Best Restaurants in Southampton

Westquay South, Level 1 Esplanade side, SO15 1QE

All Bar One's menu is built around sharing and grazing, with globally inspired small and large plates designed for groups who want to mix and match rather than commit to one dish each. Sandwiches and wraps cover the lighter end, including a Cheese and Ham Toastie and a Smashed Avocado, Feta and Chilli option, while the seafood side of the menu brings in Crab Tacos and Panko Prawns worth ordering as a starter to share. Seasoned Skin-On Fries and Sweet Potato Fries round out the sides menu, and the burger and steak options give the menu a heartier option for anyone after something more substantial than small plates alone. 

The cocktail and wine list is just as comprehensive as the food menu, with a rotating list of seasonal serves that make this as much a drinks destination as a food one. The menu runs from breakfast through to late-night cocktails, which gives it a flexible role across the day, whether the visit is a working coffee or a long evening with friends.

Westquay South, Level 1 Esplanade side, SO15 1DE

Bill's menu covers breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner without missing a beat, and the breadth is the whole point. Mornings might mean Bill's Big Brunch or a brunch burger, while the share plates menu brings options like chilli honey halloumi and hot honey chorizo to the table for anyone easing into the meal slowly. 

Mains range from a chicken schnitzel to a spicy duck curry, and the menu's fish options include a perfectly seared tuna steak for anyone after something lighter. The dessert menu leans towards comfort, with sticky toffee pudding and a regularly changing cheesecake flavour both worth saving room for. 

The kids' menu is thoughtfully put together too, so families aren't an afterthought here. The terrace, with its views over Southampton's old town walls, is worth requesting if the weather's playing along.

Westquay North, Level 2, SO15 1QF

Carluccio's menu leans firmly into classic Italian comfort: proper pasta, risotto and freshly baked focaccia sit at the centre of it, alongside breakfast options that include rich coffee and pastries for an earlier visit. The Grandioso deli antipasti board is a strong starting point for the table, and mains like Crab Macaroni, Spaghetti Carbonara with smoky guanciale and Duck Pappardelle showcase the kitchen's range beyond the basics. 

Risotto options change with the seasons, and the pizza menu offers a lighter alternative for anyone who wants Italian food without committing to a full pasta dish. A small deli section also sells pastas, sauces and treats to take home, so the menu extends slightly beyond the table itself for anyone who wants to recreate a dish at home.

Westquay South, Level 2, SO15 1DE

COSMO's menu takes a different approach entirely: an all-you-can-eat world buffet with around 150 dishes spanning Japanese, Italian, Indian, Chinese and more, served across dedicated cooking stations. 

The Pan-Asian section covers handmade sushi and teppanyaki cooked fresh in front of you, while the Italian station includes stone-baked pizzas from a wood-fired oven and the classic pasta dishes that pair with them. The grill station adds steak, ribs and seafood to the mix for anyone who wants something more substantial than the lighter buffet staples, and the Indian station rotates through curries and tandoor dishes throughout the week. 

A reduced menu runs at lunch, so the full range is best experienced over a dinner visit if variety is the priority. The dessert section alone, with its ice cream machine and chocolate fountain, tends to be a highlight in its own right.

Westquay South, Level 1, SO15 1DE

Franco Manca's menu is built around sourdough pizza, made using a slow-fermented dough that gives the base a distinct character compared to a standard pizza menu. The classics are all present and well executed, from a simple margherita through to options topped with fennel sausage or n'duja for anyone after something punchier.

Starters lean towards Italian deli staples, including olives, focaccia and a rotating selection of antipasti, which makes it easy to build out a fuller meal around the pizza itself. The menu's strength lies in how consistently the simple options perform alongside the more elaborate toppings. It's a menu that works equally well for a quick solo lunch or a relaxed dinner shared between a group, since the format doesn't really change between the two.

Westquay South, Level 1, SO15 1QF

Las Iguanas brings a Latin American menu to Westquay that draws on Brazilian, Mexican and Peruvian cooking in equal measure. Tapas-style starters and loaded mains sit alongside a menu that includes Chicken Burritos, Quesadillas and a standout Brazilian fish curry made with creamy lime and peanut sauce, chicken and crayfish. 

The grill section adds skewers and steak options for anyone wanting something heartier, and the rice and bean sides that accompany most mains give the menu a real South American backbone instead of a generic Tex-Mex feel. Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options run throughout, and the dessert menu's Churros Grande is worth saving room for. 

The cocktail menu is just as much a part of the experience as the food, with a daily Happy Hour and a colourful, carnival-inspired setting that makes the whole menu feel like an occasion.

