Cosy UK restaurants to book this winter, from Devon to Edinburgh
- Gurdeep Loyal
Published: October 22, 2026 at 1:30 PM
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From feasting Sunday roasts in Devon to a magical off-grid restaurant in the Ribble Valley, these are the cosy UK pubs and restaurants worth booking a festive trip around
Looking for cosy restaurants to book ahead of the festive period? Trends expert Gurdeep Loyal shares his favourite food and drink destinations, from historic coaching inns with roaring open fires to contemporary dining rooms with panoramic countryside views.
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Want to know more about exciting spots in the UK? Read our guide to the best UK restaurants with rooms for the ultimate foodie sleepover.
The Packhorse Inn, Suffolk
You’ll find this award-winning boutique pub on a quintessentially British village green in Moulton, Suffolk, with a welcoming garden filled with tables you can dine at.
The simple menu follows the seasons, using estate-reared meats, game and wild foraged ingredients from the local area. Kick off with torched Norfolk mackerel with heritage beet and labneh, or Suffolk chicken and leek terrine with date ketchup and sourdough soldiers. Mains include a Hereford rump steak, carrot and maple tarte tatin, and roasted sea bream, with inventive sides like their Norfolk tomato salad, or barbecue courgettes with salsa verde and Parmesan.
It also has an extensive wine cellar featuring small producers, low-intervention wines, aged wines and a range of English sparklings to try. Don’t miss the calendar of events like the Suffolk Cow butcher’s best nights, fisherman’s catch menu nights and Sunday live music sessions. It’s lit up with fairy lights over the festive period, making it a welcoming spot to mix with locals and feast. thepackhorseinn.com
The George, Graveley, Hertfordshire
Head to the picturesque village of Graveley, near Hitchin, to The George, where both a Georgian red brick exterior and ornate white pillared portico entrance create a welcoming regal façade. Plush Chesterfield sofas and round oak tables continue the theme inside, set across two cosy but buzzy dining rooms and a sprawling garden with a dedicated terrace bar.
The menu, led by executive chef Joe Walker, centres on elevated seasonal British pub classics – with an inventive selection of bar snacks. Try the cod cheek scampi with homemade curry sauce, the Baron Bigod cheese crumpet with a lager reduction, or the Dorset crab doughnuts with green chilli and dill mayonnaise. Elsewhere, the menu highlights ingredients like Lannock Farm spring lamb, dry-aged beef and Blythburgh pork, served with additions like braised fennel, triple-cooked chips and tangy apple ketchup.
Save space for the sticky banoffee pudding: a dense banana sponge with a rich Earl Grey butterscotch and ginger ice cream. thegeorgegraveley.co.uk
Skua, Edinburgh
Edinburgh’s charming Stockbridge neighbourhood is the place to head to if you’re looking to escape the festive crowds of Old Town – and intimate basement restaurant Skua is the perfect destination. Inside, its minimalist interior is made cosy thanks to flickering candles atmospherically lighting up the marble tables and artwork on the walls.
Chef owners James Aikman and Katie Messer work closely with local farmers, fishermen and foragers to create an ever-changing menu of modern Scottish small plates shaped by the seasons. Signature dishes include their sika deer tartare with anchovy and Jerusalem artichoke, hogget croquette with damson, and market fish served with sea kale, few-flowered leek and horseradish.
The wine list highlights low-intervention, organic and natural wines, and the cocktail menu is enlivened with house-made ferments, shrubs and botanicals. The Stockbridge Sour is a punchy mixture of single malt whisky, Empirical Symphony 6 botanical spirit and Douglas fir; the White Hackle is a take on a white negroni; and the Paulie Walnuts is a digestif made with a toasted walnut brandy. skua.scot
Image credit: Stephen Lister
Church House Inn, Harberton, Devon
This award-winning historic pub is located in the scenic village of Harberton, near Totnes in the heart of South Devon. Tim Blanchard is chef patron, whose background at London institution St John has influenced the inn’s nose-to-tail and local produce-led British cooking. The stone walls and oak beams dating back to the 1400s make for a festive setting, with large open tables for groups and roaring open fires.
The daily changing menu features ingredients sourced from the Devon countryside and fresh seafood from Brixham. Kick off with a West Country real ale and the devilled scratchings, then for a starter try the crispy salt cod fritters, or potted duck paired with local artisanal sourdough. For mains go for a comforting Devonshire homity pie, Devon dexter steak cooked over fire or grilled lamb chops with anchovy chard.
Feasting Sunday roasts are served family style including exceptionally cooked meats like slow-roast porchetta, pig’s head and roast venison. There is also a very popular smashed cheeseburger with skin-on chips. churchhouseinnharberton.com
Gorse, Cardiff
Cardiff’s only Michelin-starred restaurant is situated in Pontcanna, a tree-lined suburb brimming with independent food establishments, craft cocktail bars and a thriving weekend farmers’ market. Gorse’s soothing sage green interior is accented by locally made Welsh artworks, all centred around a lively open kitchen.
The elegant tasting menu of modern Welsh dishes from chef-owner Tom Waters (formerly of The Fat Duck) changes with the micro-seasons, taking inspiration from the fishermen, growers, farmers and artisans of the local area. Signature dishes include bara brith and mature Caws Cerwyn with pickled walnut and Monmouthshire truffle, bass landed in Milford Haven with Pontcanna quince and Cardiff Salad Garden marigolds, and toasted oat llymru and smoked cherry jam with apple caramel.
