Moor Hall, Aughton

As the pinnacle of gastronomic brilliance, The MICHELIN Guide’s Inspectors do not award Three Stars lightly. It is a distinction that often takes years to achieve, as chefs continue to hone their craft to greater levels of excellence. Moor Hall, the delightful gastronomic getaway in rural Lancashire, has now reached those levels. The Inspectors were delighted to witness how the restaurant has matured and evolved in recent years. Every dish is now simply brilliant, with consistent levels of precision, balance and purity of flavour achieved throughout. The level of culinary craft is outstanding and the result is food as satisfying as it is impressive. Led by Chef Mark Birchall, the entire team at Moor Hall are a credit to their profession. As individuals they are skilled and dedicated to the highest degree – together, they create a dining experience that can now officially be counted as one of the best in the world.

Discover more about why Moor Hall has been awarded Three Stars with our Inspector’s-eye view.

hide and fox, Saltwood

Sweet, friendly and still every inch an understated local haunt, hide and fox is a true neighbourhood restaurant that also just happens to serve food of outstanding quality, fully deserving of its Two MICHELIN Stars. Allister Barsby and Alice Bussi have together created a delightful experience for their guests, anchored by the former’s supremely skilled work in the kitchen along with his superb brigade. The kitchen doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but delivers dishes of such fine crafting, with such beautiful balance and outstanding natural flavours, that you cannot help but be impressed.

Humble Chicken, London

For a restaurant to win its first MICHELIN Star one year and to then immediately earn its second just 12 months later really takes some doing. It’s the sign of a truly special place, helmed by a chef with serious talent and enormous drive. Humble Chicken and Angelo Sato fit this mould perfectly. From the moment Sato turned his relaxed yakitori into something altogether more ambitious, it was clear that it would become one of the most exciting restaurants in the capital. Honed and refined since last year’s One-Star award, the menu is now hitting new heights from the get-go – with the opening snacks and shokupan course proving an instant hit with the Inspectors.

Want to know what it’s like to dine at a Two-MICHELIN-Star restaurant? Our Inspectors take you behind the scenes.

The Ritz Restaurant, London

It’s hardly a surprise that The Ritz – a true bastion of British luxury – has a good restaurant. But in the last year our Inspectors have been more impressed than ever by its cooking of such extreme quality, that the awarding of Two Stars is thoroughly deserved. John Williams MBE is still steering the ship, with a team of exceptional chefs who cook refined, elegant dishes with real confidence. The menu is rooted in the classics, but now with increased flashes of originality executed with great skill. Let’s not forget, too, that this is one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the country – a stunning, French-inspired masterpiece that clearly boasts food to match.

33 The Homend, Ledbury

They say that good things come in small packages and 33 The Homend is certainly supporting that theory. Run by Elizabeth and James Winter – who previously held a Star at The Butchers Arms in Eldersfield – it’s a lovely little place with just six tables but bags of honest charm. Elizabeth is so bright and passionate about good hospitality, while James crafts dishes that are deliciously pared-back. He is an experienced chef and it shines through in the confidence and maturity he shows when expertly cooking just a few naturally flavoursome ingredients and allowing them to shine.

64 Goodge Street, London

This is one of those restaurants where you feel in safe hands the minute you walk in – and a place with a refreshing simplicity to it. The décor provides an understated intimacy; a straightforward à la carte is preferred to a lengthy tasting menu; and both the service and the cooking know the difference between fuss and quality. Chef-Director Stuart Andrew leads a kitchen brigade who pull off the refined bistro-style dishes with great skill. It comes from the owners behind Portland and Clipstone, who now have even more claim to being the lords of the Fitzrovia dining scene.

AngloThai, London

If ever there was a restaurant that lived up to its name, it was this. Chef John Chantarasak draws on his mixed Thai-British heritage for a menu of thrilling dishes that utilise British ingredients in tandem with Thai flavours and techniques in ways that are confident, inventive and, above all, a joy to eat. John runs the restaurant with his wife Desiree, who helps ensure there’s a warm, inviting atmosphere to the place. The variety of dishes served particularly impressed our Inspectors, as did the depth of the sauces, the range of textures and the wealth of bold flavours.

AVERY, Edinburgh

There’s a great story behind every chef’s MICHELIN-Star success – usually one of dogged determination and unerring commitment – but Rodney Wages’ tale might be one of the year’s most notable. Already the holder of a Star in San Francisco, Kansas native Wages decided to put the Stars and Stripes behind him and move to Edinburgh, having fallen in love with the city on a 2022 visit. It was a bold decision, but one that’s paid off as Wages is now once again in possession of a MICHELIN Star thanks to his supremely skilful cooking and heartening embrace of the Scottish larder.

