The best UK cities for food and drink

Despite its celebrity chefs and high-end restaurants galore, London is not the best UK city for food and drink according to our survey of 3,000 people. 

Only seven out of more than 50 of the best and worst UK city breaks scored five stars for their culinary offerings, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sheffield and York. London only mustered three stars and no city in South East England clinched five. Read on to discover the UK's top city breaks for foodies. 

Our research also scored cities for their cultural sights, shopping, value for money and accommodation, as well as an overall visitor score. 

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Newcastle

Newcastle is well-known for its nightlife, but also has great places to eat. Grainger Town, the historic commercial centre with its architecturally splendid Georgian buildings, is home to many excellent bars, pubs and restaurants. 

Foodies also head to Ouseburn - a few miles to the east - for hipster brunches and craft beer from the Tyne Bank Brewery, Full Circle Brew Co and Brinkburn St Brewery. There are plenty of characterful pubs too, such as the Free Trade Inn, which has fine views of the Tyne.

Meander to the Quayside for buzzing bars and high-end restaurants, including the Michelin-starred House of Tides. Or step back in time at Blackfriars, which serves beautifully cooked game in a 13th-century monastery - and does a good-value set menu lunch.

In need of retail therapy? Newcastle, Liverpool and York were also among the best cities for shopping

Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Newcastle. 

Sheffield

Independent coffee shops and cafés have popped up across Sheffield in the past 10 years and the city’s disused industrial spaces have been transformed into cool restaurants and bars.

A good place to begin is Kelham Island, a man-made island in the city’s oldest industrial district, where you can find the Cutlery Works - 'the best food hall in the UK' (according to the 2022 British Street Food Awards). One of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants is Joro, housed in a refurbished shipping container. It serves an acclaimed, five-course (£35) or eight-course (£75) tasting menu. Vegetarians and vegans flock to V or V, which does inventive brunches and small plates. 

Indie enclaves Sharrow Vale and Abbeydale Road are both popular spots for lunch. 

Micro-breweries have also mushroomed, while real ale lovers have always been well catered for at cosy pubs such as The Fat Cat.

 Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Sheffield. 

Liverpool

Liverpool’s food scene has exploded in recent years. There are excellent independent restaurants amid the scrubbed-up red-brick warehouses and museums at the Royal Albert Dock. 

One local favourite, Maray, has a branch of its hugely popular take on modern Middle Eastern food here. There's another branch on Bold Street in Ropewalks, where you can also find the traditional, and very good value, Maggie May's café, famous for its version of the meat and vegetable stew, Scouse.

Old warehouses and derelict buildings have been reborn as cool cafés, bars, music venues, galleries and independent shops in the Baltic Triangle. Order cocktails and street food at the Baltic Market in Cains Brewery Village. Duke Street Market food hall, housed in a handsome old building, is also a popular spot at weekends.

Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Liverpool. 

Want to visit a small or medium-sized city instead? Check out the best city breaks in the UK 2022

Belfast

For a taste of modern Belfast, head to St George’s Market, which is chock-a-block with local food producers on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Or join the throng at the Cathedral Quarter, enjoying the reasonably priced restaurants and bars. 

The godfather of the city’s fine-dining scene is Michael Deane, who has several restaurants including Michelin-starred Eipic. Mourne Seafood Bar is a popular spot for oysters, lobster and crab.

Nowadays there’s no shortage of pubs serving craft beer as well as great pints of Guinness, such as the quirky Reporter Bar and The Deer’s Head - the city’s first brewpub. To soak up any over indulgence, you still can’t beat an old-school Ulster fry, a Belfast bap (a cooked breakfast in a bun) or a boxty (a potato pancake).

Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Belfast. 

York

This historic city with ancient walls and medieval heart has earned a perfect five stars in our survey for the past two years. Meander along the pretty cobbled streets of Swinegate and you’ll find plenty of quaint cafés and upmarket restaurants, or tuck into street food from the atmospheric Shambles Market.

It’s well worth venturing beyond the walls too. Gillygate is home to two local favourites: stylish bistro Café No 8 and Love Cheese - a cheesemonger that dishes up toasties in its café. Overlooking the river, the Star Inn The City – which is accessed through a secret door in the city walls – specialises in game, terrines and parfaits.

Step back in time at traditional boozers such as The Blue Bell or The Phoenix Inn, or order coffee then a cocktail at the friendly Fossgate Social. You can learn about York’s sweet history, as the home of famous chocolate brands including Rowntrees and Terry's, at the Chocolate Story museum.

Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in York. 

Find out why else York was Which? members' favourite large city to visit this year

Edinburgh

In Scotland’s capital you’ll be able to savour a lot more than the traditional haggis, neeps and tatties – although that’s an option too. Burn off a few calories as you hop from cosy cafés to classy cocktail bars in the city’s beautiful compact centre.

David Bann’s vegetarian restaurant in the Old Town is one of the best-value options, with a two-course set menu for £20.50, including lentil haggis as well as Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences.

Thistle Street in the New Town has a livelier scene and plenty of top picks, including snug Asian-influenced Noto, which is tucked away down a cobbled alley. Down the road, Scottish bistro Café St Honoré serves up locally sourced ingredients with style.

Don’t leave the city without visiting Edinburgh’s creative port district, Leith - with its fine dining, seafood bistros, quirky gastropubs and the city’s first wine café, Toast.

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Glasgow

There’s an age-old rivalry between Glasgow and Edinburgh, with both jockeying to be Scotland’s fine-dining capital. Both scored top marks for food and drink for a second year running.

Cool and unpretentious, Glasgow has a vibrant but inexpensive food and drink scene. In the trendy West End, cobbled backstreet Ashton Lane is full of charming restaurants, such as the Ubiquitous Chip serving fine Scottish fare. 

Finnieston’s Argyle Street is lined with serious coffee shops, gourmet sandwich joints and swish restaurants. Try the inventive yet remarkably good-value tasting menu at Six by Nico (six courses, £39), followed by a creative cocktail at the Kelvingrove Café.

The Glasvegan on Enoch Square dishes up towering burgers and is just one of many meat-free cafés across the city.

Check with booking.com to easily compare and find accommodation deals in Glasgow.