Food and friendliness: Britain’s most welcoming restaurants

I went to a well-known Michelin-starred restaurant a few weeks ago and I hated every minute. The food was remarkable, of course, with every dish a picture and each morsel technically perfect. But the restaurant itself was ghastly and sterile. Fellow diners stared glassy-eyed at their plates, terrified of raising their voices. The prices were eye-watering and the staff arrogant and complacent. They seemed to hate us all.

Two days later, I found myself in a much humbler establishment. The fare was first rate and the atmosphere jolly and bustling, but it was the warmth of the welcome that really struck me.

It’s easy to find fine food; it’s less easy to find places that welcome you as if all they want in the world is your happiness. Here below – in no particular order – are ten such places, all of which I’ve enjoyed hugely over the last few weeks.

Upstairs at The George

The George is a fine, beautifully restored 18^th century boozer in central London. Downstairs is a raucous public bar and upstairs is a quiet, secret hideaway, a Victorian parlour where fine food (Tournedos Rossini my top tip) and fastidiously curated wines are served by smiling, engaging staff who seem thrilled that you have bothered to join them. I went chiefly for the wine list which boasts over 150 different English wines, plus – clever this – just five wines/five varietals from every major wine region. There are some fascinating bottles here each one of which is worth a taste. Next to the tiny dining room is an even smaller bar, gorgeously accoutred and big enough for about four people to stand in. The lintel of the marble fire place has been cleverly adapted to act as an ice trough, crammed with fine English fizz. You could wile away a whole afternoon here very happily indeed.

55 Great Portland Street, London W1W 7LQ;  020 3946 3740;  www.thegeorge.london/upstairs

Casse-Croûte

I love this place to distraction. I took a friend there a while ago and he, too, was smitten and has gone twice a week ever since. Set on a corner of uber-cool Bermondsey Street, south east London, it has no more than 20 covers, with tiny tables adorned in typically French checked table cloths. Indeed, with its basic glassware, tiny bar, retro posters and mirrors you could be in some bohemain bistro in Paris, Lyon or Toulouse. There is a commendably short menu which changes daily – three starters, three mains and three puddings – and a similarly short, impeccably chosen wine list. Dishes include stuffed rabbit, pigeon breast and foie gras en croute and jambon persillé. Expect to be treated like an old friend and expect to go back.

109 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XB; 020 7407 2140;  www.cassecroute.co.uk

Timberyard

Arriving one cold winter’s day, rain sheeting, we stumbled in to be greeted with broad smiles, blankets and a seat by a piping hot wood-burning stove. Our soaking coats and brollies were whisked away and menus and warming drams of whisky thrust into our hands. Based in an old whitewashed, wooden floor-boarded warehouse, it’s disarmingly welcoming and I lost count of the number of Radford family members rushing around looking after us. The wine list is crammed with quirky gems and classics and goes on for pages; the whiskies are cannily sourced and the food is an utter delight, focusing on local produce, much of it wild and foraged. I recommend the seven course tasting menu, likely to include mussels, pigeon, sweetbreads and – my favourite – monkfish with wild sea kale.

10 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh EH3 9DS; 0131 221 1222;  www.timberyard.co

Sorrel

I never think of Dorking as a gourmet destination and was only in town to have a bit of a nose around Denbies Wine Estate. Several folk recommended Sorrel and I thank them with my whole being for it’s a truly splendid spot with beaming staff just itching to explain and show off the endless treats that stream from Steve Drake’s kitchen. The food is outstanding – I suggest loosening your belt and going whole hog with the Discovery Menu, with such delicacies as pork belly and smoked cauliflower, Cornish lamb with wild garlic and pappardelle, blueberry ice cream and lavender cake – and bask in the smiles of the waiters as they clear the empty plates.

77 South Street, Dorking, Surrey RH4 2JU;  01306 889 414;  www.sorrelrestaurant.co.uk

63 Degrees

Set deep in the heart of Manchester’s trendy Northern Quarter – all bars, cafés, record stores, tattoo parlours and artists’ studios – is a little corner of France. Eric Moreau and wife Florence, both from Paris, run the show (son, Alex, is responsible for the delectable patisserie) and newcomers and regulars are all greeted with great bonhomie as if they were last here only yesterday. Florence takes the orders and Eric cooks and then ambles out after each course to check you’re enjoying your chestnut velouté, stuffed duckling with teriyaki, lobster burger or chicken 63 degrees with truffle (the house speciality) and drinking the right wine alongside it. All the bottles are French, naturellement, and very fairly priced with treats such as Condrieu, Chorey-les-Beaune and Châteauneuf-du-Pape surprisingly within reach. The pre and post-dinner cocktails, too, are spot-on and, at £10 each, inevitably result in a second glass.