Ballyfin, Ballyfin

It’s only fitting that Ballyfin Demesne, a simply breathtaking hotel that holds Three MICHELIN Keys, should have a Starred restaurant. Chef Richard Picard-Edwards and his brigade have ensured this is the case with a winning combination of outstanding produce and impeccable classical technique. The dishes have an obvious French basis and include many traditional elements, but they never feel outdated, and are executed with such skill that the results are utterly wonderful. Each dish carries superb depth of flavour and textural contrasts, while showcasing Picard-Edwards’ fine craftsmanship.

Caractère, London

Notting Hill’s increasingly brilliant dining scene has received another Star-shaped boost this year in the form of Diego Ferrari and Emily Roux’s stylish neighbourhood restaurant. Ferrari’s dishes are presented in an intriguing menu format where they are grouped according to their ‘character’, but this approach is far from a gimmick and each one is founded on impressive culinary technique – which should come as no surprise given Ferrari’s former position at Le Gavroche. Our Inspectors found that the quality of the ingredients also shone through, with the flavours being distinct and wholly enjoyable.

Cornus, London

Former Angler chef Gary Foulkes is no stranger to Star-level cooking, and he’s rightly earned the distinction again here. Foulkes is primarily known for his mastery of seafood but, while the usual suspects are there in terms of top-notch produce – Newlyn cod, Devon crab, Orkney scallops – there is less of a fishy focus to his cooking now. Instead, the overarching theme is one of classical cuisine with a modern touch. The kitchen’s experience shines through in the impeccable culinary techniques, whether it’s the fabulously tender roast pigeon or the textbook mille-feuille.

DOSA, London

It’s been a great year for London’s Korean food enthusiasts. Two great restaurants serving the cuisine have opened in the capital, with one, Miga, earning a Bib Gourmand and the other being this opulent offering inside the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair hotel. It’s a polished place, with the impeccably presented dishes mirroring the beauty of the marble counter. The luxury feel, too, is reflected on the plate with superb ingredients like lobster and wild turbot making an appearance – in dishes with bags of personality and underpinned by top-drawer technique from Chef Jihun Kim and his team.

Forge, Middleton Tyas

It’s a wonderful feeling when a former MICHELIN Young Chef Award winner goes on to claim a MICHELIN Star. That’s truer than ever for 2024 winner Jake Jones, who has steered Forge to its first Star with consummate skill. Sitting inside the Middleton Lodge Estate, it’s a truly beautiful restaurant that provides a fitting backdrop for dishes of such precision and refinement, that taste bright, vibrant and perfectly balanced. What’s more, this Star joins Forge’s existing Green Star, in a brilliant showcase of how delicious sustainable gastronomy can be.

Discover this year’s newly minted Green Star restaurants.

Gorse, Cardiff

In a landmark moment for Cardiff’s restaurants, Gorse has been awarded the city’s first MICHELIN Star – and what a terrific place to have done it. A warm, inviting restaurant where you’re sure to receive a friendly welcome, it’s the brainchild of Chef Tom Waters. His cooking is characterised by its understated deliciousness, where seemingly simple dishes of just a few elements belie the complex techniques and skilful cooking used to fashion them. Key to the success of this approach is the quality of the ingredients – and luckily Waters has a bountiful larder to draw on from all over Wales.

Hear more from the Inspectors on why Gorse has become Cardiff’s first MICHELIN-Starred restaurant.

LIGИUM, Bullaun

Fusing prime Irish produce with wood-fired cooking and nods to his Italian heritage, Chef Danny Africano has proven himself to be one of the most exciting young chefs in Ireland. At the loveable LIGИUM, he demonstrates a real knack for flavour composition and balance, using the smoky aromas of the wood fire to subtly enhance his top-notch ingredients without ever overpowering them. There’s a thrillingly creative streak to his cooking too, with eye-catching combinations working wonders thanks to the enormous skill of the kitchen.

Lita, London

If any of this year’s new Stars were to be described as ‘on trend’, it would be Lita. There’s live-fire cooking, a sharing plates menu, an open kitchen, some counter seating… all the ingredients are there for a great night out and a meal that could not feel more of the moment. Luke Ahearne’s cooking is big and bold, holding nothing back and providing a welcome lack of fussiness. His is not the prettiest or most overtly intricate food in London, but it might be some of the tastiest, with outstanding British ingredients treated with skill, care and understanding to provide big dollops of flavour in every mouthful.

LYLA, Edinburgh

Good ingredients are the foundation of every MICHELIN-Starred restaurant and it has rarely been more evident than at LYLA. Prime quality seafood is the order of the day, whether it’s hand-dived scallops or Scottish langoustine – but there’s still room on the menu for A5 wagyu as well. At the helm is seasoned chef and restaurateur Stuart Ralston, who ensures the ingredients are handled with great skill and care, his technical expertise and subtle accompaniments really allowing the magnificent natural flavours to shine. It’s a beautiful restaurant too, housed inside the kind of Georgian townhouse that Edinburgh is famous for.

