New and recently opened UK restaurants

Gavin Hanly 09 April 2024

Here's our guide to the very best restaurants that have opened recently across the whole of the UK (excluding London, which you can find here). See also, restaurants opening soon across the UK.

Cardinal in Edinburgh

Opened March 2024

Cardinal

Edinburgh - 14 Eyre Place, Edinburgh EH3 5EP

This comes from chef Tomás Gormley who previously won a Michelin star at Heron in Edinburgh and also opened Skua with chef Sam Yorke. Here, he's aiming for an elevated take on modern Scottish dining, with a few global influiences too. It's a tasting menu affair and dishes for the menu include cherry-smoked Belhaven lobster as well as a dish of Iberico pork cheek, maitake and fermented girolle.

Condesa

Bristol - 83 Whiteladies Road, BS8 2NT

Season + Taste, the people behind the Spanish Bravas & Gambas and the Mexican Cargo Cantina have opened this new Mexican restaurant which they say pays homage to classic dishes whilst also being inspired by modern Mexican cooking. Dishes include queso fresco, chalk stream trout ceviche, beef tartar tostada and more. Plus there's a "hidden" mezcal den.

Opened February 2024

Psycho Sandbar

Leeds - 68-78 Vicar Lane, Leeds LS1 7JH

This used to be chef (and Great British Menu judge) Michael O'Hare's The Man Behind the Curtain, but it's got a new life as a more relaxed seafood restaurant aiming for something of a stark surf shack feel. The new tasting menu comes in at £165 to start, but the a la carte should be more affordable.

Bavette

Leeds - 4-6 Town Street, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4RJ

Ex Culpeper chef Sandy Jarvis and his husband, sommelier Clément Cousin have moved to Leeds (Jarvis' home town) for this neighbourhood bistro with a menu of seasonally led, classically driven dishes. As for wine, that will come from Cousin's family vineyard as well as low-intervention vineyards across Europe.

The Blue Pelican

Deal- 83 Beach Street, Deal, Kent CT14 6JB

This comes from the husband-and-wife team behind The Rose in Deal. It's a Japanese-inspired restaurant and natural wine bar overlooking the pier in Deal. The food is by head chef Luke Green, previously at The Rose and mentored by Nuno Mendes, who's aiming to match Kent’s coastal produce with Japanese cuisine. Dishes are planned to include pork katsu with Castlefranco and sesame dressing and, as well as natural wines, they'll have a cocktail menu which features Japanese-inspired flavours.

Boath House

Scotland - Auldearn, Nairn, IV12 5TE

This Scottish hotel is from the same people behind London's Sessions Arts Club. Their new restaurant features ex-Trinity chefs at the helm. Here, they're aiming for an elevated dining experience that combines Scottish produce with English, French and Japanese influences. It has a no-waste approach (even the compost is used to make plates) and the menu features dishes like beef fat bread and butter pudding and beef with celeriac and moss.

The Barn at Coworth Park

Ascot - Blacknest Rd, Sunningdale, Ascot SL5 7SE

Coworth Park's Executive Chef Adam Smith has recently had Michelin success with his restaurant Woven and now he's turned his attention to the hotel's other restaurant. The Barn showcases the chef's take on British classics, so you'll see a chicken pie, a Devon white chicken hot dog and their own trifle and sticky toffee pudding on the menu too.

Colina

Margate - Fort Road Hotel, 18 Fort Road, Margate, CT9 1HF

This is the new restaurant at Margate's Fort Road Hotel, with a menu that's influenced by Portuguese chef Luis Freitas's hometown food. An all-day restaurant, it features dishes like a squid burger with green Romesco or house-made malfalde with slow-cooked oxtail ragu. The restaurant space is also getting a whole new look and a wine list which mainly focuses on regions in Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Opened in 2023

Hansom

Yorkshire - 7-9 N End, Bedale DL8 1AF

Ruth Hansom, previously seen at The Ritz and The Princess of Shoreditch, has opened this eponymous restaurant in North Yorkshire. It's being pitched as a modern British restaurant and wine bar and centres around a tasting menu. It's a small affair with just 16 tables.

The Stag and Huntsman

Hambledon - Henley-on-Thames RG9 6RP

This relaunched pub with rooms comes from the same team behind the nearby Bottle & Glass Inn and the Hart Street Tavern. They've brought in chef Dom Robinson to manage the menu for this new pub as well as the others in the group. Recently Group Executive chef with Claude Bosi, Dom's menu features the best of local ingredients, including game from the estate that the pub sits on. Dishes on the menu include a partridge Wellington and a venison scotch egg.

Also see - new and upcoming restaurants in London