Ahead of Monday's announcement of the latest Michelin Stars for Great Britain & Ireland in 2023, 20 new Bib Gourmands have been announced. The accolade highlights restaurants offering great quality and great value cooking.
"With 20 new Bib Gourmand restaurants joining the 2023 edition of the MICHELIN Guide Great Britain & Ireland, our inspectors have spotlighted establishments that stand out for their fine and generous cooking across a diverse range of styles; places that really deserve to be known by gourmets looking for good quality, good value cooking." explained Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the MICHELIN Guides. "As chefs in Great Britain & Ireland face rising day-to-day costs – from the raw ingredients they purchase to the energy they use to keep their kitchens and restaurants running – it is heartening to see many of them also finding inventive ways to create affordable menus and keep costs down for their guests, while still offering creative and exciting culinary experiences."
In England, 17 new venues were announced. Bristol's Marmo - an on-trend osteria-cum-wine-bar offering Italian dishes, accompanied by organic and biodynamic wines - was promoted alongside COR and The Blaise Inn, both also located in the South West. In Bath, The Chequers was awarded, offering traditional pub dishes or more elaborate plates with international flavours. The Queen of Cups in Glastonbury and Root Wells in Well were Somerset's other additions.
Devon received two new additions with Emilia, in Ashburton, where the daily changing menu is influenced by the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna; the other is The Galley in Topsham, providing a cheery, welcoming feel, with its rustic interior.
In the South East, Brighton's popular Flint House became the region's newest Bib Gourmand - a brasserie style eatery with a first floor cocktail bar and terrace featuring a European influence.
In the capital, Hām was promoted - serving assured yet unfussy Mediterranean dishes, while Evernight, Plaza Khao Gaeng and The Pelican were also welcomed onto the list. Evernight offers a modern take on an izakaya, where British produce is married with Japanese refinement in a menu of sharing dishes. Plaza Khao Gaeng carries a buzzy, vintage vibe where the chef grows many of the Southeast Asian ingredients in a tropical greenhouse in Dorset, then turns them into punchy Southern Thai curries. The Pelican keeps things more traditional serving up classic pub food with a British heart in the setting of an old English pub.
Further north, Lincolnshire's The Six Bells, Witham, has been promoted, a bright, characterful pub which offers sophisticated dishes on its main menu, along with freshly cooked rotisserie chicken and pizzas from the wood-burning oven. While Nottingham's Kushi-Ya also joins the selection, an inviting counter restaurant specialising in Japanese kushiyaki skewers cooked over a charcoal grill.
Manchester's The Sparrow's has been added to the list, featuring Eastern European influences across the menu and Polish wines on the drinks list.
In Wales, Yr Hen Printworks receives a Bib Gourmand. Small plates are the order of the day and some of the meats come from their family farm; smoking and pickling techniques are also a feature in this venue set in a restored stone-built chapel which was later turned into a printworks, hence the name.
Belfast's EDŌ has also been promoted, a bistro in the heart of the city with a faux-industrial look and an international sharing menu, with many dishes cooked over wood in the Bertha oven. Joined by Waterman, where unfussy modern dishes feature European flavours and Italy takes the lead.
Finally, in the Republic of Ireland, Saint-Francis Provisions in Kinsale also joins the Guide, a small 13-seater restaurant serving punchy, daily changing Mediterranean small plates, accompanied by all-natural wines.
The full MICHELIN Guide Great Britain & Ireland for 2023 will be published on Monday 27th March and we'll be covering the ins and outs of the list - watch this space.
Image - Kushi Ya in Nottingham, from The Michelin Guide.