**Lilibet’s has our Best New Dish of 2026—learn extra here. **
Dish to order: Lilibet’s mash with shellfish bisque and lobster
Taking its title from HRH Elizabeth II, who was born at the Bruton Street handle, Lilibet’s Mayfair is the creation of Ross Shonhan (Nobu, Zuma, Bone Daddies), who, peculiarly, needed to think about what life would have been like for Lilibet, had she by no means grow to be queen. The setting is certainly princess-worthy—a dizzying array of chintz, silk and velvets, with employees in sharp chocolate fits wheeling old style picket trolleys with soup tureens and carrying teapots on silver trays. Just to witness all of it with common meals can be sufficient, however nay, the precise feast is equally as joyful. The menu is an surprising, hold-onto-your-hat, seafood journey. Anchovies on eclairs, oysters dressed, hearth roasted and fried, and an ‘unsung heroes’ part that includes sea urchin, garfish and sea cucumber. Don’t scrimp on the vegetable sides—the sprouting broccolini and the mashed potato are star dishes in their very own proper. For pudding, there’s a rogue Prego steak sandwich (a post-seafood dessert various borrowed from Portugal), in addition to decadent parts of chocolate mousse and choux à la creme, plopped into twee artwork deco bowls to finish the royal fantasy. —Lauren Burvill
Address: Lilibet’s, 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London, W1J 6QB
Price: ££££
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Maré by Rafael Cagali
Hove, Sussex
Dish to order: fried oysters
The final time Brighton & Hove had a Michelin star, prawn cocktails had been in vogue the first time round and Fanny Craddock was telling us make choux-pastry swans, and blue-dyed eggs. The British urge for food has modified immeasurably since then, in fact, and so has Hove, which is more and more eclipsing massive sister Brighton in the case of meals. Maré, which received its star earlier in 2026, didn’t wash up on the shore out of nowhere, although: it’s the third opening from Rafael Cagali, the Brazilian-Italian chef/proprietor behind Da Terra (which has two stars) and the extra relaxed Elis, each in London’s Bethnal Green. That heritage might conjure a type of caipirinha-meets-porchetta Mediterranean tropicalia, however the influences right here don’t —a fishy moqueca sauce accompanies rich-red prawns, cassava chips are stacked jenga-style, and lobster rice (a stand-out dish) with oxtail is pure consolation meals, whereas agretti greens and mussels are given a puttanesca sauce. But Cagali—and head chef Ewan Waller—additionally solid elsewhere for recipes, with pil pil sauce on well-seared brill and a enjoyable, build-it-yourself dish of pulled lamb and tacos, personalized with two dipping sauces. All the ‘one-bite maybe two’ dishes are tempting, significantly the fried oysters, and the crab crumpets with a crunch of radish. (Those wanting somewhat extra Brazilian taste can peruse the cachaca menu—certainly the just one in the UK.) British seaside eating places often have one thing of the ‘Kiss me quick attitude about them, content with a glass of Chablis and posh fish and chips, but Mare aims much higher—what it may lack in sea views it make up in polished, urban professionalism and well-rehearsed service that pirouettes around the zinc bar counter. As for dessert, go for the trifle-like choux bun with almost savory fig leaf ice cream and a dash of Pedro Ximenez—after all, it’s not the seaside with out an ice cream in hand, is it? —Rick Jordan