It’s one of the most important days in the restaurant industry, the day that the results of the UK and Ireland Michelin Guide were announced. Only one restaurant has managed to attain the exclusive three Michelin Stars and only a handful more have been awarded stars, showing just how hard they to attain – we congratulate all the chefs and restaurants. It’s time to update our restaurant bucket list…
The Araki
The First Japanese Restaurant in the UK to get 3 Michelin Stars
There is now a fifth restaurant which has made it to the dizzying heights of three Michelin stars, so joining the big four (Heston Blumenthal, Gordon Ramsay, Alain Ducasse and the Roux family) sushi bar – The Araki. It’s also the first Japanese restaurant to receive the honour in Britain. Sitting on New Burlington Street and run by chef Mitsuhiro Araki, this is one for when you’re feeling pretty luxe as the set (and only) menu is £300 per person…without drinks.
Three Michelin Stars
Where: 12 New Burlington Street, Mayfair, W1S 3BH
Website: www.the-araki.com
Bibendum
The Restaurant in the Former Michelin London Headquarters Wins
Originally Michelin’s London headquarters and named after the big man himself (that’s the Michelin-man), Bibendum has now been taken over by Claude Bosi who closed his two-Michelin-starred restaurant Hibiscus, so he could focus on cooking rather than running a business. On the ground floor you’ll find the oyster bar and on the first floor is where you’ll find the dining room serving up French dishes.
Two Michelin Stars
Where: Michelin House 81 Fulham Road, Chelsea SW3 6RD
Website: www.bibendum.co.uk
The Latymer
Five AA Rosettes and Now Two Michelin Stars
The Latymer is a classic fine-dining experience in Surrey’s Pennyhill Park Hotel, a gorgeous ivy-clad country house that doesn’t shy away from full-fledged luxury. The kitchen is headed up by Matt Worswick, a lover of seasonal and foraged foods that showcase the best of Britain’s natural homegrown produce. It’s one of very few restaurants to hold both five AA rosettes and two Michelin stars, and at only 45 minutes outside of London, The Latymer offers a perfect escape out of town for a sophisticated dinner experience – in time for the last train home.
Two Michelin Stars
Where: Pennyhill Park, London Road, Bagshot, Surrey, GU19 5EU
Website: www.exclusive.co.uk
Elystan Street
The Return of Phil Howard
Phil Howard opened The Square back in 1991, holding two Michelin stars for 17 years, so it came as a surprise when he sold it last year after twenty -five years at the helm. However luckily for us Londoners he went onto open Elystan Street. The restaurant does away with the fuss and formality and instead serves ‘pure, seasonal, ingredient led, gimmick free dishes’ and it’s working because he’s just been awarded a Michelin star.
One Michelin Star
Where: 43 Elystan Street, Chelsea, SW3 3NT
Website: www.elystanstreet.com
A Wong
Celebrating the Diversity of Chinese Cooking
A Wong is a homage to the cuisine of China, celebrating its diversity and the different regional cooking – you’ll find dishes inspired by almost all of China’s provinces. Upstairs the restaurant is built around an open kitchen whilst downstairs you’ll find the darker, more intimate Forbidden City Bar.
One Michelin Star
Where: 70 Wilton Road, Pimlico, SW1V 1DE
Website: www.awong.co.uk
Vineet Bhatia London
The Hidden Chelsea Restaurant
You don’t just walk into Vineet Bhatia London in Chelsea, you ring the doorbell first before you’re let in. Previously known as Rasoi which also held a Michelin star, last year the restaurant became Vineet Bhatia London. On the menu, you’ll find the likes of chicken maharani, tuna chaat and goat cheese samosas and chai fudge.
One Michelin Star
Where: 10 Lincoln Street, Chelsea, SW3 2TS
Website: www.vineetbhatia.london
Aquavit
St James's Nordic Restaurant
Opening less than a year ago, at the height of hygge, Nordic restaurant, Aquavit has proved that it isn’t just part of the fad by winning a Michelin star. Part of the St James’s Market redevelopment, the restaurant serves a menu of traditional smorgasbord sharing plates and main courses of Swedish meatballs with lingonberries, pickled cucumber and Monkfish with Sandefjord sauce, trout roe and fennel.
