The MICHELIN Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2019 has been announced with three new two-star restaurants topping the bill, ably supported by 21 new one-star establishments.
The three restaurants that have been newly awarded two Michelin stars are Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs in Bloomsbury from chef James Knappett; CORE by Clare Smyth in North Kensington (which goes straight into the guide for the first time with two stars); and Moor Hall in Aughton from Mark Birchall, which gained its first star last year.
Commenting on the 2019 selection, Rebecca Burr, Director of the guide said: “The three owner-chefs at these new two-star establishments have created fantastic restaurants that very much reflect their own personalities and philosophies.
“The inspectors have also seen exciting things happening in the Republic of Ireland this year and much of it in County Cork. The county plays host to three new one stars: Chestnut, Mews and Ichigo Ichie. There’s a lot of ability in Ireland right now. As everyone knows, the produce is stunning and it’s great to see chefs injecting such passion and personality into their food.
“Everyone is aware of the obvious challenges currently facing the industry, but we’ve been encouraged by the number of new stars that we’ve awarded in the 2019 edition. What is particularly pleasing is seeing the number of simple little places with great food achieving a star and joining the Michelin family, like Bulrush in Bristol and Salt in Stratford-upon-Avon.”
Three pubs in England have entered the guide with one star for the first time: Blackbird outside Newbury; The White Swan in Fence, Lancashire; and, near Canterbury, Fordwich Arms in Fordwich, Britain’s smallest town. In addition, Simon Rogan follows the success of two-Michelin-starred L’Enclume, with a star for his Rogan & Co restaurant in the same village of Cartmel and also for his London outpost, Roganic.
The 2019 selection at a glance:
5 three-star restaurants
20 two-star restaurants (3 new)
155 one-star restaurants (21 new)
143 Bib Gourmand restaurants (27 new)
The Guide is published on the 4th of October and can be pre-ordered from the Michelin website here.
Photos courtesy of Core by Clare Smyth