Mark Poynton at Caistor Hall, Caistor St Edmund

Chef Mark Poynton and the grand country house that is Caistor Hall seem to be a match made in heaven. Here, Poynton’s experience is shining through in assured, confident cooking that doesn’t reinvent the wheel but prioritises satisfying flavours and top-drawer execution. Our Inspectors loved dishes like the venison with Crown Prince squash and lapsang souchong – it showed everything this kitchen is good at, with the venison timed to perfection so it cut like butter, the squash nicely al dente and the tea incorporated into the sauce in a way that demonstrated real finesse and precision.

Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO, London

The ethos of celebrated chef Mauro Colagreco – best known for his Three-Star restaurant Mirazur in France – has been interpreted with utmost skill by Chef Leonel Aguirre and his team at this elegant restaurant inside the mightily impressive Old War Office, which is now the Raffles hotel. In an intriguing approach, fruit and vegetables are listed as the main ingredient in each dish, even if meat and fish are involved in the composition too. This is indicative of the kitchen’s reverence for its produce, which is invariably first-rate and is cooked in interesting ways using undeniably brilliant technique.

OMA, London

There is great significance in OMA’s MICHELIN Star, for it represents a milestone for Greek food in London. A cuisine that is so joyous and naturally delicious deserves a restaurant like OMA, a loud and lively place where an abundance of flavour is poured into every mouthful. Chef Jorge Paredes and his team are interested in preparing dishes that simply taste sensational, never getting bogged down in unnecessary twists or additions. Influences from further afield are incorporated, especially in the raw fish dishes, but the sharing concept and sense of fun are firmly Greek.

Want to know more? Our Inspectors have you covered.

Plates London, London

Of all the awards given this year, One Star for Plates London feels particularly momentous. It becomes the first-ever fully plant-based restaurant in the UK or Ireland to receive a MICHELIN Star. Chef Kirk Haworth and his sister Keeley have achieved a feat nobody before them has managed, blazing a trail in vegan cooking that proves just how delicious food can be without the animal ingredients. There are plenty of talented chefs out there experimenting with plant-led cuisine, but the bar has now officially been raised thanks to the precision, technique and depth of flavour at Plates London.

Find out more on why the Inspectors awarded a Star to Plates London’s plant-based cooking.

Row on 5, London

Few restaurant openings of the last year were more highly anticipated than Row on 5. After the closure of his former flagship, Pollen Street Social, Jason Atherton enacted a 2024 revamp of his London empire. The jewel in the crown is unquestionably this collaboration with Chef Spencer Metzger. A stunning restaurant of both style and substance, it’s proven to be well worth the wait. The outstanding produce and the depth of flavour in each dish were particular highlights for our Inspectors.

Skof, Manchester

Another much-hyped new restaurant that didn’t disappoint, Skof is the first solo venture of former L’Enclume Head Chef Tom Barnes. As someone who headed up a Three-Star kitchen for several years, it’s no surprise that Barnes can cook. Here, he has lit up Manchester’s dining scene with what is one of only two Stars here; there are subtle nods to the city throughout the meal, while the dining room itself is housed in the kind of vast former industrial space that’s typical of the city. Every dish on the menu is made with utmost skill, but the chefs never show off – it’s all in service of flavour.

Want to know more? We enlisted an Inspector to fill you in on every detail of their visit to Skof.

Starling, Esher

Another chef who has trained with the very best and struck out on their own is Nick Beardshaw, one-time Tom Kerridge acolyte and now the man behind this relaxed neighbourhood operation backed up by some serious culinary skill. The Inspectors loved the way each dish was free from superfluous elements, every ingredient with its own purpose and each technique used to enhance the diner’s enjoyment. The team are a delight too, putting guests at ease and ensuring the overall experience is one to remember.

The Morrison Room, Maynooth

You will be hard pushed to find a more spectacular setting among this year’s newly crowned Stars. The Morrison Room sits within a grand Palladian manor and boasts an abundance of opulent décor, from its detailed cornicing to its Corinthian columns. Fortunately, the food is a match for this, both in luxuriousness and genuine quality. The Inspectors particularly loved a dessert of Valhrona Jivara chocolate with balsamic and Sichuan pepper, an audacious flavour combination that was pulled off with aplomb and underlined Chef Adam Nevin’s skill.

Wilsons, Bristol

The Bristol dining scene continues to go from strength to strength, with a new Star to add to its ranks in the form of this loveable little operation. It’s a brilliant example of farm-to-table dining, with Mary Wilson managing a smallholding that provides excellent ingredients for her husband Jan Ostle to work wonders with in the kitchen. With this award, Wilsons joins a select group of restaurants to hold both a MICHELIN Star and a Green Star. In the foodie Redland neighbourhood, this is a local gem that deserves to be acknowledged on a national scale.

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Hero Image: © Ballyfin/Richard Picard-Edwards