One Michelin Star
Where: St James's Market, 1 Carlton Street, SW1Y 4Q
Website: www.aquavitrestaurants.com
Jamavar
First Jamavar Outside of India
Part of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, Jamavar opened their first restaurant outside of India in our fair city at the end of last year. The kitchen is led by Executive Chef Rohit Ghai, who has already headed several Michelin-starred kitchens including Benares, Trishna and Gymkhana. Showcasing the range of India cooking and flavours it takes inspiration from both the Royal Kitchens of the north and the fragrant spices of the south.
One Michelin Star
Where: 8 Mount Street, Mayfair, W1K 3NF
Website: www.jamavarrestaurants.com
La Dame De Pic
Anne-Sophie Pic Strikes Again
Anne-Sophie Pic is currently the only female French chef to hold three Michelin stars so it wasn’t too much of a surprise that her London restaurant Le Dame de Pic has been awarded a Michelin Star. Opening at the new Four Seasons Hotel in the City, the restaurant showcases Anne-Sophie’s distinctive cooking style using classic British ingredients with more unusual flavour combinations.
One Michelin Star
Where: Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square, Tower Hill, EC3N 4AJ
Website: www.ladamedepiclondon.co.uk
The Square
Still Has it's Michelin Star
Currently closed for refurbishment (it won’t look like the photo above) the restaurant that formerly belonged to Phil Howard has once more been awarded a Michelin Star. It’s set to open again this month and we expect this will draw even more diners in.
Where: 6-10 Bruton Street, Mayfair, W1J 6PU
Website: www.squarerestaurant.com
The Dining Room at Whatley Manor
Twelve Course Menu in the Cotswolds
Niall Keating, the new Executive Chef at Whatley Manor, uses a variety of culinary influences including French, Korean and Japanese to create unique dishes, within the elegant surrounds of Whatley Manor in the Cotswolds. The twelve-course tasting menu features the likes of oyster with seaweed mignonette, egg white custard with tamari and salmon roe, and spring lamb with dill-pickle and horseradish.
One Michelin Star
Where: Easton Grey, Malmesbury SN16 0RB
Website: www.whatleymanor.com
Wild Honey Inn
Cosy Irish Pub Wins Michelin Star
This is an Irish pub but not as you might know it – with a Michelin star, this traditional, cosy inn serves up refined cuisine using the best of Ireland’s seasonal ingredients. Combining food of excellent quality with the warm and friendly hospitality of a classic pub, Wild Honey Inn is far from stuffy.
One Michelin Star
Where: Kincora Rd, Rathbaun, Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare, Ireland
Website: www.wildhoneyinn.com
Lympstone Manor
Without even taking account of the food, Lympstone Manor impresses. An imposing Georgian mansion looking out over the Exe Estuary, Lympstone Manor really is a beautiful setting to enjoy great food – and it doesn’t disappoint. A new entry into this year’s Michelin ratings, Lympstone Manor is the work of chef Michael Caines MBE, who embraces the seasonal produce of the region sourcing the restaurant’s meat and fish in the south west, and growing vegetables in the kitchen gardens.
One Michelin Star
Where: Courtlands Lane, Exmouth EX8 3NZ
Website: www.lympstonemanor.co.uk
Coworth Park
Old-School Glamour
Old-school glamour without the stuffiness, Coworth Park sits in the middle of beautiful parkland on the border of Windsor Great Park – and you’ll certainly feel like royalty feasting on the work of Adam Smith, Coworth Park’s executive chef. Having won the Roux Scholarship and worked in The Ritz, Adam is now serving up elegant British dishes at Restaurant Coworth Park, focusing on flavour, quality, and a wholesome commitment to sustainable cooking. The restaurant features a ‘Best of British’ menu with options like Dingley Dell braised pork cheek, and Old Winchester fruitcake with apple and ice cider.
