Manchester went home empty handed tonight, as Michelin announced the British restaurants being awarded its coveted stars. Chef Simon Martin’s Mana didn’t secure a second star, while Stockport’s Where The Light Gets In was also sadly overlooked for a first star.
Mana was the first Manchester restaurant to receive a new star in 40 years when it landed its first in 2018, while Where The Light Gets In was awarded the ‘green star’ last year for its efforts in sustainability.
The ceremony took place at the Silverstone racetrack in Northampton this evening, with racing driver Amanda Stretton presenting the awards. It was the first time in three years that the ceremony had been held with invited guests, after three years happening solely online due to the pandemic.
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Last year, chef Simon Rogan received a third star for his Lake District restaurant L’Enclume, while The Barn at Moor Hall in Aughton, near Ormskirk, won its first. Chef Mark Birchall's Moor Hall, next door to The Barn, and L'Enclume both retained their stars from last year, but no UK restaurants received a new third star this year.
The nearest restaurant to be awarded a new star was chef Tim Allen's Sōlō, also in Aughton, while in the Lakes, The Samling in Ambleside and Heft in Newton in Cartmel also received their first stars.
It follows news that city centre spot The Sparrows was awarded the respected ‘Bib Gourmand’ accolade by Michelin last week, after getting an entry in the wider Michelin Guide in January this year. It was one of 20 new Bib Gourmands in the UK, which recognise ‘friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices.’
The unique restaurant in the Green Quarter, which serves pasta, spatzle, dumplings and other cuisines from the Tyrol and Italy to eastern Europe, was opened in 2019 by Kasia Hitchcock and chef Franco Concli, and is also renowned for serving a range of Japanese sake.
Read more: The restaurants that will never get a Michelin star but we still love them anyway
Other Manchester restaurants that get a mention in the guide are Canto, 63 Degrees, Habas, Erst, El Gato Negro, Adam Reid at The French, Tast, Another Hand, Osma, Perfect Match, Where The Light Gets In, The White Hart, Borage, Mobberley’s Church Inn and Levanter.
The Michelin Guide was first published for the UK in 1911, as an extension of brothers Édouard and André Michelin famous tyre company, with the guide providing advice to motorists on hotels and eating out.
Albert and Michel Roux's Le Gavroche in London was the first restaurant in the UK to receive a Michelin star, in 1974, and had received its coveted three by 1982. Receiving a star is transformational for a restaurant business, and can see bookings rocket after recognition from the Michelin Guide.
Here is the list of this year’s winners in full:
Three star restaurants
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
Waterside Inn, Bray
New two star restaurants
Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, London
dede, Baltimore
The Ledbury, London
New one star restaurants
Àclèaf, Plymouth
Ben Wilkinson at The Pass, Horsham
Cycene, London
Gidleigh Park, Chagford
Grace & Savour, Hampton in Arden
Heft, Newton in Cartmel
Heron, Leith
Luca, London
Lumière, Cheltenham
Pentonbridge Inn, Penton
Restaurant Twenty-Two, Cambridge
Sō–Lō, Aughton
Solstice by Kenny Atkinson, Newcastle upon Tyne
St. Barts, London
Store, Stoke Holy Cross
Taku, London
Terre, Castlemartyr
The Samling, Ambleside
The Tudor Pass, Egham
Timberyard, Edinburgh
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