At Eat PR & Marketing, food is part of our everyday. From ingredients and chefs to where food is cooked, and the equipment used to cook it, our day-to-day is spent seeking out standout food, drink and hospitality stories across the UK.
So, to round off 2025, we asked our team to share the one restaurant they haven’t stopped thinking about this year. The place they’d recommend without hesitation, the experience that took the number one spot.
From wood-fired pizza and open-flame cooking to destination dining and spa-like havens, this is our take on the best UK restaurants of 2025.
Bombos, Shrewsbury
Amber’s pick:
Bombos in Shrewsbury serves Asian-fusion cuisine in an outrageously delicious way. It’s the kind of restaurant where you sit down intending to “just order a few small plates to share” and before you know it, you’re ordering again – and then again (purely observational, obviously).
You know a restaurant is good when plates stop being shared and start being protected at all costs. I will ferociously guard the crispy halloumi and sweet chilli bao buns from anyone who dares get in between me and this dish.
Every plate is bursting with flavour and is a masterclass in balance. The crispy miso aubergine with pomegranate deserves a moment in the spotlight – deeply savoury and perfectly crisp, with bursts of sweetness and acidity cutting through. It’s a great example of a restaurant giving its vegetarian dishes the same care and complexity as everything else on the menu.
My advice? Go hungry, order the bao buns in multiples (they’re too good to share), and enjoy an Asian-fusion adventure at Bombos.
Heaneys, Pontcanna, Cardiff
Jasmine’s pick:
As one of the best restaurants in Cardiff’s vibrant and expanding food scene, Heaneys is a constant that never disappoints.
Offering everything from à la carte menus and five-course lunches to their infamous tasting menus, Heaney’s focuses on seasonal flavours and locally sourced ingredients. Among these offerings are Sunday roasts to die for.
For those who usually skip a starter, this is not the place to do it. You can’t leave without trying the iconic sourdough and Marmite butter. Another standout is the mini cottage pie – rich, warming and comforting, it genuinely feels like a hug in a bowl.
Then comes the main event: dry-aged beef with stuffed Yorkshire pudding and creamy horseradish. Perfectly cooked beef, fluffy roast potatoes and deeply flavourful gravy combine to create something hearty and home-cooked, yet entirely elevated. Finish with the dark chocolate cremeux with coffee, salted milk and honeycomb, just make sure you save room.
Iford Cider Taphouse, near Bradford-on-Avon
Liv’s pick:
All pizza is good pizza, but Iford Cider Taphouse, tucked away in the countryside near Bradford-on-Avon, serves truly great pizza.
Here, sourdough bases are stretched, crisped and cooked to perfection in a wood-fired oven. It’s the kind of pizza that you can’t stop thinking about after the final slice has disappeared. Add sweeping countryside views and wild fermented cider brewed on site, and suddenly it’s hard to see how any other pizza compares.
Best enjoyed fresh, with friends, on a long summer’s evening.
Clifton Lido, Bristol
Carly’s pick:
No matter the season, my favourite place to eat in Bristol is Clifton Lido. Whether the air is sharp and biting or warm with the promise of sunshine, there’s nothing more special than a swim in the restored Victorian baths, followed by a meal in the glass-fronted restaurant that wraps around the pool.
Tucked away on a residential street, the courtyard lights reflect off the lapping water at night, creating a magical atmosphere where modern architecture works effortlessly against retro charm.
And then there’s the food, a far cry from childhood post-swim snacks. Without even looking at the menu, I order the wood-roasted Devon scallops every time (easily my last-supper dish). Mains range from rustic fisherman’s stew to ricotta cavatelli with slow-cooked cime di rapa, burrata and pangrattato. The charred hispi cabbage with walnut butter and tahini deserves its own mention, and desserts are impossible to skip, no matter how full you are.
Se7en, Bath
Susannah’s pick:
Fire and flavour are the name of the game at Se7en, a sophisticated addition to Bath’s food scene which opened earlier this year.
