**Lilibet’s has our Best New Dish of 2026—read more here. **
Dish to order: Lilibet’s mash with shellfish bisque and lobster
Taking its name from HRH Elizabeth II, who was born at the Bruton Street address, Lilibet’s Mayfair is the creation of Ross Shonhan (Nobu, Zuma, Bone Daddies), who, peculiarly, wanted to imagine what life would have been like for Lilibet, had she never become queen. The setting is indeed princess-worthy—a dizzying array of chintz, silk and velvets, with staff in sharp chocolate suits wheeling old-fashioned wooden trolleys with soup tureens and carrying teapots on silver trays. Just to witness it all with average food would be enough, but nay, the actual feast is equally as joyful. The menu is an unexpected, hold-onto-your-hat, seafood adventure. Anchovies on eclairs, oysters dressed, fire roasted and fried, and an ‘unsung heroes’ section featuring 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 own right. For pudding, there’s a rogue Prego steak sandwich (a post-seafood dessert alternative borrowed from Portugal), as well as decadent portions of chocolate mousse and choux à la creme, plopped into twee art deco bowls to complete 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 last time Brighton & Hove had a Michelin star, prawn cocktails were in vogue the first time around and Fanny Craddock was telling us how to make choux-pastry swans, and blue-dyed eggs. The British appetite has changed immeasurably since then, of course, and so has Hove, which is increasingly eclipsing big sister Brighton when it comes to food. Maré, which won its star earlier in 2026, didn’t wash up on the shore out of nowhere, though: it’s the third opening from Rafael Cagali, the Brazilian-Italian chef/owner behind Da Terra (which has two stars) and the more relaxed Elis, both in London’s Bethnal Green. That heritage may conjure a sort of caipirinha-meets-porchetta Mediterranean tropicalia, but the influences 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 comfort food, while agretti greens and mussels are given a puttanesca sauce. But Cagali—and head chef Ewan Waller—also cast elsewhere for recipes, with pil pil sauce on well-seared brill and a fun, build-it-yourself dish of pulled lamb and tacos, customized with two dipping sauces. All the ‘one-bite maybe two’ dishes are tempting, particularly the fried oysters, and the crab crumpets with a crunch of radish. (Those wanting a little more Brazilian flavor can peruse the cachaca menu—surely the only one in the UK.) British seaside restaurants usually have something 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 without an ice cream in hand, is it? —Rick Jordan