One Michelin Star
Where: Coworth ParkBlacknest Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7SE
Website: www.dorchestercollection.com
Loch Bay
Championing Scottish Ingredients
If you find yourself as far-flung as the breath-taking Isle of Skye, the tiny island offers some of the best of Scotland’s culinary talent. Loch Bay’s head chef Michael Smith is a champion of Scottish ingredients alongside classic French influence, and with the restaurant situated in remote Stein, an old fishing village on the north-west coast of the Isle – so Loch Bay was always going to showcase the best of fresh Scottish seafood. Smith’s five-course Fruits de Mer menu offers dishes like twice dived sconser scallops with squash, hazelnut and claret, or sea trout with cockles and chanterelles – and demonstrates perfectly why Loch Bay deserves its Michelin star.
One Michelin Star
Where: Loch Bay Restaurant, 1 Macleods Terrace, Stein, Isle of Skye, Inverness-shire, IV55 8GA
Website: www.lochbay-restaurant.co.uk
Moor Hall
Lancashire Restaurant With its Famed Cheese Room
Chef Mark Birchall has been recognised for his efforts in the Michelin rating, with his restaurant Moor Hall in Lancashire being awarded a star this year. A homely looking hotel and restaurant, Moor Hall has masses of heritage dating back to the thirteenth century but is far from old-fashioned; Mark creates thoroughly modern British dishes using local vendors and home-grown goods, showcasing his talents across three, five, and eight-course tasting menus. Moor Hall is also home to its famed Cheese Room – home to the best of British and Irish Farmhouse cheeses selected according to season.
One Michelin Star
Where: Moor Hall Restaurant, Prescot Road, Aughton, Lancashire, L39 6RT
Website: www.moorhall.com
Paco Tapas
Best of Bristol
With the dream of bringing a taste of Andalusia to Bristol, Paco Tapas’s Chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias has created a menu combining the best of Spanish flavours for those British foodies missing the delights of authentic tapas in gloomy England. With Galician beef, stuffed quail and duroc pork ribs all cooked over an applewood fire, as well as fish dishes like Octopus a la Gallega and Carabineros Prawns from the Canary Islands, Paco offers a warming slice of Spanish sunshine straight to the south west.
One Michelin Star
Where: 3a, The General, Lower Guinea Street, Bristol, BS16SY
Website: www.pacotapas.co.uk
The Clock House
Surrey's New Michelin Star
Previously Drake’s, The Clock House in the Surrey village of Ripley gained a Michelin star this year. Head Chef Fred Clapperton is relatively new to the position but has clearly already hit his stride at The Clock House, with his current Autumn menus focusing on simple dishes that create interesting flavour combinations like the Norfolk quail with fennel and black curry or the smoked eel with broth and Isle of Wight tomatoes.
One Michelin Star
Where: The Clock House, High Street, Ripley, Surrey, GU23 6AQ
Website: www.theclockhouserestaurant.co.uk
The Coach
No Reservations but One Michelin Star
Brought to you by same team as The Hand and Flowers and with the kitchen led by Nick Beardshaw, The Coach in Marlow runs on a no reservations basis, so you better get there early if you want to eat at this newly awarded restaurant as they now have a Michelin Star. Dishes include potted crab with cucumber chutney and smoked paprika butter and Cornish pollock Scotch egg with lobster bisque.
One Michelin Star
Where: 3 West Street, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, SL7 2LS
Website: www.thecoachmarlow.co.uk
In 1997 Michelin introduced Bib Gourmand as a budget-friendly alternative to Michelin Stars. All Bib Gourmand’s provide 3 courses for under £28, inspected in much the same way as Michelin restaurants and so a prestigious award. Here are the London restaurants honoured this year.
Smokestack, Shoreditch
Kiln, Soho
Cinnamon Bazaar, Covent Garden
Clipstone, Fitzrovia
Plaquemine Lock, Islington
Popolo, Shoreditch
Kricket, Soho
Madam D, Spitalfields
The Frog E1, Shoreditch
Western’s Laundry, Drayton Park
