Unique Restaurants in the UK: 12 Quirky Places to Eat in Britain

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The UK’s dining scene is a foodie’s dream, offering some of the most unique and quirky restaurants in one of the top countries to visit in Europe. Imagine enjoying a Sunday roast in a centuries-old pub, savoring global fusion dishes in a sleek rooftop venue, or tucking into fish and chips aboard a converted double-decker bus. The UK’s culinary offerings range from hearty British classics to creative, internationally inspired cuisine that reflects the nation’s rich diversity. Whether you’re planning to fly from the UK for your next adventure or exploring closer to home, these 12 unforgettable restaurants showcase the creativity and flavor that make dining in Britain an absolute must. Get ready to experience food like never before in this vibrant culinary hub!

👉 Pro Tip: Discover London’s hidden flavors with the Secret Food Tour! Sample classics like fish and chips and scotch eggs while exploring the city’s food gems. With stories about London’s culinary history, this tour is perfect for foodies ready to indulge in the city’s tastiest secrets!

Wonderful & Weird Restaurants in the UK

Ready to explore the UK’s best restaurants? We’ve got an array of amazing eateries, from luxurious dining experiences to quirky hidden gems. Join me as we discover the quirkiest places to eat in the UK.

Fancy dining in a treehouse or aboard a vintage tube carriage? Or how about a meal served in complete darkness? The UK’s dining scene is as diverse as it is exciting. Here’s your ultimate guide to the most unique restaurants in the UK. Prepare to turn your dining moments into unforgettable experiences!

1. The Treehouse Restaurant at Alnwick Garden

• 📍 Location: Alnwick Garden, Northumberland, England
• 💲 Price range: $40 – $90 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Modern British / European (Local/Seasonal Focus)
• 🔥 Standout Features: Fairytale treehouse, rope bridges, fairy lights, log fires, magical woodland setting.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Romantic getaways, dreamers, nature enthusiasts, special occasions, and diners seeking enchantment.

Dine amongst the treetops at The Treehouse Restaurant at Alnwick Garden! This magical spot is built high in the branches, complete with flickering fairy lights, roaring log fires, and charmingly wobbly rope bridges. It’s pure, whimsical enchantment!

Savor modern British cuisine. Expect dishes like delicious Northumbrian lamb with seasonal vegetables. Fresh local seafood, like pan-seared scallops, or a comforting seasonal vegetable tart, are also excellent. The handcrafted wooden interior makes this unforgettable.

• Read More: 12 Most Beautiful Places in the UK to Visit in 2025 (Coast to Castle)

2. Supperclub.tube

• 📍 Location: Walthamstow, London (Victoria Line tube carriage)
• 💲 Price range: $65 – $90 per person (Set Tasting Menu)
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Latin American Tasting Menu
• 🔥 Standout Features: Decommissioned 1967 Victoria Line tube carriage, chef-led tasting menu.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Unique diners, transport nerds, Latin American food fans, quirky dates, and supper club lovers.

Mind the gap… between courses! Supperclub.tube offers an incredibly unique dining experience inside a beautifully refurbished 1967 Victoria Line tube carriage in Walthamstow. This dinner is definitely on the right track for quirky fun!

Enjoy a vibrant, multi-course Latin American tasting menu. Past menus included creative takes on ceviche with leche de tigre. Flavorful slow-cooked pork belly with corn puree, or a delicate quinoa salad with tropical fruits, are also highlights.

• Read More: 12 Amazingly Unique Restaurants in London (For Foodies)

3. Dans Le Noir ?

• 📍 Location: Clerkenwell, London (Also locations in other major cities)
• 💲 Price range: $75 – $115 per person (Set Menu Experience)
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Mystery Menu (Modern European/French influences)
• 🔥 Standout Features: Visually impaired guides, sensory experiences.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Sensory explorers, adventurous eaters, unique dates, and food challenges.

See food differently at Dans Le Noir ? in London. This profound dining experience has you eat a Surprise Multi-Course Menu in absolute, pitch-black darkness. Your senses will thank you (eventually!). Guided by skilled visually impaired staff.

The surprise menu might feature a creamy parsnip velouté. For mains, perhaps tender braised lamb shank or delicate pan-seared sea bass with intriguing textures. A chocolate fondant with contrasting fruit elements could be dessert. It’s a fascinating journey.

4. Corrour Station House

• 📍 Location: Corrour Estate, Scottish Highlands (UK’s most remote train station)
• 💲 Price range: $25 – $50 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Scottish / Hearty Cafe & Pub Fare
• 🔥 Standout Features: Remote train station restaurant, wilderness views, off-grid experience.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Hikers, train enthusiasts, wilderness lovers, and off-grid adventurers.

