Those first rays of summer sun peeking out from behind the clouds have put us in mind of hitting the open road and discovering some of the most exciting new UK restaurant openings. Why not make it a weekend getaway? Last minute or meticulously planned, we don’t mind so long as we return home feeling rested, relaxed, and, most importantly, well fed. Here are 11 new UK restaurants to inspire a jaunt.
Exciting UK Restaurant Openings
The Three Horseshoes, Somerset
Open Now
Rochelle Canteen’s Margot Henderson has opened what might just be the perfect country pub, and surely one of the most exciting new UK restaurants. The 18th-century Three Horseshoes in Batcombe, Somerset, boasts an inglenook fireplace, stone floors, and a gorgeous English country garden. The concise, daily menu is pure Henderson; think braised greens on polenta, watercress soup, Old Spot chops, and double lemon pudding. While behind the bar there are real ales, local ciders and classic French wines. If you fancy making a weekend of it, and you surely will, there are five bedrooms, all with antique furniture, good art and beautiful bed linen.
The Three Horseshoes, Batcombe, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 6HE
thethreehorseshoesbatcombe.co.uk
Faru, Durham
Open Now
With their debut restaurant Faru in Durham, husband-and-wife duo Jake and Laura Siddle are striking out on their own after close to a decade at Kenny Atkinson’s Michelin-starred House of Tides in Newcastle. Faru, from an old English word for journey, is a fine-dining restaurant in the modern mould, with an open kitchen and warm minimalist interior. Jake’s intricate creations are a celebration of the seasonal here and now, such as forced Yorkshire rhubarb, brown butter ice cream and orange blossom, and brill with local asparagus, pickled surf clams and luxurious Champagne sauce. Discover them in the ten-course tasting menu, £98.
Faru, 29 Silver Street, Durham, DH1 3RD
faru.co.uk
Tipo, Edinburgh
Open Now
Every city needs a place like Tipo, a pitch-perfect Italian in Edinburgh from the team behind local favourites Aizle and Noto. It’s somewhere you can pop by for a plate of handmade pasta and a glass of wine or settle in for an evening of good eating and drinking. Chef Stuart Ralston, a familiar face from Great British Menu, has composed a simple, attractive menu that runs from snacky fried zeppole with Castelmagno cheese, lamb fritte with white anchovy, and homemade salumi to larger sharing plates of Tweed Valley ribeye and green sauce and Saddleback chop with apple mostarda. Soft serve for afters changes flavours with the seasons.
Tipo, 110 Hanover Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1DR
tipoedinburgh.co.uk
Embers, Brighton
Open Now
Embers on Brighton’s Lanes is a joint production between chefs and old friends Dave Marrow (former head chef of popular local vegetarian Terre à Terre) and Isaac Bartlett-Copeland (Isaac At). As the name suggests, the focus is on food cooked over fire. And while, yes, there are some juicy cuts of meat on the menu such as the aged pork tomahawk, and wagyu Denver steak with coffee hollandaise, there are also enticing vegetable dishes like bonfire potato, black garlic and onion seed crumble and koji-soaked king oyster mushroom with spring truffle, sea vegetables and mushroom XO.
Embers, 42 Meeting House Lane, Brighton, BN1 1HB
embersbrighton.co.uk
Auberge du Lac, Hertfordshire
Open Now
Auberge du Lac on the Brocket Hall estate in Hertfordshire reopened this week after a three-year-closure and promises to be one of the most exciting new UK restaurants. In its day, Auberge du Lac was a well-known name on the UK gastronomic scene, under Jean-Christophe Novelli and later Phil Thompson (who won a Michelin star there). Former Bar Boulud chef John Barber leads the kitchen now, ushering in a more relaxed era of fine-dining. Dishes such as guinea fowl, baby leeks, wild mushrooms and tarragon cream sauce and crab ravioli with scallop mousse and fennel charcoal pasta utilise produce from the estate’s kitchen garden.
Auberge du Lac, Brocket Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL8 7XG
brocket-hall.co.uk
The Abbey Inn, York
Opens 26 May
The Tommy Banks Group is synonymous with great dining in North Yorkshire. First was the Black Swan at Oldstead, now Michelin-starred; then came Roots in the centre of York; and soon there will be The Abbey Inn, a listed 19th Century country pub and rooms in Byland, near Thirsk. The bar menu alone sounds worth the journey. Pork and fennel pollen Danish with brown sauce? Doddington cheese croquetas with elderflower honey vinegar? Yes, to both. Other intriguing hyper-local ideas include salt-aged bavette tartare with fermented peppers and smoked bone marrow; a hen of the woods burger for vegetarians; and rye cookie and Jerusalem artichoke caramel sundae. Much of the produce is from the Banks family’s own farm. Consider booking a two-night package for an Abbey-Black Swan double-header.
