United Kingdom
Brilliant.
From cozy corner pubs to Michelin-starred dining
Proper good food.
The British food scene outside London is better than it's been in decades. Manchester's Northern Quarter has more independent restaurants per street than most London postcodes. Bath's dining rooms are now run by chefs who left Claridge's, Brawn, and three-Michelin-starred Chez Nico. Our guides cover venues rated 4.0+ stars on Google, tracked weekly. No paid placements.
Why Manchester & Bath?
Manchester offers exceptional value and a concentrated, walkable food scene. The Northern Quarter is particularly rewarding for a food crawl - diverse cuisines within a few streets, from award-winning Thai to legendary Italian.
Bath's dining rooms are now run by chefs who left London voluntarily. Rob Sachdev cooked at Brawn and The Quality Chop House before opening Upstairs at Landrace. Joe Lacey was at Gordon Ramsay's Claridge's before joining Beckford Canteen. Robert Clayton trained under Nico Ladenis at three-Michelin-starred Chez Nico and has been running Clayton's Kitchen since 2012. They're not commuters or remote workers. They relocated because Bath offers what London doesn't: Georgian architecture, rent that doesn't require investors, and a customer base that grew when thousands of Londoners moved west after 2020. Most of those ex-Londoners are still here. The restaurants they demanded came with them.
Top tip: In Manchester, Ancoats has evolved from industrial wasteland to the city's most exciting food destination. In Bath, skip the tourist traps near the Abbey and head to Kingsmead for the real gems.