Haycock, Wansford
  86. Sorrel, Surrey
  87. Fhior, Edinburgh
  88. Balloo House, Newtownards
  89. The Loch & The Tyne, Berkshire
  90. The Pass at South Lodge, Horsham
  91. Sur-Mer at The Suffolk, Suffolk
  92. The Potted Pig, Cardiff
  93. Tharavadu, Leeds
  94. Route, Newcastle
  95. Roam, Belfast
  96. Sculthorpe Mill, Norfolk
  97. Chakana, Birmingham
  98. The Slaughters Manor House, Gloucestershire
  99. Dastaan, Surrey
  100. The Vineyard at Stockcross, Newbury

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