The ultimate off-grid dining! Corrour Station House is famously the UK’s most remote train station and restaurant, accessible only by rail or a challenging 20-mile hike through the stunning Scottish Highlands. This meal is worth the journey!

Refuel with hearty, comforting Scottish fare. Expect dishes like warming venison stew with dumplings. Classic haggis, neeps, and tatties, or perhaps fresh Loch Ossian trout when available, are also popular. The views are breathtaking.

• Read Next: 13 Most Beautiful Places in Scotland to Visit

5. Lahpet

• 📍 Location: Multiple in London (e.g., Shoreditch, Covent Garden, Bermondsey)
• 💲 Price range: $30 – $65 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Modern Burmese
• 🔥 Standout Features: Authentic Burmese cuisine, fermented tea leaf salad (Lahpet Thoke!), modern decor, unique flavors.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Burmese food, adventurous palates, and modern Asian cuisine.

Burmese brilliance that’ll make your taste buds dance! Lahpet brings the unique and vibrant flavors of Myanmar (Burma) to London with style. Get ready for an explosion of textures and tastes unlike anything else.

The absolute must-try is their signature Lahpet Thoke – an incredible salad of fermented tea leaves, crunchy beans, nuts, and seeds. Dive into comforting bowls of Mohinga (fish noodle soup) or rich coconut noodles with chicken.

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6. Frankenstein Pub Edinburgh

• 📍 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (Old Town)
• 💲 Price range: $15 – $30 per person (Food/Drinks)
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Pub Grub / Bar Food
• 🔥 Standout Features: Frankenstein monster theme, hourly monster “show”, horror movie decor, themed cocktails.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Horror movie buffs, themed pub fans, Halloween lovers, and seekers of lively entertainment.

It’s alive! And serving monstrously good pub grub at the Frankenstein Pub Edinburgh! This Old Town institution is a full-blown tribute to Mary Shelley’s creation, complete with hourly “monster” appearances and horror-themed decor.

Chow down on pub classics. “Monster Burgers” are a popular choice. “Frank’s Hot Dogs” or classic fish and chips also hit the spot while surrounded by laboratory props. Sip on themed cocktails like the “Electric Shock.”

• Read Next: 12 Enchanting Places in Edinburgh That Look Straight Out of a Postcard

7. sketch London

• 📍 Location: Mayfair, London
• 💲 Price range: $80 – $200+ per person (Afternoon Tea/Dinner in The Gallery or Lecture Room)
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Modern European / Afternoon Tea / Cocktail Bar
• 🔥 Standout Features: Iconic pink Gallery room, pod-like toilets, multiple artist-designed themed rooms (The Glade, The Lecture Room & Library), artistic Afternoon Tea, Michelin-starred dining (Lecture Room).
• 🎯 Perfect For: Instagrammable dining, luxurious Afternoon Tea, design/art lovers, special occasion splurges, and experiencing unique, high-fashion culinary environments.

Step into a whimsical wonderland of art, design, and deliciousness at sketch! This Mayfair destination is famous for its multiple, uniquely designed rooms, especially the iconic, plush pink Gallery – home to one of London’s most famous Afternoon Teas. Don’t miss a trip to the legendary space-pod toilets!

Indulging in the picture-perfect Afternoon Tea in the Gallery, with its caviar and quail egg sandwiches, scones, and exquisite pastries, is essential. For fine dining, the tasting menu in the Lecture Room & Library (Michelin-starred) offers dishes like Isle of Mull scallop.

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8. Sarastro

• 📍 Location: Covent Garden, London
• 💲 Price range: $50 – $100 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Mediterranean / Turkish
• 🔥 Standout Features: Flamboyant opera-themed decor, private “opera box” style seating, live music, theatrical ambiance.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Opera lovers, theatrical dining, pre-theatre dinners, and celebratory meals.

Dinner and a show, dahling! Sarastro in Covent Garden is an explosion of flamboyant, opulent, opera-themed decor. Think gilded balconies, velvet drapes, and a sensory overload of theatricality. Where every meal is a dramatic masterpiece!

Enjoy a menu of Mediterranean and Turkish delights. Sharing flavorful Mezze Platters with hummus, sigara boregi, and falafel is a great start. Rich Lamb Tagine with apricots, or classic Mixed Grill Kebabs, are also popular.

9. Bayt Al Yemeni

• 📍 Location: Shepherd’s Bush, London
• 💲 Price range: $25 – $50 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Authentic Yemeni
• 🔥 Standout Features: Traditional Yemeni floor seating (majlis)., slow-cooked mandi/madfoon (meat/rice), sharing platters.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Yemeni food explorers, dining adventurers, feasts, slow-cooked meat fans, and traditional floor seating.