104 High Street, Manchester M4 1HQ; 0161 832 5438;  www.63degrees.co.uk

Bottega Caruso

Depending on whom you listen to, Margate is either an unmitigated dump beyond hope, or a vibrant, up-and-coming seaside town, a magnet for free spirits. Either way, what is indisputable is that Bottega Caruso, housed in a tiny former pub in the Old Town, just yards from the sea and the Turner Contemporary Gallery, is one of the finest restaurants in the South East. Harry Ryder and Simona Di Dio make all their own pasta, import Italian sauces and other goodies from Simona’s family’s farm in Campania or buy locally. When I first went they were fully booked, but Harry ran after me into the street and said if we didn’t mind waiting until 2pm he would promise to fit us in. It’s that human warmth that keeps me going back, well that and the excellent Italian wines and the fabulous pasta with lamb and fennel sausage, the salt cod, the cured meat platter complete with homemade pickled radicchio. I adore this place and so will you.

2-4 Broad Street, Margate, Kent CT9 1EW; 01843 297 142;  www.bottegacaruso.com

The Griffin Inn

A dangerous spot, this, where an early lunch can all too easily turn into a late supper especially if the ever-ebullient James Pullan – le patron qui mange ici – joins you for a glass. I once ended up having to stay the night and managed breakfast too. The Griff is a Sussex institution, set in glorious countryside and blessed with a vast garden – known as the Serengeti – complete with ridiculously bucolic views of the South Downs. JP runs a tight ship and whether you’re supping Harvey’s Bitter at the bar, dining indoors or out, you will be loved and cossetted and will hate to leave. The grub is hearty fare – rump of lamb, ribeye steak – but there’s always great fish/seafood too and the oyster mushroom, wild garlic and pea risotto I had last time was perfect. The wines are justly celebrated (if a touch pricy) although I rarely stray far from Trimbach’s exemplary Alsace Pinot Blanc or the Salice Salentino Riserva from Puglia.

High Street, Fletching, East Sussex TN22 3SS; 01825 722 890;  www.thegriffininn.co.uk

Trivet

Tucked away down a Bermondsey side street, not far from London Bridge, Trivet has been wowing the critics and with reason. Founded by chef Jonny Lake and sommelier Isa Bal, both formerly of the Fat Duck, it’s a thunderingly fine spot – busy but not noisy, trendy but not poncy, innovative but not alarming. Jonny cooks in the open kitchen and Isa greets guests at the door and with a glass of fine fizz in your hand (no grandes marques here, only carefully sourced growers’ champagne) you feel instantly at home. Dishes such as grilled loin of venison with silky beetroot, salt-steamed turbot and roast duck gratify the eye as much as the stomach – a treat to gaze upon and a delight to eat. There are some 400 wines on the list, arranged in the order that the relevant regions started making wine. So it is that Georgia, Armenia and Turkey take pride of place at the front, with Australia and New Zealand at the back. Isa Bal (former Best Sommelier in Europe) loves his wine and loves his customers and despite a commendably strong list of wines by the glass, he will open pretty much anything else you fancy trying.

36 Snowsfields Street, London SE1 3SU; 020 3141 8670; www.trivetrestaurant.co.uk

Luca

Luca is far larger than it might look from its unobtrusive entrance. There’s a bar, two private dining rooms, an open kitchen and a succession of discreet booths that lead, finally, to a secluded, brick-lined terrace complete with retractable roof and outdoor fire place. The staff are so genial and smiley you sense they want to hug you. After my melt-in-the-mouth pre-starter of parmesan fries (no potato, just béchamel sauce, flour and parmesan) I wanted to hug them. Food is cooked and eaten here with love, be it roast scallops with jerusalem artichoke and n’duja, agnolotti (so light!) carbonara with speck, cured egg yolk and puffed quinoa or canon of Hebridean lamb with wild garlic and morels. There are over 500 wines on the list (30 by the glass) with almost every Italian wine region covered and it’s always a voyage of discovery as I enjoy grape varieties and wines that I’d never heard of before.

88 St. John Street, London EC1M 4EH; 020 3859 3000; www.luca.restaurant

Into the Blue

The approach to Into the Blue could hardly be less enticing. You leave the centre of Shoreham across a footbridge with vandalised glass panels and head towards the sea through a car park, past a dreary pub and along a 1970s parade of shops. And here, just after a mobility equipment supplier and a mini supermarket is one of the most outwardly unprepossessing fish restaurants you will find. Inside, though, it’s a gem, a copper-bottomed gem. The staff smile, diners wave and the neighbouring table say hello with a beam. I love it here. The menu is short and far from fancy but the fish is as fresh as fresh can be and there are always specials on the board. Treats on offer usually include a whole Dover sole (just £25), bouillabaisse, monkfish kebabs, seafood platters or lobster (local, not imported). The steaks are pretty darn good too. It’s the warmth of the welcome, though, that sticks in the mind and the chattiness and jolliness of your fellow diners.

29-31 Ferry Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 5RA;  01273 464 768;  www.intothebluerestaurant.com