Michelin dining in Nottingham

food at restaurant sat bains — Restaurant Sat Bains

Not come across the culinary wizardry that resides in Nottingham yet? The city has been quietly collecting foodie accolades and now has a deservedly excellent reputation for its restaurants. At the bucket-list end of the fine dining scale is two-Michelin starred Restaurant Sat Bains, which is at the top of its game right now having scooped top spot in SquareMeal’s prestigious annual rankings. Michelin starred Alchemilla also scooped a spot in the top 100 this year, coming in at number 26, with its innovative, delicious cooking. On the more affordable end of the spectrum, Ibérico World Tapas and Japanese Kushi-Ya hold Michelin Bib Gourmands for good quality, good value cooking.

Hidden Food Tours, Melton Mowbray, Leics

The Capital of Rural Food, Melton Mowbray is a hotbed of both under the radar producers and globally renowned goodies. From pork pies to Stilton, Melton is the mothership and with fresh new culinary trends gathering pace you can uncover this medieval market town’s unsung glories on a Hidden Food Tour, where you’ll discover the history, tastes, and stories of artisan producers, led by passionate foodies Charla and Matt, who also run similar tours in nearby Lincoln. The three hour, small group tours cost £75 per person, with ever-evolving itineraries to incorporate the burgeoning foodie scene in this oft-forgotten but fabulously foodie enclave.

Exciting new openings, Warwickshire & West Midlands

food at the mallory warwick — The Warwick /Stu Deeley at Mallory

MasterChef winner Stu Deeley’s new restaurant The Warwick, has just opened at award-winning Mallory Court Country Hotel and Spa Mallory, Leamington Spa. Now open for dinner Wed-Sun, and lunch on Sun it celebrates the best of British ingredients with signature dishes such as Cornish crab with Isle of Wight tomatoes, Poussin with Jamón sauce, and a nostalgic Baked Alaska. Choose between a five-course Taste of the Season menu (£105), a three-course option (£90), or book the Ultimate Tasting Package with overnighter for £470.

Over in Shipston on Stour Solanche and Richard Craven, the couple behind Michelin-starred pub The Royal Oak at Whatcote, have been crowdfunding to raise £15k to launch new start-up Ferment & Flour – part-bakery, part-neighbourhood restaurant in July – and fulfill a long-held dream. And, this September chef Glynn Purnell (a regular on Saturday Kitchen) is set to open new venture Trillium alongside Loki Wine expert Phil Innes wit outdoor terrace at Snow Hill in Birmingham following the closure of his Michelin star venue. It will offer seasonal dishes and a ‘dynamic ever-evolving’ wine list.

Sow, Netherwood Estate, Tenbury Wells, Worcs

Supper just got a serious upgrade at Sow, the dazzling new restaurant from acclaimed chef Andrew Sheridan, tucked away on the Netherwood Estate. This isn’t your average farm-to-table spot, it’s 5-star sustainable dining. Newly rebranded for 2025, and taking over the griddle from Michelin starred Pensons, it’s a bucket list dine-out spot. Try the Full Tasting Menu (£120pp), made from ingredients harvested from the estate’s gardens, then stay over in one of the beautiful Farm Rooms, named ‘Lovage’ and ‘Sorrel’.

Foraging & fine dining in the Peak District

basket full of foraged mushrooms at fischers foraging day — Wild mushrooms foraged on a Fischer’s foraging day

With a long-held reputation for fabulous fine dining, elegant restaurant and boutique hotel Fischer’s Baslow Hall has serious sustainability and eco creds too. Much of the ever-changing seasonal menu is foraged from the kitchen garden, but it’s also now started offering foraging days for guests further afield. And they sound dreamy. Start the day out in the wilds of the beautiful Peak District and learn to forage for wild edibles, before heading back to Fischer’s for a menu inspired by your day, enjoying truly local, seasonal and fresh ingredients at their best. The next dates are 17 July and 18 September; £110pp to to include wild tea and homemade biscuits on arrival, foraging course, two course lunch at Fischer’s (main and dessert), tea/ coffee and petit fours, followed by a tour of the kitchen garden and grounds.

