Bedford restaurant named among OpenTable's top 100 just one year after opening

The Mala Dragon, on Pembroke Street, which specialises in Sichuan cuisine, has secured a place on OpenTable's Top 100 Restaurants in the UK list for 2026, compiled using more than 860,000 reviews from verified diners and other booking data.

The restaurant, run by husband and wife Joe Pattinson and Layla Wang, opened in October 2025.

Reacting to the recognition, the couple said: “Honestly, we’re a bit stunned. We’ve only been open a year, and the list comes from reviews by the people who actually eat with us.

“Every one of those reviews is a guest who chose to spend an evening here and then took the time to write about it, so it feels like our customers putting in a good word for us.

“It’s also a real boost for the team, who work really hard every service, so it’s lovely for them to get some recognition.”

The restaurant's owners moved back to the UK in 2024 and initially had no plans to open a business in Bedford.

However, after spending several months in the town, they spotted what they believed was a gap in the market for authentic regional Chinese cooking alongside a carefully chosen wine selection.

Joe said: “After a few months living here we couldn’t find anywhere doing authentic regional Chinese food, and there were plenty of people who love their wine, so we could see a gap.

“Layla is our chef and wine expert. She’d wanted to share her own style of Sichuan cooking for a long time, and she wanted somewhere she could enjoy good wine too, so we thought we’d give it a go.

“A year on, we’re really glad we did.”

The restaurant aims to introduce diners to Sichuan dishes that may be less familiar to British customers.

“A lot of people in the UK haven’t had the chance to try authentic Sichuan food, so for many of our guests it’s a bit of a discovery,” the couple said.

“It’s quite different from what most people expect from Chinese food, and it’s been great watching people try it for the first time.”

Among the dishes proving popular is lotus root with jiao ma sauce, which the restaurant recommends pairing with a German Riesling wine.

The Mala Dragon regularly changes its menu and wine list to offer returning customers something different, while allowing diners to choose between a few small plates and a longer evening meal, the couple added.

OpenTable's annual Top 100 list is based on diner reviews and reservation data collected between September 2025 and August 2026.

Restaurants were assessed using factors including customer ratings, the proportion of five-star reviews, advance reservations and booking demand.

The final list is published alphabetically rather than in ranking order.