New Michelin Stars Rise Tonight. Critics & More.
Preston questions The Brave. Rayner thinks Indian is Great. Ivers and Dent review the same small spot in Birmingham.
Hi, everyone. I was on holiday last week, so it’s going to be a short update today. Let’s dig straight into today’s big restaurant event: New stars are rising.
Michelin Guide Launch: My Predictions
Tonight, chefs from across the country will convene in Glasgow for the ceremony launching the 2025 UK Michelin Guide and unveiling new stars. (The ceremony will be live-streamed on YouTube here.)
Michelin has worked hard to improve the guide over the past few years, and I think it offers a much better representation — though inevitably still imperfect — of the UK restaurant scene than it once did. The move to announce new guide entries on a monthly basis has been a real success, contributing usefully to buzz around new openings.
Quick review of Michelin’s model for recognition:
At the lowest level, a restaurant can appear in the Guide. That’s a pretty good point of distinction all on its own.
Bib Gourmand: Good food at moderate prices. For London, that’s three courses (starter, main, dessert) for less than £40 per person.
Then, the stars:
⭐️ — High quality cooking. Worth a stop.
⭐️⭐️ — Excellent cooking. Worth a detour.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Exceptional cuisine. Worth a special journey.
My Predictions
In the name of making myself look silly, I thought it might be fun to offer a a few predictions in advance of tonight’s event. I’m confining my view to places that opened in London in the last year, as I don’t pay that much attention to openings elsewhere.
Scoring 1 star:
Roe. Some of the most clever cooking I’ve experienced in the last year, served in a landmark location. Can Roe exceed its older brother Fallow? I think it can.
Can flatbread earn a Michelin star? We’ll find out this evening. AngloThai. The food is so beautiful and the concept so appealing. It’s perfect for a star.
Lita. Open fire cooking. Local ingredients. High quality and high prices. Recipe for a star.
Ambassadors Clubhouse. “Opulence” from the team behind Gymkhana.
Cloth. The food is certainly at the right standard for a star, though I wonder if decor and informal service will hold it back.
The Cocochine. Elite Mayfair address. Picture perfect food. Modern fine dining decor. The combined factors likely win Michelin over.
Camille. French country cooking at the highest level, sure to attract attention from any Inspector.
Josephine Bouchon. Bossi always optimises for Michelin, and this place could well win a star.
Leaping straight to 2 stars:
Row on 5. Atherton is the name, but Spencer Metzger is the actual chef, and by all accounts, he’s next level. It’s also the first restaurant on Saville Row, a distinction that Michelin is bound to love. I’m visiting at the end of February, so will report back on my experience.
Cornus. Andy Hayler has eaten at more 3-star places than anyone alive, and his reviews of Cornus makes me think it has a good chance to go straight to 2 stars.
Kioku by Endo. Of the big openings in big new hotel complexes, this seems ready for big distinction. Endo’s headline place already has 3 stars.
Missing Out:
Oma. Amazing food, but may not be sufficiently refined for a star. Agora might secure a Bib Gourmand, though.
Sael. Has aspirations and pretensions for a star, but will miss the cut this time due to inconsistency.
Ibai. Excellent food, but not really optimised for Michelin distinction.
A couple of things that should happen, but won’t:
The Waterside Inn should be downgraded from 3 stars to 2. It’s still a good place, but it hasn’t been three star caliber for a long time.
Alain Ducasse in the Dorchester should also be downgraded from 3 to 2. it’s nowhere near 3 star standard, and it’s a mystery to me how it keeps its 3 stars year after year.
Moor Hall should go to 3 stars. It’s better than L’Enclume, which has 3.
Sola should go to 2 stars. After its refurb last year, its food and atmosphere are both at the right standard.
City Social should lose its star. It’s been off its game for years.
If you’re interests in more on this, The Caterer has a good round-up of predictions from chefs, critics, and other industry insiders. Restaurant (UK) Magazine also has a good preview piece. And FWIW, I’d like to observe that I drafted my predictions long before reading these two previews.
I’d love to hear your predictions in the comments.
Critics Wrap-Up
✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.
