SquareMeal, an independent restaurant guide, has announced the best restaurants that the UK has to offer.
SquareMeal’s UK Top 100 is the only list of its kind to exclude London’s restaurants - allowing the wider UK’s dining scene to shine.
Using a combination of thousands of reader votes and SquareMeal’s experts, the UK Top 100 Restaurants list is a true reflection of Britain’s varied dining scene - featuring everything from fine dining experiences through to farm-to-table restaurants and gastropubs.
As part of this year's top 100, 13 Scottish restaurants were named.
Head of content, Caroline Hendry, explained Scotland's place on the list saying: “A combination of votes from thousands of diners, along with the opinions of our professional restaurant critics has led to the spotlight firmly landing on Scotland’s dining scene.
"It’s brilliant to see so many of Scotland’s best restaurants featured in our UK Top 100, particularly those serving traditional Scottish cuisine that our readers clearly love.”
Here's the 13 that made the list, and what the team had to say about them.
Occupying “the most perfect setting” in a quiet corner of the luxury Gleneagles hotel, Restaurant Andrew Fairlie is a calm, sophisticated space with enough formality to create a sense of occasion – think diffused lighting, soft furnishings and lively paintings hung on textured brown/black walls.
Located on the shore of Loch Fyne just off Scotland’s west coast, Inver takes its place in an area of profound natural beauty.
Housed inside a former crofter’s cottage and boat store, the modern restaurant serves a la carte lunch and dinner menus, as well as an evening-only tasting menu, using the freshest Scottish ingredients it can find.
Chef Lorna McNee heads up the kitchen and has ditched the previous a la carte format for two multi-course tasting menus.
The contents of these menus are dictated by the seasons and largely made up of ingredients that have been sourced locally.
This restaurant - which was recently awarded a Michelin Star - focuses on the daily tasting menu.
Here head chef Mark Donald looks to elevate Scottish ingredients using playful international twists.
While things change regularly, you might find starters like raw clams with gooseberry and dulse kicking things off, or a tattie scone with winter truffle and caviar.
The restaurant's name - Unalome - refers to a Buddhist symbol, which represents the path to enlightenment.
It's a symbol that perfectly encapsulates Graeme’s own journey - his passion for cooking has taken him as far as Singapore and New York, before returning to his home country of Scotland.
Fhior, which means ‘true’ in Gaelic, is the city-centre venture from chef Scott Smith, formerly of the acclaimed Norn in Leith.
Inside, it comprises an intimate main dining room plus a relaxed café/bar area for drinks and snacks, while the focus is on modern, seasonal cuisine based on Scottish ingredients (some of them foraged).
Eleanore is a British inspired restaurant located in Albert Place, Edinburgh.
Launched by the owners of The Little Chartroom - and housed within the space that used to be The Little Chartroom - Eleanore is a small independent family-run restaurant serving a refined and elegant menu of fine foods and wine.
Bar Brett is a modern wine bar and barbecue restaurant from the team behind Cail Bruich.
Bar Brett’s offering is a little different, however, in that it specialises in natural, low-intervention wine and cooking with fire.
The menu at Gloriosa is focused on dishes which have been influenced by the Mediterranean and can be paired with a selection of wines from small independent European producers.
The offering is made up of a short selection of small and large plates, designed to share (we’d recommend ordering five or six dishes between two).
Noto is the second restaurant from chef Stuart Ralston, who also operates tasting menu restaurant Aizle.
Found on a chic street in the New Town, Noto describes itself as ‘a New York-inspired restaurant with a love for Asian cuisine.’
The Palmerston is a restaurant and bakery in the West End of Edinburgh serving a seasonal menu of European-influenced dishes.
This cosy neighbourhood joint offers a relaxed dining experience within cosy bistro-style interiors, but its true point of pride is the quality of its ingredients, which are all meticulously-sourced from a select group of farmers, growers and fishermen.
Located just a stone's throw from Glasgow's Queen's Park in Shawlands, Julie's Kopitiam is a small neighbourhood joint serving Malaysian street food.
Owned and run by former MasterChef quarterfinalist Julie Lin Macleod, the casual restaurant is often full to the brim but you can simply add your name to a list, be given a time, and pass the time in a nearby pub until it's your turn.
Set in Cathedral House near Glasgow's bustling city centre, Celentano's is a relaxed Italian-inspired eatery.
Husband and wife team Dean and Anna cook up snacks, bread, pasta, fish, meat, and veg as simple yet exciting sharing plates.