The Abbey Inn, Byland, York, YO61 4BD
abbeyinnbyland.co.uk
Elodie at Birch, Croydon
Opening Summer 2023
Birch (Selsdon), sister hotel to Birch (Cheshunt), has quietly opened its doors to ‘early Birch’ customers. Come summer, it will be fully up and running with two restaurants led by the talented Lee Westcott formerly of Pensons and Typing Room. Vervain is his easy-going all-day British brasserie, now open, while Elodie will be the destination restaurant serving elevated farm-to-fork cuisine informed by all that can be grown, raised, and foraged on the rewilded 200-acre estate. There’s simply not the space here to convey the scope of the project but, suffice it to say, once you’ve seen the wellness space, lido and co-working space, you won’t want to leave.
Elodie, Birch (Selsdon), 126 Addington Road, South Croydon, CR2 8YA
birchcommunity.com
Mýse, Yorkshire
Opening June 2023
Joshua and Victoria Overington were sad to bid adieu to their beloved York restaurant Le Cochon Aveugle but, after eight years, they’d ‘outgrown’ it. It was time to move on. Mýse (pronounced meez and meaning table in Anglo-Saxon) opening in June in the picturesque North Yorkshire village of Hovingham, is their ambitious next step. Joshua’s opening menu sounds very promising indeed, with featured dishes including sweetcorn husk custard with kernel velouté and hedgehog mushrooms; and day boat red mullet cooked over juniper with a sauce of its livers. The wine list will be curated by Keeling Andrew & Co (of Noble Rot fame): never a bad sign.
Mýse, Main Street, Hovingham, Yorkshire, YO62 4LF
restaurantmyse.co.uk
Le Petit Beefbar, Edinburgh
Opening July 2023
Le Petit Beefbar in Chelsea has been a huge success for restaurateur Riccard Giraudi, whose global Beefbar empire stretches from Monaco to Mykonos, Dubai, New York and beyond. Giraudi is to consolidate his UK presence this July, with the opening of Le Petit Beefbar Edinburgh in the historic dining room of InterContinental Edinburgh The George. Expect a luxurious update of the classic steakhouse concept and some appealingly global specialities like Kobe beef jamón, bao with jasmine tea-smoked Kobe beef, and miso black beef (a take on black cod). Non-meat-eaters get sea bass tiradito, plant-based burgers and salmon with yuzu unagi sauce.
Le Petit Beefbar, InterContinental Edinburgh The George, 19-21 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PB
beefbar.com
Cowley Manor, Cheltenham
Opening June 2023
The Experimental Group has bold plans for its Cotswolds country house hotel, Cowley Manor Experimental, which opens in July. Its star signing is Jackson Boxer, chef patron of Brunswick House and Orasay, who will be running the hotel’s entire food operation from room service to spa, bar, terrace and 50-cover restaurant. Boxer, for his part, will be looking forward to exploring the wealth of produce on the doorstep. An early look at the menu suggests he’ll strike a balance between subtle seasonality and laidback luxury. Caviar with Cowley cream and toasted waffles, Cornish lobster tagliolini, and oysters with elderflower Champagne sound perfect.
Cowley Manor Experimental, Cowley, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL53 9NL
cowleymanorexperimental.com
Restaurant 8, Liverpool
Open now
Chef Andrew Sheridan has relocated his critically acclaimed Restaurant 8 from Birmingham to his hometown of Liverpool. The new space, done up in moody black and gold, provides a suitably dramatic backdrop to the immersive dining experience. Guests should “expect the unexpected.” What we do know is that the menu changes seasonally and currently includes dishes scallop with brown butter and dashi; wagyu beef with N25 caviar; and Porthilly oysters in Champagne sauce. Sheridan’s Open Restaurants group has another opening in the offing next month: OXA , a high-end neighbourhood bistro on the site of former Michelin star restaurant Fraiche in Oxton, just outside Liverpool.
Restaurant 8, 16 Cook Street, Liverpool, L2 9RF
restaurant8.co.uk