Forget forks, embrace flavor! Dive into delicious Yemeni traditions at Bayt Al Yemeni. This Shepherd’s Bush gem offers an authentic taste of Yemen, complete with traditional floor seating (majlis style) and incredible slow-cooked meat and rice dishes.

Gather your friends and share enormous platters. Fragrant Lamb Mandi (tender lamb served over aromatic rice) is a must-try. Smoky Chicken Madfoon or flavorful stews like Fahsa (a bubbling lamb stew) are also fantastic. Tear off pieces of fresh bread.

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10. River Exe Café

• 📍 Location: River Exe Estuary, Devon, England (Floating)
• 💲 Price range: $50 – $90 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Seafood / Modern British (Local/Seasonal)
• 🔥 Standout Features: Floating restaurant, accessible by water taxi, estuary views, fresh local seafood.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Seafood fans, boat lovers, romantic sunsets, and fresh Devon produce.

This seafood is so fresh, it practically swims to your plate! River Exe Café is a unique floating restaurant, a custom-built barge moored in the beautiful Exe Estuary, accessible only by water taxi. Dinner that literally floats your boat!

Feast on the freshest local seafood. Delicious Exe Estuary Mussels steamed in cider are essential. Platters of Local Oysters, or the Catch of the Day (perhaps sea bass or plaice) pulled straight from surrounding waters, are also fantastic.

• Read Next: 12 Awesome Places to Eat in Edinburgh That Foodies Will Love

11. Flavour of Mauritius

• 📍 Location: Tooting, London
• 💲 Price range: $20 – $45 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Authentic Mauritian
• 🔥 Standout Features: Homely atmosphere, Mauritian street food, unique island flavors.
• 🎯 Perfect For: Mauritian food seekers, island cuisine fans, and adventurous eaters.

Taste the sunshine! flavor of Mauritius in Tooting brings the vibrant, multi-cultural tastes of the Indian Ocean island to London. Expect aromatic spices, unique street food snacks, and heartwarming home-style cooking. It’s a tropical taste explosion!

Dive into authentic dishes. Dholl Puri (soft lentil-filled flatbreads served with curries like butter bean or chicken) is a must-try. Addictive Gateaux Piment (split pea and chilli cakes), or tangy Fish Vindaye, are also fantastic.

12. Kudu Restaurant

• 📍 Location: Peckham, London
• 💲 Price range: $50 – $90 per person
• 🍽️ Cuisine Style: Modern South African / Open Fire Cooking
• 🔥 Standout Features: South African braai (BBQ), creative dishes with SA influences, game meats, excellent cocktails.
• 🎯 Perfect For: South African food lovers, open-fire cooking fans, adventurous meat eaters, Peckham scene explorers, and upscale dining.

Get ready for a braai-lliant taste of South Africa at Kudu Restaurant! This Peckham spot brings modern South African cuisine to London, with a strong emphasis on cooking over open fire (the braai). It’s inventive, flavorful, and seriously cool.

Savor creative dishes like the iconic Kudu Bread with bacon butter and garlic. Smoked Peri-Peri Duck Hearts, or perfectly cooked Braai Lamb with seasonal accompaniments like charred corn, are also fantastic. The cocktails are equally impressive.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Unusual Restaurants in the UK

Are you searching for more information about where to eat in the UK? Here are some common questions (and answers) I get asked a lot about Britain’s most unique restaurants.

What is the remotest restaurant in the UK?

The title for the remotest restaurant in the UK goes to Corrour Station House near Fort William. It’s a unique spot accessible only by train or a 20-mile hike! Located at the end of Rannoch Moor, it’s a haven for those seeking solitude and stunning scenery with their meal.

What is the most popular type of restaurant in the UK?

The UK loves its variety, but if I had to pick one, it’s the classic British Pub. These pubs are more than just places to drink. They’re social hubs where you can enjoy hearty meals like fish and chips, pies, and Sunday roasts. They’re a staple of British culture and cuisine.

Where can I find the most unusual dining experiences in the UK?

For the unusual, you’re spoilt for choice! Dans Le Noir ? in London offers dining in total darkness, served by visually impaired waiters. Then there’s supperclub.tube in Walthamstow, where you dine in a refurbished 1967 Victoria line tube carriage. And don’t forget The Treehouse Restaurant at Alnwick Garden in Northumberland for a meal among the treetops.

What is Britain’s smallest restaurant?

The smallest restaurant in the UK is The Little Chartroom in Edinburgh. It’s a cozy, intimate spot with just a few tables, offering a menu that’s big on flavor. The small setting makes for a personal and memorable dining experience.

What is Britain’s smallest pub?

The Signal Box Inn in Cleethorpes claims the title as the UK’s smallest pub. It’s a tiny pub with a big character, measuring just 8ft by 8ft! Despite its size, it offers a range of beers and ales, proving that good things do indeed come in small packages.