2018 Michelin-starred restaurants list announced

Taste buds at the ready! The Michelin Guide has announced its 2018 list of restaurants in Britain and Ireland awarded with prestigious Michelin stars. The accolade is widely regarded as the hallmark of fine dining, and the most sought-after honour for many chefs.

Britain’s food scene has long held plenty of the prestigious stars, and the 2018 list brings the total of Michelin-starred restaurants to 175. This comprises five restaurants with three Michelin stars, 20 with two stars and a total of 150 with one star, including 17 new ones.

Click here for a full rundown 2018 Michelin Guide list. Here are the highlights:

• London has gained one new three-star restaurant, one new two-star restaurant, and six new one-star restaurants. This brings the total number of 2018 Michelin-starred restaurants in the capital to 70, comprising three restaurants with three stars, nine restaurants with two stars – including new entry Bibendum, in Chelsea – and 58 restaurants with one star.

• The Araki, a sushi restaurant in London’s Mayfair with just nine seats, was the only new restaurant to gain three Michelin stars, increasing the number of Britain’s three-starred restaurants to five – the most the guide can award.

• Four other British restaurants retained their three-star rating in the new list: Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck and Alain Roux’s Waterside Inn (both located in Bray, Berkshire), Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester in London’s Park Lane, and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea, London.

• No London restaurants have lost stars in the 2018 guide, and six more gained one star. This included two Indian restaurants – Mayfair’s Jamavar and Chelsea’s Vineet Bhatia – along with modern Chinese restaurant A Wong and Nordic restaurant Aquavit (both in Victoria), City restaurant Le Dame de Pic, and Elystan Street in Kensington.

• Scotland now has 11 Michelin-starred restaurants, with one new star gained for Michael Smith’s Loch Bay in Skye, but two stars lost for Kinloch Lodge (also in Skye), and Isle of Eriska in Argyll. Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles remains the country’s only two Michelin-starred restaurant, an accolade it has retained for 11 years. Scotland’s one Michelin-starred restaurants include 21212, Restaurant Martin Wishart, The Kitchin and Number One in Edinburgh, The Albannach and Boath House in the Highlands, Braidwoods in Ayrshire, Peat Inn and The Cellar in Fife, and Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond.

• Wales didn't pick up new Michelin stars this year, but seven of its restaurants retained their one star: The Walnut Tree in Abergavenny, Sosban & The Old Butchers on Anglesey island, Tyddyn Llan in Llandrillo, Ynyshir and The Checkers in Powys, The Whitebrook in Monmouthshire, and James Sommerin in Penarth.

• Northern Ireland has retained its two Michelin stars – for Eipic and Ox, both in Belfast.

• A total of 150 restaurants have one Michelin star for 2018, including 17 new ones. These additions include Tom Kerridge’s pub, The Coach, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and Michael Caines’s Lympstone Manor in Devon. Also, Matt Worswick at The Latymer in Surrey, Paco Tapas in Bristol, Coworth Park in Ascot, Moor Hall in Lancashire, and Whatley Manor in Wiltshire.

Looking for more foodie inspiration? Check out VisitBritain’s Food is GREAT content guide.