The vibe, the food, the service, everything is spot on. Sitting in front of the pass, we watched chefs craft beautiful plates over open flames. The day’s steak selection hangs on the wall, simply crossed through with black marker as cuts are ordered, a small detail that adds to the theatre.
Sharing plates of soft-shell crab, buttermilk chicken, melt-in-the-mouth brisket and cowboy butter were paired with a perfectly chosen bottle of red, followed by handcrafted cocktails to finish.
Run, don’t walk. Se7en slaps.
Dough Hands, Old Nun’s Head, Nunhead, London
JP’s Pick:
Slung, slapped and stretched in a tiny kitchen behind a ginormous 17th-century pub in South-East London, Dough Hands is serving what I believe is the best pizza in the world right now.
Yes, even better than the “best pizza” you had in Florence or Naples (delete as applicable). These pizzas feature an ultra-crispy base and perfectly balanced toppings. The Jode -with hot honey, stracciatella, mountains of grano padano and filthily spicy ’nduja (or a vegan alternative) – is essential ordering. The Shroomy 2.0, complete with taleggio and soy-roasted mushrooms, is equally elite.
You might think you’ve had great pizza before. Head to the Old Nun’s Head and thank me afterwards.
Vraic, Guernsey
Andrew’s Pick:
Nestled beside a serene bay on Guernsey’s quieter north coast, Vraic is one of 2025’s standout new restaurant openings. Named after the Channel Islands’ word for seaweed, its influence runs through the entire experience, from the dishes themselves to the menu paper.
During filming for our client Unox, it was clear that chef Nathan Davies and his team, many of whom joined him from his former Michelin-starred restaurant SY23, have created something special. The 12-course tasting menu showcases the very best of Guernsey’s produce, with a subtle nod to Wales, the homeland of Nathan’s wife, Hollie.
Cooking over coal and flame, dish after dish delivers on flavour, texture and intrigue. Standouts included the seaweed broth and the sea buckthorn and burnt meringue dessert. While Guernsey isn’t somewhere you stumble upon, Vraic alone is reason enough to visit and big things surely lie ahead.
Raphael, Bath
Nancy’s pick:
Raphael is a brilliant Bath gem, offering exceptional food, outstanding service and a genuinely warm atmosphere.
With a strong wine list and a cosy, intimate setting, it’s the kind of neighbourhood restaurant that feels special every time. Attentive without being overbearing, refined yet relaxed, it’s a place you’ll want to return to again and again.
Polpo, Soho, London
Alex’s Pick:
Best place, hands down, that I’ve discovered this year is Polpo Soho, a small restaurant serving some of the best Venetian small plates you’ll find in London (I’d happily put money on that).
If you can, grab a seat at the counter by the open windows – it’s the best seat in the house. Watching cocktails being made while Soho buzzes past outside feels completely effortless. It’s cosy and friendly, simple yet timeless, and one I’ll recommend to anyone who asks.
The food never disappoints. I’d suggest starting with the focaccia, alongside the octopus carpaccio with orange and dill. Will you need the bread? Probably not. Should you order it? One hundred percent, it’s irresistibly good, and you’ll regret it if you don’t. Much like skipping the octopus carpaccio, which is filled with bright, fresh flavours that work far better than the menu description suggests.
For mains, the beef shin rigatoni is something special, while the octopus with fava bean and basil is a firm favourite. The sea bream is exceptional if you’re leaning fully into seafood. As for sides, the courgette fries are dangerously moreish and completely non-negotiable. You’ll order too much – I can assure you – and that’s exactly how it should be.
Drinks follow a trusted formula: a classic glass of prosecco as an aperitivo, a bottle of Tuscan Vermentino to share between friends, and an expertly made Espresso Martini to finish (because why wouldn’t you at the weekend?).
Best enjoyed on a hot London summer weekend. Solid 10/10 every time.
