A Japanese restaurant that seats only nine diners at a time and serves a single £300 ($398) sushi menu on Monday became only the fifth establishment in the UK to hold three Michelin stars.
Chef Mitsuhiro Araki moved to London in 2014 to open Araki, which is the first Japanese restaurant in the UK to win the top accolade from the French dining guide. He makes no allowances for dietary requirements and a booking only gets you 2½ hours’ dining, in one of two sittings each evening. Araki is the first new UK restaurant to earn Michelin three stars since 2010.
Araki joins Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, The Fat Duck and the Waterside Inn at the top. Claude Bosi at Bibendum, a new London restaurant, was awarded two stars, taking that total to 20.
Another 17 establishments were awarded a single star, swelling those ranks to 150. London winners included A Wong, Jamavar, La Dame de Pic, Vineet Bhatia London, Aquavit and Elystan Street.
Stars are generally good for business as well as for chefs’ egos. Agnar Sverrisson recalls when he first won a star at Texture restaurant in London’s Marylebone neighbourhood.
"We were quiet after the financial crash, and 2009 was a terrible year,” he said. “But we got a star in January 2010. Then we were crazy busy and finally we started making money."
Many chefs crave stars, but there are exceptions. French chef Sébastien Bras of Le Suquet restaurant, in Laguiole, last month said he no longer wanted his three stars because they brought too much pressure.
And Boath House, in the Highlands of Scotland, said it was reverting to a simpler style of cooking after holding a star for a decade. The owners said as it was difficult to make a profit as a fine-dining restaurant, and they wanted to serve more accessible food.
Three stars mean exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey; two are for excellent cooking, worth a detour; one denotes a very good restaurant in its category.
The new award winners are:
Three Stars
Araki, London
Two Stars
Claude Bosi at Bibendum, London
One Star
La Dame de Pic, London Elystan Street, London Vineet Bhatia London, London Jamavar, London Aquavit, London A Wong,London Coworth Park, Ascot Moor Hall, Aughton, Lancashire Matt Worswick at the Latymer, Bagshot, Surrey Paco Tacos, Bristol Lympstone Manor, Lympstone, Devon The Dining Room at Whatley Manor, Malmesbury, Wiltshire The Coach, Marlow Clock House, Ripley, Surrey Loch Bay, Isle of Skye, Scotland Wild Honey Inn, Lisdoonvanra, Co. Clare, Ireland
Michelin also awarded 10 Bib Gourmand accolades in London for inexpensive restaurants with good food.
The Bib Gourmand winners:
Cinnamon Bazaar Clipstone The Frog E1 Kiln Kricket Madame D Plaquemine Lock Popolo Smokestak Westerns Laundry
Michelin & Cie, Europe’s largest tiremaker, produced its first guide in 1900. It was free of charge until 1920 and contained practical information, including maps and tips on repairing tires. The company is based in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
This year’s UK and Ireland stars were announced at a ceremony attended by chefs at the Brewery in London.
Article by Richard Vines, chief food critic at Bloomberg
