New Michelin Stars, Launching a New Feature, Critics & More
Ellis in bar horror. Preston loves Scottish food. Hayward feels snobby. Sitwell goes solo for vegan.
It was a busy week in the world of restaurants, with new Michelin accolades announced last Monday.
The Michelin launch always spurs lots of commentary about the guide’s relevance. There were articles about how Michelin has been supplanted by influencers and all sorts of other suggestions that it isn’t as definitive as it once was. But this weekend, the FT’s Janan Ganesh suggested that Michelin’s continued significance shows why people should turn away from the wisdom of the crowd and re-embrace deference to experts. I agree with Ganesh that Michelin is still important in the world of dining, and that its expert views have genuine value. But I’m afraid that his broader point feels very much like wishful thinking. Because in virtually every other aspect of society — politics, law, medicine, science, media, etc. — deference to expertise has substantially eroded. And in my view, it’s difficult to see how to win it back and very much to our ultimate peril. I’m not sure Michelin is a model for a return to deference. It might just be the last bastion.
So let’s get to the big Michelin moment.
Stars for Row on 5, Cornus, and Anglothai
I’m not going to re-run the whole list of new Michelin stars and Bib Gourmands announced last Monday. Hot Dinners has great coverage of everything, with new stars here, Bib Gourmands here, and a list of every Michelin-starred place in London here. I will summarise some of the most significant announcements from a professional lunch perspective:
Key Accolades
The Ritz restaurant was elevated from one to two stars. I had an awful experience there, but everyone else thought this step was long overdue.
Humble Chicken also went to two stars. I haven’t been, but it sounds interesting, so I have added it to my target list.
Row on 5, Oma, Cornus, Lita, and Anglothai all received a star. Interestingly, Plates became the first Vegan restaurant in the UK to earn one. Other one stars included Mauro Cologreco at Raffles and Dosa, both of which I had to look up. Caractere, the restaurant from Emily Roux — yes, that Roux family — also scored a star. And in a mild surprise, 64 Goodge Street, from the same group behind Quality Wines, secured its first star.
Josephine Bouchon, Agora, Kolae, and Artusi in Peckham each earned a Bib Gourmand.
Stunning cheese soufflé at Josephine Bouchon helped it earn a Bib Gourmand from Michelin. Beyond London, the Hide & Fox in Kent earned its second star, and in the biggest news of the night, Moor Hall near Liverpool, which I adored, earned its third star.
Scoring My Predictions
Last week, I tried to forecast some of the evening’s results. Needless to say, I was mostly wrong.
I said Roe, Ambassador’s Clubhouse, Cloth, Cocochine, and Camille would secure a star. They didn’t. No points.
I also thought Josephine Bouchon would get a star. It got a Bib Gourmand. A half point.
I was right about Anglothai and Lita each getting a star. 2 points.
I said Row on 5 and Cornus would go straight to two stars. Wrong. They got one. A half point for each.
I said Oma would miss out. Wrong again. But I also said Sael and Ibai would miss out. A point each for those.
I hoped Moor Hall would go to three stars, but didn’t really think it would. After VAR, a half point.
I said City Social should lose its star. It did. One point.
I made 19 predictions, and scored 7 points. I shall try to do better next time.
What were your big surprises? And what do you think Michelin missed? Tell me in the comments:
For my own part, I’m surprised that Roe, Cloth, and Camille didn’t merit anything. Roe and Camille are both too expensive for a Bib Gourmand, so that makes it harder, but I thought all three had a good chance. Perhaps next year.
Launching a New Feature: Guide Reviews
Since starting this newsletter about a year ago, I’ve hoped to slowly but steadily provide a full review for every restaurant listed in the Guide. As of this writing, 43 of the 81 recommendations now have full reviews. I’ll continue to chip away at that target in the coming months. At the same time, I don’t always want to “spend” my once-a-week review on a place that you may already know very well.
So, starting today, you will occasionally start to see “Guide Reviews” appear in these Monday updates. Like Hits & Misses, they’ll turn up sporadically, when I want to cover a place that doesn’t merit the full spotlight of a Weekly Review, but is either already in the guide or rightly belongs in it.
For the first Guide Review, I head to Cafe Murano, one of my favourite and most-revisited places for a professional lunch or dinner. You can click anywhere on the feature box just below to read the full review.
Hits & Misses
Mini-reviews of places that were either (a) good, but not quite good enough to do a full review and add to the Guide, (b) had a flaw or two, or (c) that I revisited following a prior review.
Hit: Trivet
Andy Hayler has eaten in and written about more Michelin starred restaurants around the world than anyone alive. He lives in London, and he adores the Ritz. Indeed, he has reviewed it 48 times since 2010, and the most recent went online just this week. 48 reviews is, well, a lot. Perhaps too much.
So I am conscious that when it comes to Trivet, I risk falling into the same trap. And yet…
We visited Trivet on Friday night — Valentine’s Day — that evening most dreaded by restauranteurs, according to Nick Lander.
Chefs Jonny Lake and Lukas Juhaniak have brought new dishes into their winter menu, and they were extraordinary, even by Trivet standards.
My starter was risotto with “petals of red gurnard and confit fennel.” I’ve not had gurnard in years, and had forgotten how rich it could be. The risotto was similarly rich, made from a deep seafood stock. With the fennel and a bit of aged basalmico over the top, it was absolutely the best risotto that I’ve ever eaten.
My main course was grilled venison, which was cooked in lardo, the whole thing served with the most fantastic sauces. Across more than a dozen visits to Trivet over the years, these were the best two things that I’ve eaten there.
Trivet’s two-star status was confirmed in the Michelin announcement earlier in the week, and I really can’t think of a place that deserves it more. As I’ve said in the past, Trivet manages food, wine, and service at the highest levels, still feels like a place you could go once a week, and keeps getting better.
