Wilsons and Wildflowers top SquareMeal best restaurants lists 2026

Wilsons in Bristol and Wildflowers in London have been named number one in the UK and the capital respectively, as SquareMeal unveiled its Top 100 restaurant lists for 2026.

The annual rankings, compiled using thousands of reader votes alongside insight from SquareMeal’s critics, are designed to reflect how and where people genuinely want to eat now, rewarding confident cooking, sustainability, strong identity and consistency across both neighbourhood restaurants and destination dining.

Wilsons named UK Restaurant of the Year 2026

Taking the top spot in SquareMeal’s UK Top 100 – which excludes London restaurants – is Wilsons in Bristol.

Opened in 2016 by partners Jan Ostle and Mary Wilson, Wilsons has built a national reputation as one of the UK’s most accomplished neighbourhood restaurants. The restaurant’s menus are driven almost entirely by produce grown in its own market garden, with a produce-led approach rooted in seasonality, restraint and clarity of flavour.

Wilsons is one of a small number of UK restaurants to hold both a Michelin star and a green star, recognising not only the quality of the cooking but also its commitment to sustainability. Despite those credentials, SquareMeal highlighted the restaurant’s accessibility and value as a key part of its appeal.

Jan said the award reflected the wider team and the growers who support the restaurant, while SquareMeal restaurants editor Pete Dreyer praised Wilsons for combining creativity, humility and value from a tiny kitchen without compromising its waste-free ethos.

Across the wider UK list, SquareMeal pointed to the continued strength of regional dining, with Edinburgh leading the way for number of entries in 2026 and Birmingham following closely behind, reinforcing the depth of quality outside the capital.

Wildflowers tops London Top 100 for 2026

In London, Wildflowers in Pimlico was named SquareMeal’s London Restaurant of the Year.

Opened in October 2024 by chef-owner Aaron Potter and his partner Laura Hart, Wildflowers has quickly established itself as one of the capital’s standout openings. Despite expectations of a more formal fine-dining debut, the restaurant has taken a deliberately relaxed approach, focusing on Mediterranean-inspired, seasonal sharing dishes served in an informal setting.

Located within Pimlico’s Newson’s Yard development, Wildflowers centres around an open kitchen and wood-fired grill, with menus that avoid tasting formats in favour of generous, unfussy cooking. The operation also includes Bar Flor upstairs, which SquareMeal cited as part of a strong, diversified business model.

SquareMeal managing editor Ellie Donnell said the restaurant reflected exactly how Londoners want to eat today, praising both the food and the warmth of service. Aaron said the recognition was hugely meaningful for the team and that the focus remained on continuing to refine what they were building at Wildflowers.

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A snapshot of dining in 2026

Across both the UK and London lists, SquareMeal’s editors noted a renewed emphasis on sustainability, people-first working environments and restaurants with a clear sense of place.

While Michelin-starred restaurants remain well represented, the 2026 rankings showed strong performances from bistros, wine-led restaurants and modern British kitchens that prioritise seasonality, precision and consistency over formality or theatricality.

SquareMeal UK Top 25 Restaurants 2026

1. 1. Wilsons, Bristol
2. 2. Skof, Manchester
3. 3. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
4. 4. Vraic, Guernsey
5. 5. L’Enclume, Cartmel
6. 6. Grace & Savour, Hampton-in-Arden
7. 7. The Greyhound, Beaconsfield
8. 8. JÖRO, Sheffield
9. 9. Pine, East Wallhouses
10. 10. Moor Hall, Aughton
11. 11. Ynyshir, Eglwys Fach

1. 12. Restaurant 22, Cambridge
2. 13. Lyla, Edinburgh
3. 14. Woven by Adam Smith, Ascot
4. 15. Upstairs at Landrace, Bath
5. 16. Myse, Hovingham
6. 17. Updown Farmhouse, Kent
7. 18. Osip, Bruton
8. 19. The Little Chartroom, Edinburgh
9. 20. The Kinneuchar Inn, Fife
10. 21. Opheem, Birmingham
11. 22. Glenturret Lalique, Crieff

1. 23. Old Stamp House, Ambleside
2. 24. Lark, Deal
3. 25. Tallow, Tunbridge Wells
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5. See the full Top 100 list here.
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7. SquareMeal London Top 25 Restaurants 2026

1. 1. Wildflowers, Pimlico
2. 2. Planque, Haggerston
3. 3. Legado, Shoreditch
4. 4. Agora, Borough
5. 5. Da Terra, Bethnal Green
6. 6. BiBi, Mayfair
7. 7. The Ritz, Piccadilly
8. 8. Dove, Notting Hill
9. 9. Aulis, Soho

1. 10. Mountain, Soho
2. 11. Kol, Marylebone
3. 12. The Ledbury, Notting Hill
4. 13. One Club Row, Shoreditch
5. 14. Ikoyi, St James’s
6. 15. Row on 5, Mayfair

1. 16. Quality Wines, Farringdon
2. 17. Kolae, Borough
3. 18. Oma, Borough
4. 19. Mambow, Clapton
5. 20. The Hero, Maida Vale
6. 21. Brat, Shoreditch
7. 22. Humble Chicken, Soho
8. 23. Dorian, Notting Hill
9. 24. Sollip, Southwark
10. 25. Cornus, Belgravia
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12. See the full Top 100 list here.