The prestigious MICHELIN Guide for Great Britain & Ireland 2023 was announced this week with the latest one, two and three Michelin Star restaurants unveiled.
This year's list features numerous new additions, each receiving a new Michelin star, with 188 restaurants in the UK now holding at least one Michelin star. Twenty restaurants were awarded their first-ever Michelin star, three restaurants earned two stars, whilst there were no new three star restaurants in this year's list.
The list of three starred restaurants therefore remains as being Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, London; CORE by Clare Smyth, London; Fat Duck, Bray; Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, London; L'Enclume, Cartmel; Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London; Sketch (The Lecture Room & Library), London; and Waterside Inn, Bray.
The new two star restaurants include Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, London; dede, Baltimore; and The Ledbury, London. Whilst new one star restaurants include Àclèaf, Plymouth; Ben Wilkinson at The Pass, Horsham; Grace & Savour, Hampton in Arden; Pentonbridge Inn, Penton; Sō–Lō, Aughton; Taku, London; and Timberyard, Edinburgh, amongst others.
Speaking of this year's awards, thefoodpeople director and co-founder Charles Banks commented: "Clearly some parts of the hospitality sector are muted in the wake of the myriad of external forces impacting them, BUT it was a bumper night for Michelin, where restaurants vying for the stars have opened at pace and vigour over the last 12 months.
"Whilst there were no new 3 stars it was great to see the work of Alex Dilling, Bret Graham and Turkish chef Ahmet Dede recognised with their new 2 stars. As is always the case, it's incredibly London-centric and I, like many others, have felt it should showcase more of the culinary talent from across the UK. This week there was much to celebrate from outside the capital with new one-starred restaurants including The Samling in Ambleside, Solstice by Kenny Atkinson and House of Tides, both in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Jimmy Murray and the team at Timberyard in Edinburgh, Sō–Lō in Aughton, Scot Patons Àclèaf in Plymouth, Ben Wilkinson at The Pass in Horsham, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Lumière in Cheltenham, Restaurant Twenty-Two in Cambridge, Heft in Newton in Cartmel and the Heron in Leith to name check a few.
"Also much of the newness when it comes to green stars was happening outside the capital as well. Aside from the very well deserved green star for Chantelle Nicholson's Apricity in London the other three new comers were Crocadon in St Mellion, Culture in Falmouth and Merlin Johnson's Osip in Bruton all showcasing sustainable cooking excellence in the provinces. Starting in 2021, the green stars recognise those establishments that are leading the way in sustainability and circular feeding in harmony with nature. Lastly in a cost of living crisis it was encouraging to see 20 new Bib Gourmand additions which recognises great food and cooking but at an accessible price point and selfishly two are very close to where I live – the galley in Topsham and Emilia in Ashburton!"
Discover the full MICHELIN Guide for Great Britain & Ireland 2023 here.
We also covered the recent Bib Gourmand awards which can be found here.