🍽️ David Ellis (Standard) returns to Soho institution The French House. “It is conspiratorial, trustworthy, fun, encouraging, and reliably always there, whether in times of crisis or celebration.”
Giles Coren (Times) follows Ellis to Tik Tok sensation Don’t Tell Dad in Paddington, but actually writes a review of Pinna, an Italian spot in Mayfair. He liked both. Don’t Tell Dad was cheaper.
✍🏻 🍽️ Jay Rayner (Observer) adores The Great Indian in Archway. Led by an executive chef who is a judge on Masterchef India, the food sounds innovative, interesting, and authentic. “Come for the lamb tacos; stay for the lentils. Assume no one is watching and spoon it neat from the bowl. It’s cold and raining out there. Yellow weather warnings are in place. This dal will keep any storm at bay.”
The Great Indian in Archway. Photo from the restaurant via their Instagram. Marina O’Loughlin (independent critic) loves Mamapen, a Cambodian barbecue in residency in Soho. “Everything here just works: sweet-sharp pickles, smoky charred broccoli, skewers of marinated pork neck with what seems like a bbq'd pineapple-y ketchup.”
✍🏻
(Braise) checks out The Brave, a pub and / or restaurant in Islington. “I don’t like to complain about portion sizes and prices, it feels churlish at best. But at times it feels egregious, and The Brave’s pub setting amplifies the effect.” … “Cochran has a choice to make. Right now he’s running what could be an excellent pub, but it’s trapped on the fringes of quite an average restaurant.”Catherine Hanly (Hot Dinners) test drives Osteria del Mare in the Strand. “There's definitely room on the London restaurant scene for a decently-priced, suits-all-comers seafood restaurant and this might just be it.”
Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinners) tries Krokodilos in Kensington. “A very good place to go and yet another big tick for this restaurant group [which also owns Fontomas and Pinna). And if you do make a booking, whatever you do - make sure you order that goat.”
Jules Pearson (LOTI) heads to the Prince Arthur, the new Basque-focused pub in Belgravia. “It’s not cheap but given the area and the produce used it’s largely what you’d expect.”
🍽️ J A Smith (Palate) admires Josette, a French spot in Farringdon, describing it as “a lovely place, full of heart.”
Chris Pople (Cheese & Biscuits) reviews Holy Carrot, the vegan pale in Notting Hill. “Think of it instead as a great neighbourhood restaurant that puts interesting, seasonal vegetables center stage and uses a bewildering variety of techniques to make the very best of them. It's not "good for meat-free", it's just plain old good. And that should make everyone happy.”
Beyond London
✍🏻 🍽️ Tim Hayward (FT) tried Long Friday, which might be the best restaurant name ever, in Newcastle. “People who’ve eaten Hedworth’s cooking have compared her favourably to Alice Waters, in the glory days of Chez Panisse.”
🍽️ Oh dear! Grace Dent (Guardian) and Charlotte Ivers (Sunday Times) both review the same small Italian place in Birmingham, and this is not a hot new opening. Tropea is in the Michelin Guide and has been around a few years. Can this be pure coincidence?
is going to have a field day. Dent declares that “Tropea is a forward-thinking take on the Italian trattoria.” Ivers dines with former mayor Andy Street at his suggestion, and loves the vibe. “At 4pm the place is still packed with locals sipping wine, wandering between tables to say hello to friends.”Wiliam Sitwell (Telegraph) checked out Starling in Surrey. “For a fine bite and great service in Surrey, Starling is your nicely feathered nest.”
Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) was in Edinburgh to try Noto, a small Japanese place. “This isn’t a place in thrall to the cult of authenticity. Udon soup is not what you’d expect.” … “Service is lovely, prices decent and the wine list excellent. Noto is a gem.”
✍🏻
(Bald Flavours) was in Copenhagen for the tasting menu at Barabba. “There’s a tactic used by hostage takers that involves making their captives believe they’ll be killed for days on end.” Read the whole thing. It’s wonderfully savage.
Thanks for reading this week’s Professional Lunch update. See you back here later in the week for a review of a City classic. And please do subscribe if you haven’t already.
I'm so happy to see Starling Bistro in Esher pick up a star. Especially because I've got a booking there on Wednesday!