The wine list features organic, biodynamic and natural bottles alongside a curated menu of pairings, while the innovative cocktail list is crafted with botanical-forward spirits including a signature house martini infused with local seaweed. gorserestaurant.co.uk
The Feathered Nest Inn, North Cotswolds
Nestled in the picturesque village of Nether Westcote in the heart of the North Cotswolds, this relaxed yet refined modern British inn is housed in a beautifully restored 350-year-old former malt house. Perched high on a hill, it boasts dramatic panoramic views across the Evenlode Valley and has both a traditional pub and elegant restaurant called The Nest on site.
Led by head chef James Erasmus, the restaurant’s menu celebrates the finest British produce with a contemporary approach rooted in seasonality and sustainability. You can opt for a multi-course tasting menu or go à la carte, both of which feature refined dishes of elegantly cooked comfort food. Signature specialities include Somerset Saxon chicken terrine with quince purée, Cotswold fallow venison loin with hispi and black pudding hash, and roast red leg partridge with savoury bacon jam and pickled prunes.
The festive, nostalgia-inducing dessert is not to be missed: a Ferrero Rocher slice with Frangelico liqueur and vanilla ice cream. thefeatherednestinn.co.uk
Eight at Gazegill, Lancashire
This magical off-grid restaurant is hidden deep within the Ribble Valley countryside in Rimington, Lancashire, situated down a country lane on a 250-acre family-run organic farm.
The menu is guided by the rhythms of the seasons, with a commitment to organic, ethical and sustainable farming, and much of the produce used by chef patron Doug Crampton and his team is grown, reared or foraged on site. They champion rare-breed meats, seasonal vegetables, orchard fruit and herbs from the farm, cooked up into dishes like the Gazegill forager chipolatas with dandelion honey, Gazegill veal and bone marrow burger with smoked chilli and crab apple jelly, and the Gazegill gazpacho with Isle of Wight tomatoes, raw milk ricotta and just-picked leaves.
The contemporary, sustainably built dining room boasts huge windows that look out onto a beautiful outdoor terrace with panoramic views across Pendle Hill. It’s the perfect spot to try one of the cocktails made with house-foraged botanicals, wild fruits and regional craft spirits. eightatgazegill.co.uk
Bavette Bistro, Leeds
Bavette is Horsforth’s much loved neighbourhood bistro, bringing an authentic taste of France to the suburbs of Leeds. The cosy interior features wooden floors, comfortable banquette seating and bistro tables, creating a relaxed, convivial space where food and wine are treated with equal care.
Head chef Sandy Jarvis and his husband, sommelier Clément Cousin, offer a seasonally led menu featuring classic French dishes delivered with contemporary flair. Start with shellfish bisque with crab crostini or pork belly rillons with frisée salad and ravigote sauce. Then move on to mains like wild halibut with vin jaune sauce, buttered leeks and sautéed potatoes, or the eponymous Swaledale bavette steak served with fries. Their sharing dishes are just as comforting, such as rib of Yorkshire beef with dauphinoise potatoes, or the whole grilled plaice doused in brown butter and almonds.
The wine list features bottles from Clément’s family vineyard, as well as other low-intervention vintages from across Europe. Save space for the traditional crème brûlée, which is kept classic: rich and velvety underneath with a perfectly crisp torched sugar crust. bavettebistro.com
Bell and Crown, Wiltshire
This award-winning country inn is situated in the village of Zeals, Wiltshire, at the crossroads of Dorset and Somerset. Inside it’s filled with low-beamed ceilings, flagstone floors and open log fires, made extra cosy thanks to its sheepskin-blanketed chairs. The menu of generously plated elegant pub food is guided by the seasons with ingredients sourced from a passionate curation of local suppliers, served up with wines from Gardner & Beedle in Tisbury.
Begin with the Scotch egg served with herb aïoli, for mains try the Brixham hake with samphire and warm tartar, or the pork ribeye with black pudding and cider-poached apple, then end with a classic egg custard tart with nutmeg. The menu also has a playful pub bangers section, featuring dishes like the handmade shortcrust pie, Quarr Cross venison steak frites and a double cheese burger with pickles. It’s also a convenient place to eat if you’re headed to the seasonal light show in Stourhead, which is worth a visit. bellandcrown.com
The Talbot Inn, Frome
This historic 15th-century coaching inn in the pretty village of Mells is situated just 10 minutes from the vibrant market town of Frome. A stone archway and cobbled courtyard set the tone for its characterful, softly lit interior, complete with flagstone floors and winter log fires.
The kitchen serves up comforting British pub food utilising the abundance of seasonal produce in the surrounding area: meat and game from local farms, fish from the Cornwall coast and fresh leaves picked in The Talbot’s very own on-site kitchen garden. Don’t miss the garden sage sausage roll with sweet mustard ketchup to kick off, then the Fowey mussels with Dorset ’nduja, cider and focaccia as a starter.
Signature mains include a Devizes sirloin steak with peppercorn sauce, and Brixham mackerel with Bromham golden beets, horseradish crème fraîche and tarragon.
The inn serves up world-class wines from Beckford Bottle Shop and traditional local ales, including its very own Talbot Ale. Sunday roasts, however, are the inn’s speciality, with Lyons Hill Farm sirloin of Aurox beef or Devizes porchetta served with roast potatoes, kohlrabi, greens, cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire puddings and exceptional gravy. talbotinn.com
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Gurdeep Loyal
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