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) calls the bill at Bar Valette, the new Dalston spot from the team behind the Clove Club, “a horror.” And “the food? Well, it’s all right. Definitely all right. Just the sort of stuff you don’t talk about the next day.”
✍🏻 Chris Pople (Cheese & Biscuits) similarly chokes on the bill at Lita in Marylebone. “The food at Lita is very nice. I'm saying that up front because I worry that the list of things I didn't like about the place threatens to overwhelm the main message which should be that, despite everything, the food is very nice. And maybe if you went to Lita yourself, and you got a better table and didn't mind the prices and could put up with the general feeling that your presence was an inconvenience then you might have had a better time than we did. Maybe.”
✍🏻 🍽️
(Braise) offers my favourite review of the week: A visit to The Shoap, the only Scottish deli in London. “It’s a celebration of the fact that while Scotland may not grow the greatest tomatoes or fluorescent olive oil, the scran it does offer — the black pudding, the tattie scones, the thick slabs of tablet — is extraordinary in its own right.”✍🏻 🍽️ William Sitwell (Telegraph) eats solo at the counter at Plates on Valentine’s Day. It’s an obvious gag, but Sitwell enjoys the experience in spite of his doubts. “Who cares that it’s vegan when it’s just clever, brilliant fun? And, unlike with most tasting menus, I leave feeling light of tummy and with room for dinner.”
Grace Dent (Guardian) tries Vatavaran, a new Himalayan-inspired place in Knightsbridge. It’s not good. “Bati should err on the chewy, but these were largely inedible and the haphazardly seasoned dal felt as if it had recently been reheated. Was there even a chef in the building?”
✍🏻 🍽️
(Smashed) gives us a restaurant review, focusing on the rebooted Dorchester Grill. The food and wine sound excellent. But Andy concludes, “I’d like to eat [Chef Tom] Booton's food again, but I’m not sure I want to eat it in that room. Maybe if they ban laptops and get some linen in I might change my mind.”
Tom Parker Bowles (Daily Mail) is in Kensington to try Dove, the new place from Jackson Boxer. “This is proper food, albeit with a gently sophisticated burr.”
Jay Rayner (Observer) is the latest to try Don’t Tell Dad, the Tik Tok sensation in Paddington. “Anywhere which braises oxtail down until it is a sticky mess of uber-gravy-slicked meaty threads, tops a heap of it with dripping-fried breadcrumbs, and then puts all of that on a small crumpet and calls it a snack, is fine by me.”
Catherine Hanly (Hot Dinners) also reviews Don’t Tell Dad. It was, she says, “one of those bittersweet London moments where you have a great time but as you head back across town you can't help feeling sad that this isn't your neighbourhood and your local restaurant.”
Nick Lander (jancisrobinson.com) checkout Sune in Hackney, a new place from Honey Spencer and Charlie Sims. “We very much enjoyed the food. The menu is not that novel or groundbreaking but all that we ate was extremely well executed.”
Tanya Gold (Spectator) sort of reviews the Audley Public House in Mayfair, but mostly writes about who owns what buildings.
Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinners) test drives Voyage, a new Scandi place in King’s Cross. “[Chef Adam] Simmonds and the team deliver a very well put-together menu that doesn't overwhelm and instead reveals some real skill in the kitchen.”
🍽️ Salty Plums reviews Row on 5, which I’m visiting in a couple of weeks. “Row on 5 definitely scores highly in flavour, quality, indulgence and service on anyone’s scale.”
🍽️ Alex Larman (The Arbuturian) checks out Ploussard in Clapham. “A particular highlight comes in the form of lamb and goat’s cheese combined; it’s an unusual combination but it ought to be far more widely known and used than it is.”
“Cara” (Foodepedia) heads to Rake’s Cafe Bar in the City for brunch. “It’s an under discovered gem on Saturdays for those looking for quality dishes, fine service and good value for money. If the Shoreditch avocado focused crowd knew about it there won’t be a weekend booking left for summer.”
Beyond London
✍🏻 Tim Hayward (FT) trips on the name, but loves Snobby’s in Bristol. “Orange wine, burrata, gnudi, ragù, cannolo, kummel and tiramisu. I had a firmly held preconception of every one of them, and at every turn, Snobby’s proved me wrong.”
🍽️ Charlotte Ivers (Sunday Times) raves about Myse in Yorkshire. “You don’t need to know what’s good. It’s all good. Of course it is — we’re dealing with the nerds here.”
Giles Coren (Times) tries the Railway Inn in West Bromwich. “Six people fed and watered for £14 less than the tasting menu at the Fordwich Arms.”
Thanks for reading this week’s Professional Lunch update. And thanks to everyone who has subscribed. Please do sign up if you haven’t already. There’s lots of good stuff on the horizon. I’ve got bookings at Row on 5, Wildflowers, and Anglothai among others. I’d love to hear your suggestions in the Comments.
That FT piece is, um, interesting. It's quite a stretch to claim that 'The correct number of Michelin stars is one. For two and three, judges tend to expect things of the service and decor that will be lost on almost all diners.' Michelin claims that 'A Michelin Star is awarded for the food on the plate – nothing else. The style of a restaurant and its degree of formality or informality have no bearing whatsoever on the award.' I'm not saying I entirely believe that because the sort of places that tend to get two and three stars are quite swanky (there are exceptions of course) but I would say that many users of the Michelin guide will have expectations about service and decor the more money they are paying. To portray 2 and 3 star restaurants as something esoteric in 2025 is a little ridiculous. It's also a bit of a stretch to say that, regarding the US, Michelin have 'passed over with majestic hauteur until the recent past'. They've been in America since 2005!