United Kingdom
Healthy restaurants in the UK.
Written by Gillian McKeith
Britain grows some of the best produce in Europe when it puts its mind to it, and the kitchens on this page are the ones that actually use it. 135 restaurants so far, across 17 cities, each one chosen because the vegetables, grains, pulses and seeds are treated as the point of the meal, not the afterthought.
Start with London, Birmingham or Edinburgh, then work through the full list. The test never changes: purity, wholesomeness, organic where the chef can manage it, and an abundance of fresh produce reaching the plate.
Nobody on this page has paid me a penny to be recommended.
Cities with a full guide
- Belfast
4 restaurants · General Merchants, Ginger Bistro, Home Restaurant
- Birmingham
8 restaurants · BA-HA Vegan, Barsana, BRIG Cafe at the Warehouse
- Brighton
13 restaurants · Curry Leaf Cafe, Etch, Food for Friends
- Bristol
16 restaurants · Adelina Yard, Bellita, Bravas
- Cambridge
5 restaurants · Fitzbillies, Namaste Village Cambridge, Nanna Mexico
- Cardiff
3 restaurants · Luna's Vegan Corner, Mowgli Street Food Cardiff, Plant.Eat.Licious
- Edinburgh
13 restaurants · Baba, Café St Honoré, David Bann
- Glasgow
14 restaurants · Alchemilla, Bilson Eleven, Cail Bruich
- Leeds
5 restaurants · Bundobust, Fleur Restaurant and Bar, Mowgli Street Food Leeds
- Liverpool
4 restaurants · Down The Hatch and Woo Tan Scran, Mowgli Street Food Bold Street, The Egg Cafe
- London
22 restaurants · Apricity, Bubala, Club Mexicana
- Manchester
10 restaurants · 8th Day Café, Another Hand, Bundobust Manchester
- Newcastle
4 restaurants · Sunshine Restaurant, Super Natural Newcastle, The Ship Inn
- Oxford
6 restaurants · Common Ground Cafe, Georgina's Cafe, Namaste Village Oxford
- York
4 restaurants · Filmore and Union, Goji Cafe, The Blue Barbakan
More UK cities
- Bath3
Oak, Plant.Eat.Licious Bath, The Green Rocket Cafe
- Stockport1
Where The Light Gets In
Eating well across the UK, answered.
- Which UK city has the best healthy restaurants?
- London has the depth, but Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol all have kitchens I would send my own family to. Oxford and Cambridge punch well above their size. The point of these guides is to show you the specific places, not to declare one city the winner.
- Are there good plant-forward restaurants outside London?
- Absolutely. Some of the most interesting cooking I have found is outside the capital. Land in Birmingham, home cooks doing serious vegan Chinese, and Edinburgh's wholefood scene are proof that good produce and careful kitchens are not a London monopoly.
- Do these restaurants have to be fully vegan?
- No. The guide is plant-forward, not plant-only. I list omnivore kitchens if they cook vegetables, grains and pulses with real care. What matters is what reaches the plate, not the label on the door.
- Do UK restaurants pay to be listed?
- Not a penny. I choose every kitchen on sourcing, freshness and whether the food makes you feel better after you have eaten it. Restaurants can claim their listing to keep the details accurate, but that changes nothing about whether I include them.
- My UK city is not here yet. Can I suggest a restaurant?
- Please do. Use the recommend form and I will look at it properly. I am particularly interested in places outside the obvious cities that are cooking real food from real ingredients.
Know a British kitchen I have missed? Recommend it here, or browse the rest of my city guides.
About the author
Written by Gillian McKeith
I'm Gillian McKeith: television presenter, creator of the global hit show You Are What You Eat, writer, nutritionist, and the editor behind this guide. Every the UK entry here is chosen and written by me. I judge kitchens on the things that actually matter: real ingredients, honest sourcing, vegetables cooked with care, and food you feel better for eating.
Nothing on this page is a paid placement. Restaurants cannot buy a recommendation, and any listing marked as sponsored is labelled as such. If a kitchen slips, it comes out of the guide.