Michelin Guide 2019: The UK's best restaurants announced

Core by Clare Smyth jumped straight into the guide with two stars

The 2019 Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland has been revealed.

At an awards ceremony in Waterloo’s BFI IMAX cinema, chefs from across the country gathered to find out if their restaurants had made this year’s guide, which will be officially published on 5 October.

Dubbed “the Oscars of the food industry”, the coveted stars are seen as the ultimate accolade, setting the standard for discerning diners everywhere.

This year, the top spot remained unaffected with five restaurants learning they managed to retain their stars: The Araki, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester were the London establishments to hold on their accolades, as did Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck and Alain Roux's Waterside Inn, both in Bray.

However, the biggest win of 2019 was Core by Clare Smyth, which jumped straight into the guide at two-star level.

The restaurant, which opened to widespread acclaim in 2017, was too late for inclusion in the 2018 guide and is the latest achievement for Smyth, who won the “Best Female Chef” award from The World’s 50 Best organisation in April.

Smyth, a protégé of Gordon Ramsay, also catered for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s evening wedding reception on 19 May, and was made an MBE in 2013 for services to the hospitality industry.

Upon receiving the award from her former boss, she told the audience: “It makes it obviously even more special that Gordon’s handing it to me … It’s been a hell of a year. We’ve achieved what we really set out to achieve.”

Two other restaurants were newly awarded two stars. James Knappett’s Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs received its second Michelin star after having won its first a year after opening in the 2015 guide.

Mark Birchall, a protégé of chef Simon Rogan, was also awarded a second star for Moor Hall, while chef Marcus Wareing lost his second star for Marcus restaurant, at the Berkeley hotel.

In all, an impressive 21 restaurants were newly awarded one star this year.

Notable new entries to the red guide include London-based Brat (Shoreditch), Hide (Mayfair), Ikoyi (St James’s), Leroy (Shoreditch), Roganic (Marylebone) and Sabor (Mayfair).

Those based outside of London are Blackbird, Bulrush, Chestnut, Fordwich Arms, Gidleigh Park, Ichiho Ichie, Mews, Olive Tree, Oxford Kitchen, Rogan & Co, Salt, Sorrel, Tim Allen’s Flitch of Bacon, White Swan, Winteringham Fields.

At this year's ceremony the Michelin Guide also collaborated with the World Avocado Organisation (WAO) to celebrate the brunch staple in all its glory, which is the first time the guide has worked with a fruit.

The iconic book hopes to encourage people to think past smashed avocado on toast with guests at the event dining on white miso tofu filled with avocado mousse, topped with caviar and a warm roast chicken broth; and avocado macarons, filled with white chocolate and avocado ganache and raspberry.

The Michelin Guide 2019 full list

Three Star:

London

Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

The Araki

Outside London

Fat Duck

Waterside Inn

Two Star:

London

Claude Bosi at Bibendum

Core by Clare Smyth new

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Greenhouse

Hélène Darroze at The Connaught

Kitchen Table at Bubble Dogs new

Ledbury

Le Gavroche

Sketch (The Lecture Room & Library)

Umu

Outside London

Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles

Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons

Hand and Flowers

L’Enclume

Midsummer House

Moor Hall new

Patrick Guilbaud

Raby Hunt

Restaurant Nathan Outlaw

Restaurant Sat Bains

One Star:

London

A Wong

Alyn Williams at The Westbury

Amaya

Ametsa

Angler

Aquavit

Barrafina

Benares

Bonhams

Brat new

Chez Bruce

City Social

Clove Club

Club Gascon

Céleste

Dining Room at the Goring

Elystan Street

Fera at Claridge’s

Five Fields

Galvin at Windows

Galvin La Chapelle

Gymkhana

Hakkasan Hanway Place

Hakkasan Mayfair

Hedone

Hide new

Ikoyi new

Kai

Kitchen W8

La Dame de Pic

La Trompette

Leroy new

Locanda Locatelli

Lyle’s

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

Murano

Pied à Terre

Pollen Street Social

Portland

Pétrus

Ritz Restaurant

River Café

Roganic new

Sabor new

Seven Park Place

Social Eating House

St John

Story

Texture

The Glasshouse

The Ninth

Trinity

Trishna

Veeraswamy

Vineet Bhatia

Yauatcha Soho

Outside London

21212

Adam’s

Aniar

Black Rat

Black Swan

Blackbird new

Bohemia

Braidwoods

Bybrook at Manor House Hotel

Bulrush new

Campagne

Carters of Moseley

Casamia

Chapter One

Chestnut new

Coworth Park

Cross at Kenilworth

Crow

Driftwood

Eipic

Fischer’s at Baslow Hall

Fordwich Arms new

Forest Side

Fraiche

Gidleigh Park new

Gilpin Hotel & Lake House

Gravetye Manor

Greenhouse

Hambleton Hall

Heron & Grey

Hinds Head

House at Cliff House Hotel

House of Tides

Ichigo Ichie new

James Sommerin

John’s House

Kinloch Lodge

Kitchin

Lady Helen at Mount Juliet Hotel

Loam

Loch Bay

L’Ecrivain

L’Ortolan

Lympstone Manor

Martin Wishart

Masons Arms

Matt Worswick at the Latymer

Mews new

Morston Hall

Northcote

Number One

Nut Tree

Olive Tree new

Samphire

Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen

OX

Oxford Kitchen new

Paco Tapas

Paul Ainsworth at No.6

Peel’s at Hampton Manor Hotel

Pipe and Glass Inn

Pony & Trap

Purnell’s

Red Lion Freehouse

Restaurant Hywel Jones by Lucknam Park

Restaurant Tristan

Rogan & Co new

Salt new

Simon Radley at Chester Grosvenor

Simpsons

Sorrel new

Sosban & The Old Butchers

Star Inn

The Cellar

The Checkers

The Clock House Restaurant

The Coach

The Dining Room at Whatley Manor Hotel

The Elephant

The Man Behind the Curtain

The Neptune

The Peat Inn

The Sportsman

The Whitebrook

Thomas Carr @ The Olive Room

Tim Allen’s Flitch of Bacon new

Tudor Room at Great Fosters Hotel

Tyddyn Llan

Walnut Tree

West House

White Swan new

Wilk’s

Wild Honey Inn

Winteringham Fields new

Woodspeen

Ynyshir

Yorke Arms