The Good Food Guide has announced its list of Britain’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2026 including two Greater Manchester venues
Lupo Caffe Italiano (Image: ABNM Photography)
Britain’s very best local restaurants have been revealed in a brand-new guide for 2026. Today (July 13), Good Food Guide, the authority on eating out around Britain since 1951, has announced its list of Britain’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2026.
Now in its 16th year, the Best Local Restaurant awards celebrate the community driven restaurants that offer brilliant value for money and top-quality cooking. In a change up to how the awards are presented, this year’s guide is ranked from 1 to 100.
The rankings were revealed at an awards ceremony at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London on Monday Establishments from across the British Isles were commended for their contributions to dining and for building communities around their beloved venues.
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This year’s list is topped by La Locanda in Gisburn, Lancashire – ‘an uncompromisingly authentic taste of Italy’, strategically positioned to make use of Lancashire’s rich natural larder. On hearing the news, co-owner Cinzia said: “My heart is exploding. I think this is the biggest achievement we have had in 23 years”.
Lupo restaurant in Prestwich (Image: Manchester Evening News)
It wasn’t the only North West Italian restaurant to make the cut though. Here in Greater Manchester, beloved restaurant Lupo in Prestwich landed in 19th position – the highest ranking for the region. It’s joined on the list by the Michelin recommended Sparrows, in Manchester city centre.
Lupo is an Italian restaurant tucked away on a Prestwich industrial estate in a charming cafe-style trattoria that has been serving up pizzas, pastas and pastries for over a decade now. Last year, it was bestowed the honour of Best Local Restaurant in the North West by the guide too.
The restaurant, which promises the “most authentic taste of Rome you will find outside of the Eternal City”, began in Salford, blazing a trail for Chapel Street, which is now a bustling hub of independent businesses.
Inside Lupo restaurant (Image: Lupo )
Since then, it’s moved about a fair bit since, for a number of reasons outside of the control of owner, Nico Pasquali, ranging from engineering works to pandemic-induced dry spells. But since putting down roots in Prestwich – where it boasts a tiny but mighty inside decked out with red and white gingham tablecloths, pictures of the Italian capital to the walls shelves stacked full of Italian produce – it has flourished.
Outside there’s a full terrace to enjoy lunch al fresco during the summer months too. What makes it stand out though is its commitment to an authentic Italian experience with top-quality ingredients flown in from Italy or handpicked fresh from Lupo’s allotment.
Its menu spans a range of starters including Antipasto di Terra, burrata, and handmade potato balls with a heart of scamorza cheese, plus Roman-style fried tomato rice balls with a heart of fior di latte.
Orecchiette with Italian fennel sausages and Romanesco broccoli at Lupo(Image: Manchester Evening News)
For mains there’s a choice of pizza or pasta including their Rigatoni Amatriciana with San marzano tomato sauce, guanciale, chilli, pecorino cheese; as well as Lobster Ravioli with San Marzano tomato sauce, chilli, garlic and a touch of cream; and namesake pizza the Lupo with San Marzano tomato sauce, guanciale, Napoli salame, fior di latte mozzarella, and chilli.
Head of Reviews & Listings at the Good Food Guide, Chloë Hamilton, said of this year’s list: “In the face of adversity, creativity has flourished in unusual and unlikely places. It has been hugely rewarding to see how these tiny operations are offering outstanding quality in a way that so clearly strikes a chord with the local crowd. Arrive with an open mind and a good appetite and you’ll be brilliantly rewarded.”
Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2026
Overall and regional winners:
- Overall & North West: La Locanda, Gisburn, Lancashire
- South West: Wangs, Bristol
- Central & East of England: Wild Restaurant, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
- South East: Cantina Caruso, Margate, Kent
- Yorkshire & the North East: Black Wheat Club, York, North Yorkshire
- Scotland: Ar Bord, Isle of Mull, Highlands & Islands
- Wales: The Black Bear Inn, Bettws Newydd, Monmouthshire
- London: Gina, Chingford, London
Full list of winners (ranked 1-100):
1. La Locanda, Gisburn, Lancashire
2. Cantina Caruso, Margate, Kent
3. Ar Bòrd, Isle of Mull, Highlands & Islands
4. Gina, Chingford, London
5. The Black Bear Inn, Bettws Newydd, Monmouthshire
6. Tiella Trattoria, Bethnal Green, London
7. Wangs, Bristol
8. Wild, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
9. Almanac, Glossop, Derbyshire
10. Black Wheat Club, York, North Yorkshire
11. Lucky Lychee, Winchester, Hampshire
12. Counter Culture, Newquay, Cornwall
13. Eastfield, Dundee, Tayside
14. Les 2 Garçons, Crouch End, London
15. Redwood Wines, Dunkeld, Perthshire & Kinross
16. Bavette, Leeds, West Yorkshire
17. Fino, Cromer, Norfolk
18. The Lost Kitchen, Chettiscombe, Devon
19. Lupo, Prestwich, Greater Manchester
20. Ida, Queen’s Park, London
21. Fish Shop, Ballater, Aberdeen
22. Edie’s, St Austell, Cornwall
23. The Union Rye, Rye, East Sussex
24. Gloriosa, Glasgow, Strathclyde
25. Upstairs at Landrace, Bath, Somerset
26. Mambow, Clapton, London
27. Ogof, Cardiff
28. North Street Kitchen, Fowey, Cornwall
29. Long Friday, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear
30. Little Clove Kitchen, Liverpool, Merseyside
31. The Empire Cafe, Leeds, West Yorkshire
32. Tropea, Birmingham, West Midlands
33. Ardfern, Edinburgh, Lothians
34. Soulshine, Bridport, Dorset
35. Dongnae, Bristol
36. The Palmerston, Edinburgh, Lothians
37. Janda Diner, Peckham, London
38. Lark, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
39. Bauji, Worthing, West Sussex
40. Shwen Shwen, Sevenoaks, Kent
41. The Yan, Grasmere, Cumbria
42. The Shed, Swansea
43. Chater’s, Saffron Walden, Essex
44. 101 Bridport, Bridport, Dorset
45. The Nettle, Settle, North Yorkshire
46. Seasonality, Maidenhead, Berkshire
47. Nick’s at Port of Menteith, Port of Menteith, Stirling
48. Mori Mori, Margate, Kent
49. Home SW15, Putney, London
50. Pompette, Oxford, Oxfordshire
51. Logma, Hackney, London
52. Teal by Sally Abé, Hackney, London
53. The Suffolk, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
54. The Orange Bird, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
55. Ebi Sushi, Derby, Derbyshire
56. Thomas the Brasserie, Cardiff
57. Brusco, Brighton, East Sussex
58. The Spärrows, Manchester, Greater Manchester
59. The Small Canteen, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear
60. Fifteen Square Metres, Broadstairs, Kent
61. Franc, Canterbury, Kent
62. The Gordon Arms, Selkirk, Borders
63. Fern, Uppingham, Rutland
64. Bar Ingo, Broadstairs, Kent
65. Belzan, Liverpool, Merseyside
66. Little Brickhouse, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
67. Amari, Brighton, East Sussex
68. Barry Fish, Edinburgh, Lothians
69. Four Boys, Rock, Cornwall
70. Pip’s, Norwich, Norfolk
71. Eusebi Deli, Glasgow, Strathclyde
72. Leftfield, Edinburgh, Lothians
73. Piccalilli, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
74. Norman’s Neighbourhood Kitchen, Kirkburton, West Yorkshire
75. Chin-Zano, Liverpool, Merseyside
76. Lubber Kitchen, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear
77. The Seahorse, Dartmouth, Devon
78. Soi 1268, Birmingham, West Midlands
79. Outlaw’s Bistro, Port Isaac, Cornwall
80. The Smithfield, Leeds, West Yorkshire
81. Calong, Stoke Newington, London
82. Bolete, Neston, Cheshire
83. Pulpo Negro, Alresford, Hampshire
84. Margaret’s, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
85. Â Sé Anar, Blackpool, Lancashire
86. Other, Bristol
87. North, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear
88. Bristol Lido, Bristol
89. Namo, Brighton, East Sussex
90. Tonka, Hastings, East Sussex
91. Post, Newnham on Severn, Gloucestershire
92. A Tavola Gastronomia Siciliana, High Peak, Derbyshire
93. Auction House, Louth, Lincolnshire
94. The Rocket Store, Boscastle, Cornwall
95. Root Wells, Wells, Somerset
96. Y Polyn, Nantgaredig, Carmarthenshire
97. The Dory Bistro, Pittenweem, Fife
98. Tide & Thyme, Tighnabruaich, Argyll & Bute
99. Lupa, Highbury, London
100. The Dining Room, Abersoch, Gwynedd