The 6 most Instagrammable restaurants in the UK

There’s no doubt that sketch is one of the most famous and visually impressive restaurants in the UK, with 398,000 Instagram followers and more than 86,000 tags, it’s as much a destination as it is a place to simply eat and drink.

Designed to showcase visionary art, food and music, sketch offers a perfect atmosphere to have a fantastic night out, and to get a thousand ‘Gram-worthy pictures for your feed. The restaurant is split into five distinct and fabulous areas, all equally as photogenic as the last:

The Parlour is a cacophonous mix of shapes, colours and textures on every surface that somehow works beautifully. With neon lights and deep velvet curtains it’s a unique setting for daytime lunch and patisseries, transforming into one of the city’s coolest bars at night.

The Glade is a floral masterpiece serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It features high ceilings, with gentle dappled light filtering down on the tables and plush velvet chairs as well as a cool atmosphere that will make you feel like you’re in a shaded, delicately scented glen. 

The Lecture Room & Library is a three-Michelin-starred offering for lunch and dinner that is set under grand chandeliers and colourful lanterns, featuring multihued and iridescent glass panelling as well as a tutti-frutti mix of pink and orange furnishings.

The Gallery is perhaps the restaurant’s most Instagrammable section of all. Recently transformed from ‘Millennial Pink’ into a warm, inviting setting of sunshine yellows and copper-golds, The Gallery is a stunning spot for afternoon tea and dinner, decked out like a 1950s Hollywood diner… but make it five-star.

The East Bar & Pods comprises a futuristic-style sunken circular bar, which lies beneath the ‘pods’ aka the toilets, and its multicoloured square lights above make for some amazing pictures.

The chicest spots to eat in the North-West, Archie’s restaurants are a favourite with celebrities and have played host to Kevin Hart, Rita Ora, Neyo and Floyd Mayweather, to name a few.

Located in various locations around Manchester, as well as in Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham, the original Archie’s on Oxford Road was created by four friends who adored the 1988 film ‘License to Drive’ and is based on its protagonists’ cool main hangout. 

The result is a gourmet diner-style restaurant that serves excellent milkshakes and mouth-watering sweet waffles alongside its sky-high burger combinations. The restaurant’s memorable décor is a vibrant love-or-hate shade of bright, bubble-gum pink, which features in its logo, the walls, the floors, the bathrooms… you name it, it’s pink.

Guaranteed to get you those crucial likes and comments on Instagram are pictures of its unique giant ball pit – obviously pink too – a naturally sensible place to throw yourself about after a milkshake or two!

One of five Tattu restaurants around the country serving contemporary Chinese cuisine, Edinburgh’s version is one of sheer beauty and one of the top UK Instagram restaurants, garnering more than 147,000 followers.

Its interiors feature a mix of traditional and modern, which are illuminated from above by large, panelled lights adorned with a huge red dragon, alongside atmospheric hanging lanterns and surrounded by a cornucopia of artificial pink blossoms.

Delicate dishes here are full of colour, flavour, and texture, set against a backdrop of stunning crockery and vibrant chopsticks they will look flawless on your Instagram feed.

But for a real showstopping picture, check out the incredible cocktails on offer, particularly the ‘Eastern Dragon’, a tasty gin, raspberry and apple concoction presented in an exquisite glass dragon, complete with an ethereal dry ice garnish that gives it the real WOW factor! 

Set within the iconic Selfridges store on London’s bustling Oxford Street, in the heart of the dazzling West End, Brasserie of Light is a striking Art Deco-inspired restaurant that serves refined British cuisine complemented by international flavours, with an impressive array of vegan and vegetarian offerings too.

Perhaps most noticeable – and most photographable – is the giant 24-foot-tall crystal-encrusted Pegasus created by Damien Hirst, which is suspended high above diners in a beautiful open space that fills the restaurant with natural light. 

If you are planning an occasion or celebration, the restaurant’s gorgeous private dining space, The Pegasus Room, is a picture-perfect setting of sleek Art Deco design, think bevelled vintage mirrors and glossy parquet flooring – the ideal spot for striking a pose.

Seating up to 24 guests or up to 30 or standing receptions, this glorious space is available to hire for your party at any time.

Said to be one of the most photographed restaurants and bars in the city, The Florist is a botany-inspired foodie destination positioned in a beautiful Grade II-listed building in the famed Georgian Quarter.

With gorgeous potted in-bloom trees creeping up towards the ceiling, flowers and blossoms hanging down above diners’ tables, and floral artwork and graffiti adorning the walls, this is an extraordinarily pretty spot for a swoon-worthy Instagram picture. 

The restaurant serves a varied range of dishes from brunch through to dinner, including scrumptious fresh bakery goods each morning, tantalising juices and cocktails, Sunday roasts and even a build-your-own cookie dough that will please both kids and adults alike. Also, don’t miss its renowned Hanging Kebabs™, which are a sight (and taste) to behold! 

The Florist also features regular live music events with DJs each weekend, turning this subdued daytime restaurant into a great nightclub that you’ll want to tag yourself at again and again.

Special mention needs to go to the stunning Aqua Shard, which perches on the 31st floor of the landmark Shard building in central London – a must-see when going on the best luxury UK tours – and affords sweeping panoramic views across the city from its floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

There’s no escaping its spectacular position high above London in Western Europe’s tallest building.

Perhaps most significantly at Aqua Shard is its ‘loo with a view’, which probably take first place as the most Instagrammed toilets in London.With the porcelain thrones positioned right next to full-length glass windows, you can observe the world below while doing your business - we dare you to go in those restrooms and NOT take a picture!

Aside from the delightful bathroom views, the food and drink at Aqua Shard is also world-class, particularly the charming Peter Pan afternoon tea with its distinct pirate theme, presented in a beautiful wooden ship.

Plus, the show-stopping cocktails and desserts are actual works of art that should really belong in a gallery rather than your mouth.

But don't stop once the dessert is over. When making your restaurant reservation be sure to also book into the Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard, featuring in our list of the most Instagrammable hotels in the UK. You're cameras won't stop flashing.