What does it take to be the best restaurant in the UK? An impeccably curated menu? A stylish dining room? An over-stressed chef chain-smoking in the back of the restaurant like in movies and telly shows? Best to ask Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham, which was just named the country’s best restaurant for 2025 by foodie guide SquareMeal.
Serving modern British cuisine infused with little twists, turns and surprises inspired by the travels of chef Sat Bains, Restaurant Sat Bains sits on a tiny country road near the River Trent, just outside Nottingham. The red-brick, u-shaped former farmhouse is unassuming, isolated from the rest of the city, but step inside and you’ll find the restaurant, a private tasting room and the kitchen bench – an action-packed area within the pastry kitchen to the chefs in action. There’s also a lounge for pre-dinner drinks, a cigar hut and an urban garden and greenhouse.
So, what’s the resto’s secret to success?
‘The key is relevance and being proactive to push the boundaries of gastronomy,’ said Derby-born chef Bains. ‘We’ve always got to keep pushing and keep staying fresh.’
Bains strives to be flavour driven. To hell with pretty plates and culinary school techniques. What’s the point if the food isn’t good?
‘The point of technique is to extract flavour’, he said. ‘You have the same ingredients as everyone else. You have to figure out how to make them stand out from the rest.’
What started as a simple catering class for Bains (to woo all the girls) became a long-time affair with food. Bains fell for the culinary world, entered into the Roux Scholarship and won in 1999, allowing him to work in the three Michelin-starred Le Jardin des Sens in southern France before moving to Nottingham and opening Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms in 2002. He won Nottingham’s first Michelin star the following year, and his second star in 2011.
Last October, RSB celebrated its 25th birthday with culinary greats like Paul Ainsworth and Clare Smyth in attendance.
‘Sat and Amanda [Bains’s wife and restaurant manager] have shown what’s truly possible if you are passionate, dedicated and crazy good at your craft,’ said Ainsworth in an Instagram post celebrating RSB's anniversary. ‘If you are, people will come.’
SquareMeal’s managing editor Ellie Donnell agrees. Dazzled by the ‘fun little surprises’ throughout the evening, she recalled the sweet corn ice cream served with miso caramel and passion fruit – a unique combination in her eyes (and tastebuds) – and the mid-menu trip to the restaurant’s greenhouse for a cheeky beer and a freshly-made-before-your-eyes pesto and parmesan flatbread.
‘It’s a bit bizarre’, she said, ‘but the staff do an amazing job to win you over and the food is just incredible. Twenty-five years of service and two Michelin stars – that’s proof in itself that RSB is deserving of this award.’
Despite his Michelin accomplishments and SquareMeal success, awards were never Bains’s focus. The more accolades, the more expectation for perfection, and Bains loves experimentation too much to sacrifice his freedom for a star on the wall. He just wants to serve some damn good food and have fun doing it.
‘You just gotta be a little bit better than yesterday,’ he said, ‘and good things will happen.’
You can find the full list of SquareMeal’s top 100 restaurants here and find Time Out’s list of the best restaurants in the UK here.
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