Jericho, Plungar, Leics

If deciding what you fancy from the menu can feel a bit overwhelming, Michelin Green Star winning restaurant Jericho has you covered with a fixed 20 course (yes, you read that right) tasting menu crafted to reflect the characteristics and, of course, harness the produce of the family farm on which the restaurant sits in the gorgeous Vale of Belvoir in the Leicestershire countryside. Owners Grace and Rich are passionate about creating a connection to the land through food, so the menu changes depending on what is fresh and in season on the farm and kitchen garden, but expect the likes of Jericho charcuterie, partridge with carrot mole, mushroom chawanmushi and silage ice-cream. Vegetarians, vegans, pescatarians and fussy eaters need not apply. It’s £120 per person for the tasting menu or £140 if you sit at the kitchen bench and add £80 to that for wine pairings.

John’s House, Mountsorrel, Leics

Plate of food at johns house mountsorrel

Owner John Duffin is Head Chef at this family-run, farm-to-plate, Michelin starred enterprise, while brother Tom runs the 400-acre farm that surrounds the 16th century farmhouse. From herbs, vegetables and fruits to beef, pork and lamb – their natural and organic produce informs and inspires the tasting menus. Start the experience with drinks on the ground floor then head upstairs to the charmingly rustic restaurant for the main event. Think peas, mint, ox tongue and crème fraiche; smoked Lincolnshire eel; English strawberries, rice pudding cream, marigold and hay. There are even two luxury cottages, set in a 19th century converted stable and hay barn, so you can round off a sumptuous meal safe in the knowledge that you don’t have to head far to rest your weary head when it comes to bedtime.

White Peak Distillery, Amber Valley, Derbyshire

A man and a woman taste whisky at White Peak Distillery Derbyshire

Ah, the Peak District. Known for its stunning landscape, filling puddings and, er, whisky? Mm, it may not roll of the tongue just yet but, with the first full-scale craft distillery in the Peaks, White Peak Distillery is making waves in the spirit world (that’s the alcoholic one, not the spooky one). We’re big fans of this cool, craft distillery. With style, authenticity, provenance and flavour at the heart of its ethos, its tasting tours around the cool, quirky distillery are fascinating. And if whisky isn’t your tipple, there’s gin on offer too.

Michelin dining, Birmingham, West Midlands

food at grace and savour — Grace & Savour

The UK’s second city has the most Michelin starred fine dining restaurants outside of London and an exciting foodie destination. The hottest tables?Progressive Indian cuisine at Opheem, which scooped two Michelin stars in 2024 – the first restaurant in the city to do so. There’s also Adam Stokes’ exquisite, innovative food at Adam’s, Birmingham. Simpsons in Edgbaston has held its Michelin star for a whopping 25 years and exec Chef Luke Tipping describes his style as “very natural, very seasonal and free flowing”. Just outside Brum, Grace & Savour won its Michelin star in 2023 just a year after opening. Set in the gorgeous restored walled Victorian Walled Garden at Hampton Manor, it has a seasonal menu with a blend of classical and modern Nordic cooking techniques.

The Chaddesley Restaurant, Brockencote Hall, Kidderminster, Worcs

afternoon tea at brockencote hall worcs — Brockencote Hall

If you’re craving fine-dining glamour with a Downton Abbey-esque backdrop, set your foodie sat nav for Brockencote Hall. Set deep in lush Worcs countryside. This place rocks three AA Rosettes and turns seasonal British produce into serious style statements on your plate. Picture veggies picked from the hotel’s own garden and locally sourced meat. Whether it’s a three-course lunch with friends or dinner à deux, come here for boutique manor house dining. Top tip? Book in for Champagne Afternoon Tea on the terrace from £46pp.

