The two West Midlands restaurants named among top 100 in the UK by Good Food Guide

Two Birmingham restaurants offering fresh twists and flavours around Italian and Thai cuisine have been acknowledged for their culinary excellence through being named on an industry list.

Tropea in Harborne and Soi 1268 in Stirchley have been named among the top 100 restaurants across the whole of the UK in the Good Food Guide’s Britain’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2026.

Good Food Guide, the authority on eating out around Britain since 1951, announced its list of Britain’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2026, in partnership with Square, at an awards ceremony at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London on Monday.

Now in their 16th year, the Best Local Restaurant awards celebrate the community driven restaurants that offer brilliant value for money and top-quality cooking in a relaxed, convivial setting.

Tropea returns to the top 100 list, having been named in it in 2025, with a ranking of 32nd, while Soi 1268 ranked 78th overall.

Tropea, which can be found on Lordswood Road in Harborne, has been praised for the inspired menu and design and was rated as very good, with deliciousness, warmth and strength of recommendation scored as very good and uniqueness as good.

Soi 1268 has a menu featuring a combination of Thai small plates along with their famous street food bowls and is well-regarded for meals including its Thai Fried Chicken and its King Prawn Toast.

Head of Reviews & Listings at the Good Food Guide Chloë Hamilton said of this year’s list: “In the face of adversity, creativity has flourished in unusual and unlikely places.

“It has been hugely rewarding to see how these tiny operations are offering outstanding quality in a way that so clearly strikes a chord with the local crowd.

“Arrive with an open mind and a good appetite and you’ll be brilliantly rewarded.”

For the second year running, Britain’s 100 Best Local Restaurants is in partnership with business technology platform Square.

Commenting on the partnership, Head of International Marketing at Square Lizzie Barclay said: ‘The Good Food Guide is the ultimate companion for food lovers, so we’re delighted to partner with them for another year to shine a light on the country’s most exceptional local restaurants.

“The incredible businesses on this list have all the ingredients that make independent hospitality so special, such as the passion, the personal touch, and the community.

“Square supports hospitality businesses like these across the UK with the tools that help restaurateurs to operate efficiently, freeing them up to focus on doing what they love.”

Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2026, in partnership with Square

Overall and regional winners:

Overall & North West: La Locanda, Gisburn, Lancashire

South West: Wangs, Bristol 

Central & East of England: Wild Restaurant, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

South East: Cantina Caruso, Margate, Kent

Yorkshire & the North East: Black Wheat Club, York, North Yorkshire

Scotland: Ar Bord, Isle of Mull, Highlands & Islands

Wales: The Black Bear Inn, Bettws Newydd, Monmouthshire

London: Gina, Chingford, London

Full list of winners (ranked 1-100):

1. La Locanda, Gisburn, Lancashire

2. Cantina Caruso, Margate, Kent

3. Ar Bòrd, Isle of Mull, Highlands & Islands

4. Gina, Chingford, London

5. The Black Bear Inn, Bettws Newydd, Monmouthshire

6. Tiella Trattoria, Bethnal Green, London

7. Wangs, Bristol

8. Wild, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

9. Almanac, Glossop, Derbyshire

10. Black Wheat Club, York, North Yorkshire

11. Lucky Lychee, Winchester, Hampshire

12. Counter Culture, Newquay, Cornwall

13. Eastfield, Dundee, Tayside

14. Les 2 Garçons, Crouch End, London

15. Redwood Wines, Dunkeld, Perthshire & Kinross

16. Bavette, Leeds, West Yorkshire

17. Fino, Cromer, Norfolk

18. The Lost Kitchen, Chettiscombe, Devon

19. Lupo, Prestwich, Greater Manchester

20. Ida, Queen's Park, London

21. Fish Shop, Ballater, Aberdeen

22. Edie's, St Austell, Cornwall

23. The Union Rye, Rye, East Sussex

24. Gloriosa, Glasgow, Strathclyde

25. Upstairs at Landrace, Bath, Somerset

26. Mambow, Clapton, London

27. Ogof, Cardiff

28. North Street Kitchen, Fowey, Cornwall

29. Long Friday, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear

30. Little Clove Kitchen, Liverpool, Merseyside

31. The Empire Cafe, Leeds, West Yorkshire

32. Tropea, Birmingham, West Midlands

33. Ardfern, Edinburgh, Lothians

34. Soulshine, Bridport, Dorset

35. Dongnae, Bristol

36. The Palmerston, Edinburgh, Lothians

37. Janda Diner, Peckham, London

38. Lark, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

39. Bauji, Worthing, West Sussex

40. Shwen Shwen, Sevenoaks, Kent

41. The Yan, Grasmere, Cumbria

42. The Shed, Swansea

43. Chater's, Saffron Walden, Essex

44. 101 Bridport, Bridport, Dorset

45. The Nettle, Settle, North Yorkshire

46. Seasonality, Maidenhead, Berkshire

47. Nick's at Port of Menteith, Port of Menteith, Stirling

48. Mori Mori, Margate, Kent

49. Home SW15, Putney, London

50. Pompette, Oxford, Oxfordshire

51. Logma, Hackney, London

52. Teal by Sally Abé, Hackney, London

53. The Suffolk, Aldeburgh, Suffolk

54. The Orange Bird, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

55. Ebi Sushi, Derby, Derbyshire

56. Thomas the Brasserie, Cardiff

57. Brusco, Brighton, East Sussex

58. The Spärrows, Manchester, Greater Manchester

59. The Small Canteen, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear

60. Fifteen Square Metres, Broadstairs, Kent

61. Franc, Canterbury, Kent

62. The Gordon Arms, Selkirk, Borders

63. Fern, Uppingham, Rutland

64. Bar Ingo, Broadstairs, Kent

65. Belzan, Liverpool, Merseyside

66. Little Brickhouse, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

67. Amari, Brighton, East Sussex

68. Barry Fish, Edinburgh, Lothians

69. Four Boys, Rock, Cornwall

70. Pip’s, Norwich, Norfolk

71. Eusebi Deli, Glasgow, Strathclyde

72. Leftfield, Edinburgh, Lothians

73. Piccalilli, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

74. Norman's Neighbourhood Kitchen, Kirkburton, West Yorkshire

75. Chin-Zano, Liverpool, Merseyside

76. Lubber Kitchen, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear

77. The Seahorse, Dartmouth, Devon

78. Soi 1268, Birmingham, West Midlands

79. Outlaw’s Bistro, Port Isaac, Cornwall

80. The Smithfield, Leeds, West Yorkshire

81. Calong, Stoke Newington, London

82. Bolete, Neston, Cheshire

83. Pulpo Negro, Alresford, Hampshire

84. Margaret's, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

85. Â Sé Anar, Blackpool, Lancashire

86. Other, Bristol

87. North, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear

88. Bristol Lido, Bristol

89. Namo, Brighton, East Sussex

90. Tonka, Hastings, East Sussex

91. Post, Newnham on Severn, Gloucestershire

92. A Tavola Gastronomia Siciliana, High Peak, Derbyshire

93. Auction House, Louth, Lincolnshire

94. The Rocket Store, Boscastle, Cornwall

95. Root Wells, Wells, Somerset

96. Y Polyn, Nantgaredig, Carmarthenshire

97. The Dory Bistro, Pittenweem, Fife

98. Tide & Thyme, Tighnabruaich, Argyll & Bute

99. Lupa, Highbury, London

100. The Dining Room, Abersoch, Gwynedd