Lunch is a great, but often overlooked, meal when eating and drinking at a restaurant. Lots of independent restaurants do lunchtime deals and discounts (especially during weekdays) for you take opportunity of. It's also a great meal time to enjoy and socialise with friends, whatever the occasion.
Planning a fun friends group meet up that turns into a bit of a boozy lunch? Maybe it's a close friend you haven't seen in a while and need a beautiful but relaxed vibe for a long lunch catch-up? Or maybe it's just you and a work friend wanting to make the most of a Friday lunch break and need a quick but tasty lunch to get you both through the end of the day?
Well have no fear, I've got you covered with this great variety of independent restaurants in Guildford, Surrey for you to enjoy lunch with friends.
Cambio Marcia
An Italian restaurant with a focus on Ligurian cuisine
A relatively new addition to the independent restaurant scene in Guildford, Cambio Marcia is a modern style Italian osteria tucked away down Swan Lane, just off Guildford High Street. An osteria was typically a place serving wine and simple food, but has evolved into small food menus with regional speciality dishes.
Cambio Marcia's menu is based on classic Italian dishes with a focus on Ligurian flavours (a region in Northwest Italy) and has a regularly changing specials menu. The focaccia Recco style is one of their a signature dishes and a Ligurian take on focaccia - you can see what it looks like here from Cambio Marcia. It makes for a great lunch starter shared between a group of friends, or a casual lunch between two, accompanied with a glass of spumante. I can also vouch that the tiramisu is absolutely divine and not to be missed!
The restaurant is spread across two beautifully decorated floors of a characterful building with wall murals hand-painted by an Italian artist, taking inspiration from the colourful facades of Ligurian buildings. The interiors have a relaxed and intimate ambiance, perfect for a lunch date with close friends and a beautiful backdrop to enjoy delicious Italian food.
Cambio Marcia
1 Swan Lane
Guildford, Surrey
GU1 4EQ
Meat The Greek
Greek cuisine in a contemporary, fast-food restaurant
Meat the Greek is the perfect quick lunch pitstop option with friends if you're tight on time or looking to have a super tasty lunch to-go from an independent business and self-acclaimed fast-food independent restaurant. Meat the Greek is located down Chapel Street in Guildford, opposite their sister restaurant Theion (which I wrote about in this blog post on independent restaurants in Guildford for a romantic evening).
Meat the Greek, as their business name may suggest, is very much for meat lovers and probably not a first choice for any vegan friends you may have - but there's plenty of other great alternatives mentioned today! But if you're wanting to live out your meaty, Greek street food dreams then there's some great lunch portions and prices available on their popular souvlaki and gyros meals. My usual order is their greek salad and veggie pita (gyros) - no meat for me but it's still so, so delicious!
Meat the Greek recently (at the beginning of 2024) moved a couple doors down from their previous takeaway location and now have a dine-in restaurant with a light and airy, contemporary Mediterranean style interior for you to enjoy a quick but delicious lunch with friends. Or if the weather is hot and sunny, I also highly recommend getting your meal as a takeaway and walking across to Guildford Castle so you and your friends can enjoy your gyros with a beautiful backdrop of the Castle Grounds.
Meat The Greek
16-19 Chapel Street
Guildford, Surrey
GU1 3UL
La Casita
Relaxed vibes in a Mediterranean tapas restaurant
La Casita, meaning "little house" in Spanish, is a well-established Mediterranean restaurant in Guildford, found down the bustling eatery end of Chapel Street in the town centre. The menu focuses on tapas dishes and also has a selection of classic Spanish paellas as well - all perfect food sharing options for a relaxed meet up with friends!
If you're planning a quick lunch catch-up, or you're someone who doesn't usually eat a large lunch, there's a light lunch menu and a tapas lunch set menu to order from instead. You can never go wrong with a Tortilla Espanola, Patatas Bravas, Calamares and a fresh, crisp mixed salad for lunching. Did someone say sangria? Don't you worry, it's on La Casita's drinks menu for you to enjoy during a long lunch with friends.
You can't miss La Casita down Chapel Street with its vibrant mint green facade, and the interior is simply decorated in a warm and relaxed vibe, reminiscent of a lazy afternoon relaxing on a Mediterranean holiday. When the weather is warm and sunny in Guildford, the bi-fold windows at the front of the restaurant are fully opened - a perfect way to soak up a bit of sunshine with friends during your laid-back lunch.
La Casita
4-5 Chapel Street
Guildford, Surrey
GU1 3UH
Atto
Korean cuisine with a focus on Korean BBQ
Bringing authentic Korean cuisine to Guildford, you can find Atto down Swan Lane (a stone's throw away from Cambio Marcia), situated between North Street and Guildford High Street. Atto means "gift" in Korean, and this family-run independent restaurant aims to serve all their customers the vibrant and authentic flavours of Korea.
There's all the signature Korean dishes on their extensive menu like bibimbap, tteokbokki and beef bulgogi, and there's also a lunch special set menu with great dish combinations to choose from. But if you're looking to impress friends with a fun culinary experience or wanting to celebrate an occasion with friends, then the popular Korean BBQ at Atto is the way to go! It's a lot of fun especially if Korean BBQ is new to you or any of your friends.
The restaurant interior consists of a dark colour palette with warm timber tones, and the overall aesthetic is a clean-cut, contemporary style that feels minimalist but relaxed and unpretentious. And all the food is presented in beautiful bowls and dishes, particularly with the Korean BBQ bowls. All in all a memorable lunch experience!
Atto
15-17 Swan Lane
Guildford, Surrey
GU1 4EQ
Gordo's
A Mexican restaurant specialising in tacos
Gordo's is a family run Mexican restaurant located on North Street in Guildford town centre (not too far from Guildford Library). They have a pretty substantial menu with all your expected delicious Mexican dishes, but their tacos are the star of the show here.
I've enjoyed the chilli and prawn tacos as well as the cod with pico gallo tacos, and need to go back soon to try latest cauliflower Al Pastor tacos, too! Tacos are a great dish to share with friends to try all the different options off the menu, and I'd also recommend sharing some of the empanadas. And if you're feeling a bit of a boozy lunch with friends, Gordo's has a whole variety of tequila based cocktails (shout out to the blackberry margarita) as well as Mexican beers and mocktails to enjoy.
There's lots of activity always going at this independent restaurant with its cosy size and theatre kitchen setup at the front of the restaurant, making for a fun atmosphere. I love the vibrant Mexican fabric table runners and the colourful hand painted dining chairs, and the bold paper bunting strewn through the restaurant. With a margarita in hand, you can pretend you and your friends have been transported to sunny Mexico thanks to Gordo's.
Gordo's
73A North Street
Guildford, Surrey
GU1 4AW
Well, I'm now salivating after writing about these delicious independent restaurants in Guildford, and I can hear my stomach rumbling loudly. I hope I've given you some food for thought (I'll see myself out) on places to visit for your next lunch date with friends.
If you've enjoyed these recommendations, you should have a look at this blog post on independent restaurants in Guildford to visit for a romantic meal. Or if you're looking to try a new place for your next caffeine fix, check out this blog post on independent coffee shops in Guildford you need to visit.
(Cover image: Jakub Kapusnak via Unspash)
This blog post was written by Sabrine Keir, Surrey based interior designer and founder of Studio SK. Sabrine loves sharing interior design inspiration and advice for small business owners, as well as showing some love to local independent businesses on the blog. Studio SK works on interior design projects in Surrey, the South East and beyond. |
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