Westquay South, Level 2, SO15 1DE

L'Osteria's menu is famous for one thing above all else: pizzas so large they hang over the edge of the plate, stone-baked and thin-crust in the Italian tradition, with an option to go half and half on toppings if the table can't agree. The same kitchen also turns out "pasta d'amore" made fresh in-house by the restaurant's own pasta maker, alongside hearty pasta dishes like gnocchi and carbonara, crisp salads and indulgent desserts. 

Antipasti and seasonal specials based on traditional recipes round out a menu that's as comfortable feeding a family as it is a couple on a date night, and the restaurant's setting overlooking Southampton's historic stone city wall adds a bit of atmosphere to match the food. High chairs, baby-changing facilities and a drawing table for younger diners mean the menu's family-friendly reputation is backed up by the practical details too.

Westquay South, Level 1 Esplanade side, SO15 1DE

Tap & Tandoor's menu combines the comfort of a British gastropub with the bold spicing of Indian cooking, and the format leans heavily into sharing. Sizzling mixed grills and rich curries sit at the centre of the menu, including a Butter Chicken that's become one of the kitchen's most ordered dishes, with small plates designed for grazing over a longer meal. 

A daily Bottomless Brunch menu, available seven days a week, combines free-flowing drinks with two dishes from the menu, while a separate Sunday Lunch menu puts an Indian twist on the traditional roast, including slow-cooked lamb shank. 

The regular menu's tandoor-fresh grills pair naturally with the restaurant's rotating line-up of craft beers, and an extensive vegetarian and vegan menu runs alongside the meat-heavy mains. It's a menu built as much for a long, social sitting in front of live sport as it is for a focused sit-down meal.

Westquay South, Level 2 Esplanade side, SO15 1DE

Thaikhun's menu draws directly from Thai street food traditions, with fragrant curries, sizzling stir-fries and zingy salads making up the bulk of it. Starters include classics like satay served with peanut sauce and cucumber relish, alongside crispy belly pork and salt and pepper dishes that regularly come up as standouts. 

Mains range from a fiery Pad Kra Pao to a more delicate Massaman curry served with jasmine rice, and the noodle dishes, including a tamarind-sauced Pad Thai and stir-fried udon with prawns, mussels and squid, are a consistent strength across the menu. A separate dessert menu and a cocktail club offering two drinks for a set price on quieter nights round out a visit nicely. 

For anyone who wants to go further than ordering, Thaikhun also runs a cooking masterclass that teaches some of the same dishes from scratch.

Westquay South, SO15 1QF

Bunsik recently opened its first coastal location at Westquay, bringing a Korean street food menu that's built its reputation nationally around the viral Korean corndog, available with mozzarella or chicken fillings depending on preference. The menu also includes tteokbokki, the chewy rice cakes simmered in a spicy gochujang sauce that's become a signature of Korean street food more broadly, alongside kimbap, Korean fried chicken and cup bap rice bowls topped with chicken or curry katsu. 

Korean-style burgers, built around a distinct patty and sauce combination, round out the menu for anyone after something heartier than the smaller street food dishes. The entire menu is halal, with vegetarian options also available, which broadens its appeal considerably for a food court stop. Found within Westquay's food court, it's one of the newer and more distinctive additions to the centre's overall food offering.

Westquay North, Level 4, SO15 1QE

Wagamama's menu is built around what the brand calls simple and balanced Asian soul food, served at communal benches that suit both a quick solo lunch and a larger group meal. 

Ramen bowls form the backbone of the menu, ranging from a comforting Grilled Chicken Ramen to a warming Kare Burosu Ramen, while donburi, yaki soba and a Chicken Katsu Curry cover the more classic end of the menu. 

Starters like Edamame, Bang Bang Cauliflower and Gyoza are designed for sharing before the mains arrive, and a set menu unlocked when booking a bench gives groups a structured way to work through small plates and mains together. 

The menu includes a strong run of plant-based bowls, including a Vegan Ramen built on a fresh vegetable and aromatic broth base, alongside a dedicated kids' menu for younger diners. The Miso Caramel Banana Bread is a fitting way to finish, for anyone with room left after a full bowl.

Eleven menus, eleven completely different ways to spend a meal at Westquay, and that's really the point. Whether the mood calls for sharing plates and cocktails, a giant pizza, an all-you-can-eat spread or something built around Korean street food, the centre's restaurant line-up makes it easy to match the menu to the occasion instead of the other way round. Southampton's food scene has come a long way, and a fair share of its best menus are sitting right here under one roof.