The UK’s top wood-fire restaurants
Book a table and put some fire in your belly

Cooking with fire is so hot right now and these are the kitchens stoking up their flames for your gastronomic enjoyment.
Here we pick out some of the UK’s best wood-fire restaurants and the reasons why you should make a booking.
Edo, Belfast
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fanning the flames in the name of good food is Edo chef and owner Jonny Elliott. His impressive CV working for the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Gary Rhodes sets the bar high for this vibrant modern European restaurant in Belfast. The name (pronounced aye-do) is Latin for “I eat” and you’ll certainly be doing a lot of that here. Dishes are cooked over apple and pear wood in a Bertha charcoal oven, giving a distinctive, smokey flavour. If you can’t decide on a starter and a main, opting for the sharing menu is a great way to sample a number of the great dishes on offer.
Edo, 3 Capital House, Upper Queen Street, Belfast BT1 6FB; edorestaurant.co.uk
Una Kitchen, St Ives
The taste of Mediterranean sunshine is a tempting proposition at this popular restaurant in west Cornwall. While award-winning chef Glenn Gatland rustles up some impressive dishes on the wood-fire oven in the restaurant’s open kitchen, diners are able to watch their dinner being cooked over the flames. Brimming with local and seasonal produce, the menu provides generous helpings of fresh Cornish seafood and lamb shoulder to authentic wood-fired pizzas and antipasti. Una Kitchen even offers a flame-grilled Sunday roast.
Laity Ln, Carbis Bay, Saint Ives TR26 3HW; unastives.co.uk
Blue Smoke on the Bay, Low Wood Bay, Windermere
Blue Smoke on the Bay is a hidden gem in the Lake District combining an exciting wood-fired grill with stunning views of Lake Windermere. The three-metre-long double wood-fired grill is the restaurant’s centrepiece, and all the senses are entertained, with glorious smells and the visual theatre of the kitchen adding to the ambience and beautiful surroundings. Cooking over hot embers of sustainable British wood such as elder, birch, and oak, the chefs create fabulous flavours in aged steaks, meats, fish, and vegetables, all complemented with a diverse wine list. Blue Smoke can’t be beaten for location, visual flair, or simple, hearty cooking.
Low Wood Bay Hotel, Windermere LA23 1LP; englishlakes.co.uk
Neil Rankin’s Temper City, London
Neil Rankin is a pioneer of London’s high-end barbecue scene and is lauded for his experimental use of bold flavours and his eclectic global influences. From his early days at Barbecoa with Jamie Oliver to Pitt Cue, and his Smokehouse restaurants you know, when it comes to cooking with fire, you’re in safe hands. It’s hard to argue with Temper City’s no-nonsense menu: barbecue meats and poultry alongside curry, tandoor roasted meats and homemade roti breads. If you can’t make it to the City, there are also Temper outlets in Soha and Covent Garden.
2 Angel Court, 30 Throgmorton Street, London EC2R 7HJ; temperrestaurant.com. Image by Steven Joyce
Opera Grill, Chester
This vast 400-seater restaurant, housed in a Grade II-listed Methodist chapel dating back to 1836, boasts a bar space and a music lounge. The star of the show is the open kitchen, which is centred around a three-metre handmade charcoal and wood burning grill, sitting between two wood burning ovens. Either side of this are two floor-to-ceiling fridges, lined with pink Himalayan salt bricks where cuts of meat are dry-aged. The raw bar, cold counters and salad bars perfectly complement the superb charcoal grill and wood oven dishes.
3 Pepper St, Chester CH1; individualrestaurants.com
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Intimate Apparel: a 'gorgeous, vibrant' production
The Week Recommends Samira Wiley is 'astonishing' in this revival of Lynn Nottage's 'exquisite' seamstress tale
-
King Charles and the Sovereign Grant: how UK taxpayers fund the monarchy
The Explainer Royals received £86.3m from government last year – and they are in line for a 50% increase
-
From Hilde, With Love – the 'moving' story of an accidental revolutionary
The Week Recommends Liv Lisa Fries gives a 'compelling' performance as the soft-spoken heroine.
-
Marfa, Texas: Big skies, fine art, and great eating
Feature A cozy neighborhood spot, a James Beard semifinalists, and more
-
The battle to be named the world's oldest restaurant
Under The Radar Two Madrid restaurants dispute the historical record but could both of their claims be cooked?
-
Critics' choice: Restaurants that write their own rules
Feature A low-light dining experience, a James Beard Award-winning restaurant, and Hawaiian cuisine with a twist
-
Summertime eating is good at these 7 restaurants across the country
The Week Recommends Patios and big flavors are in season
-
Critics' choice: Steak houses that break from tradition
Feature Eight hours of slow-roasting prime rib, a 41-ounce steak, and a former Catholic school chapel turned steakhouse
-
America's favorite fast food restaurants
The Explainer There are different ways of thinking about how Americans define how they most like to spend their money on burgers, tacos and fried chicken
-
Ozempic and its brethren are running headlong into American dining and dieting culture
In the Spotlight Some restaurants are feeling the burn. So are beauty expectations.
-
Get a taste of place at these regional US restaurant chains
The Week Recommends Eat where the locals do