Hambleton Hall and Bakery, Oakham

Hambleton Hall is the proud proprietor of the UK’s longest-retained Michelin Star – they’ve held one since 1982 and we reckon that’s quite an impressive achievement. With an idyllic setting on the shore of Rutland Water, chef Aaron Patterson has headed up the stoves since 1992, serving up seasonal dishes that use produce plucked directly from the kitchen gardens, where you’ll find a rather picturesque greenhouse, raised beds and fruit trees, alongside freshly baked breads from the hotel’s unrivaled sister company Hambleton Bakery in nearby Exton. If you really want to immerse yourself in the hotel’s seasonal food culture then book on to a Fungi Foray in Burley Wood, followed by a Michelin starred lunch, on 4 Oct, led by field mycologist, botanist and author Paul Nichol.

Black & Green, Barnt Green, Worcs

interior of black & green restaurant worcs — Black & Green

Where do the culinary conoscenti of the West Mids flock to? There’s no fuss and faff at this in-the-know eatery, just immaculate technique and stripped back, quietly brilliant, fine-dining. We love this one for it’s cool neighbourhood feel, with stools set at tall tables. The short, sensibly priced tasting menu (£75pp) moves with the seasons, and is served up by chefs directly to the table. Add in the cheese course and a wine flight why not (£50), you won’t be disappointed.

Birmingham Restaurant Festival 2025, West Midlands

One of the best value ways of uncovering the city’s excellent must-eat destinations is through Birmingham Restaurant Festival 2025 – 1-31 Aug – and the special festival set-price menu’s (including some Michelin starred places) are now live to book. Likewise Brum’s Cocktail Weekend, 10-13 July 2025 (summer edition) and 23-26 Oct (winter edition) is a brilliant way to experience the very best of the city’s cocktail scene, discovering new venues, masterclasses and tasting events.

Hitchen’s Barn, Oakham

Neil and Louise Hitchen (who met when both working at Hambleton Hall many moons ago) have created a rustic, welcoming vibe at their eponymously named and Michelin Bib Gourmand winning restaurant, which is set in a beautifully converted barn. Chef Neil heads up the kitchen, producing the most exceptional, seasonal dishes. Not not overly fussy or intimidating, the joy-inducing food is aimed at people who really take delight in top notch ingredients and creative flavours. Local highlights are the twice baked creamy Red Leicester and Lincolnshire Poacher cheese soufflé and the vol au vent, spinach, wild mushrooms, poached egg and Parmesan sauce.

Fern, Uppingham, Rutland

This seasonal and stylish restaurant, set within the the renowned Falcon Hotel in gorgeous Uppingham, specialises in small plate dining, they also serve up fabulous organic wines and British aperitifs. There’s a fresh, contemporary vibe, with an energetic team and an understated, welcoming luxury. The kitchen, headed up by Chef Ali Duncombe, who has worked for the family-run hospitality group Will’s Inns (who also own Don Paddy’s and The Vaults) for over 18 years, is meticulously focused on using produce that is fresh, in season and as local as is feasible. The ethos here is to platform food with a provenance to get excited about. Plates come out as they’re ready, so you can pace yourself and give each dish the attention it deserves and, believe me, each one deserves plenty.

Brum’s coolest foodie neighbourhoods, West Mids

Alex Claridge from The Wilderness and Albatross Death Cult

The influence of Birmingham quality gastronomic scene has had a rippling effect into its suburbs: including Harborne neighbourhood restaurant Cuubo, Harborne Kitchen, Italian Tropea, Hong Kong inspired eatery and arts space, Blow Water Cafe), Stirchley, (New Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand entry for 2025 Riverine Rabbit, coop run Loaf Bakery and Cookery, Eat Vietnam and women led, ingredient forward Verbena, just a few doors down from Couch – No 4 in the UKs Top 50 Cocktail Bars 2025); Moseley (Japanese fine dining restaurant Satori, Peruvian Chakana Restaurant, Jewellery Quarter (experimental Albatross Death Cult run by the playful, provocative team behind The Wilderness, also here, and top independent pizza joint Otto) and Edgbaston (the Indo-Persian restaurant inside Georgian townhouse hotel Baloci).

The Midlands foodie scene is on fire – here’s the lowdown

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