You never really miss something until it’s taken away and when lockdown happened and going out for a meal with friends or family was firmly taken off the menu for the best part of a year, we all really started to miss that feeling of enjoying a lazy brunch, a family Sunday carvery or a full-on romantic meal for two!
The hospitality industry was truly hit for six but now as it has reopened, once again we’re all discovering the simple pleasures of eating out and in Milton Keynes the restaurant and café scene has had something of a resurgence with new businesses starting up and old favourites back open and welcoming customers again.
So, we thought we’d give you a helping hand to discover more about the eating out scene in MK and then you can start planning your next visit by scrolling through our gallery guide.
1. HEAD FOR THE CENTRE - Hub
Like most places, heading to the city centre gives you a good choice of places to eat and drink. In MK, The Hub (just five minutes’ walk from the station) offers a fountained piazza with a mix of restaurants, bars and cafés around the edge. They have your family-favourite chains like Zizzi, Nando’s and Las Iguanas but they have some really good independents like the pan-Asian Banana Tree, DeRoka offering Mediterranean cuisine, the award-winning Maaya Indian Kitchen and Blossom Room for pre or post dinner cocktails. Photo: The Hub Milton Keynes. Photo: The Hub Milton Keynes
2. HEAD FOR THE CENTRE - Xscape
At Xscape, you’ll find a mix of restaurants and takeaways perfect for that pre-cinema meal or a post-skiing calorie fix – we love Creams Café with their huge waffles, pancakes and doughnuts! And the well-known shopping areas of centre:mk and Midsummer Place have plenty of options to grab a quick something to eat in between shops with the likes of Yo Sushi, wagamama and Five Guys.
3. INDEPENDENT DAY
Independent restaurants need our support now more than ever and we’re not short of some really superb ‘indies’ in Milton Keynes. If you fancy an Indian, how about enjoying fining dining at Urban Dhaba in Central MK, or maybe if sushi is your thing then try out Asksaka in Wolverton and CMK.
4. INDEPENDENT DAY
Fratelli’s in Fenny Stratford has a Turkish/Italian twist and does some of the best burgers around. Keeping to the Mediterranean theme, Ole Tapas Bar in Wolverton is amazing and not to be missed. For Chinese lovers, head to Taipan at 12th Street, they serve the best dim sum in MK. And these are just the tip of the independent iceberg!