Chester Restaurant Guide

USDA steaks and other meaty treats – alongside a Manhattan-esque vibe – have won local renown for this swish steakhouse in the city centre. Closed for much of the pandemic, in October 2021 the venue finally announced its return via Instagram and its website: “You may have noticed some building work taking place over the last couple of months…we are beyond excited and thrilled to finally announce that we will be back in the New Year… We have some exciting plans to transform our iconic home in the Olde Custom House Building… Our team of chefs and bartenders are already hard at work behind the scenes developing an exciting new food and drink menu… don’t worry, your old favourites will still feature!”.

After 30 years, in mid-2021, chef Simon Radley left the plush (if windowless) dining room at this city-centre destination. Owned by the Duke of Westminster, and sitting right next to the city’s medieval walls and its iconic Eastgate Clock, the property is unusually grand for a hotel in a provincial city. From soon after his joining in 1998 until he left, Radley held here one of the North West’s most enduring awards from Michelin, bolstered by an impressive cellar (with 700 bins). Closed until 2022, the relaunch should be a significant foodie event when the big reveal of what comes next is finally made. Until then, head for afternoon tea in the hotel’s Arkle Bar & Lounge.

In the shadow of the Eastgate clock, this streetside brasserie makes rather a glamorous, if not inexpensive, lunch-stop after retail therapy in the surrounding streets. It’s far plusher than is typical in a small town hotel. At afternoon tea, head to the Arkle Bar: “a real treat for you and your partner, or for that matter your mum!” – “a delightful, special, if expensive” experience “in luxurious surroundings, with fantastic pastries and cakes: what more could a girl want?”.

2021 Review: “A long-term favourite which has been going for decades” – in recent times now decamped to La Tasca's old digs from its original home in The Rows – it boasts “plush and trendy” décor; “the moules marinières are wonderful and there are nights dedicated to surf and turf or lobster”.

Joe & Ben Wright shuttered their long-running bistro Joseph Benjamin close to the city walls in September 2021 to absorb it into their newer wine & tapas bar, Porta, next door. The bistro was well-loved and earned rave reviews in its 15 years, but the brothers clearly felt there was more potential in aligning their business under the Porta brand, which has spawned spinoffs in Altrincham and Salford.

2021 Review: “With stunning views over Chester Racecourse” (“book early to be sure of a window table”), this well-established venue marries “fine wines and food” and, so long as you “don’t go on race days”, there are “usually quiet areas for those important business meetings”.

On the city’s historic medieval walls (the most complete set in the country), Nicholas Friar’s experimental dining joint – a stripped-back room lined with reclaimed timber – is one of a select handful of restaurants to boast a sustainability-oriented Michelin Green Star. Ultra-local sourcing and an in-house fermentation lab play into its unfussy, Asian-slanted set menu (£70) to great effect – “whether you are vegan or not”.

Acclaimed game-expert and Harwood Arms co-owner Mike Robinson opened this 70-seater restaurant in Chester's Hotel Indigo in May 2021. The kitchens cook over open flame using only British ingredients, with an emphasis on wild produce and sustainability.

“A gem of a place, don’t miss it” – the original link in Gary Usher’s niche northwestern chain Elite Bistros, this is a “relaxed small restaurant” in the Chester suburb of Hoole, known for its “high-quality” modern bistro cuisine. “Tables are limited, so do book – you won’t want to miss the ever-changing menu”. Top Tip: “roasted beetroot salad, which has those famous Sticky Walnuts”.

This “brilliant and well-run country pub” owes its grandeur to being ultimately owned by the Duke of Westminster (it’s near the back gate of his Cheshire estate), and was the first to be run by the now ubiquitous Brunning & Price. “Although part of a chain, it doesn’t come across as one. There’s an extensive menu which changes frequently, and a great selection of real ales”.

2021 Review: Just a short drive outside Chester, a smartly appointed “bar and bistro in an old family grocers shop retaining much of the original features and fittings of the Georgian building” (The Gunnery). “A straightforward menu is well realised” and weekend brunch is a feature.

2018 Review: This “whitewashed former village shop has turned gunmetal grey” with its transformation at the hands of the ex-head chef of nearby Peckforton Castle into an ambitious restaurant with rooms. There’s the odd mixed report on the service, but most feedback suggests it’s one to watch.

Chef Harry Guy (ex-Savoy Grill and Mallory Court Hotel) will open his debut restaurant in Wildes Group’s new Chester boutique hotel in Summer 2022.

March 2022: Gary Usher of Elite Bistros is in the final stages of completing on this community pub; his plans for the place "are pretty simple, we want to serve great drinks, delicious unpretentious food by a team that love what they do".