Updown, Kent: ‘They make you lunch and sell you a fantasy’ – restaurant review One of those places that shows how life could be – classy but understated
Two pints of lager and a Michelin star: why gastropubs are roaring back A new generation of top chefs are forgoing fine-dining restaurants for pub kitchens and the freedom to serve a tasting menu alongside a pint and casual snack
Bassenthwaite Lake Station, Cumbria: ‘Magical things are happening’ – restaurant review I love an afternoon tea that incapacitates
Tallow, Tunbridge Wells, Kent: ‘This is my kind of fine dining’ – restaurant review It’s get-in-the-car-and-go good
Cafe 52, Aberdeen: ‘The owner doesn’t like Guardian readers’ – restaurant review ‘This charming bistro has survived for more than 25 years without the likes of me’
Booking Office 1869: ‘The style is Phileas Fogg Acid-Safari chic’ – restaurant review ‘Until now, I’ve never been truly excited by the food offering at St Pancras station. We’re not at the Delice de France kiosk any more’
Renaissant, Bagnor, Berkshire: ‘A paean to butter and time spent huddled over pans’ – restaurant review ‘The place dances a fine line between the almost-too-rich and the almost-too-much’
The Victoria, Oxshott, Surrey: ‘A proper trousers sort of place’ – restaurant review ‘There’s a fish and chips main course option at £19, feasibly to stop the locals from rioting, but then prices hurtle upwards rather dramatically’
The Black Friar, Salford: ‘An ambitious pub that’s evolving quickly’ – restaurant review Don’t be put off by the uncompromising location or ambitious pricing, the cooking here is big, bullish and beautiful
Hidden River Cafe, Longtown, Cumbria: ‘No wonder my friends were so excited’ – restaurant review ‘Off the beaten track and in the middle of nowhere: perfect’
Sessions Arts Club, London EC1: ‘Decadent and sexy’ – restaurant review ‘It’s all hugely convivial, like a time before any of the Bad Things happened’
The Compasses Inn, Crundale, Kent: ‘Wherever they go, I will follow’ – restaurant review ‘In a shady corner of this pub, some sanity was restored to 2021’
Kysty, Ambleside, Cumbria: ‘A classy jewel’ – restaurant review ‘I adore it when Michelin-starred chefs say they’re doing something “relaxed”, because they’re the least relaxed individuals ever’
The Loch & The Tyne, Old Windsor, Berkshire: ‘Odd, but unforgettable’ – restaurant review ‘This, surely, is the point of lovely lunches: they make you want to abandon reality and set up home’