The Stars Are Out – Michelin Guide 2018

There’s only one choice – essentially take it or leave it – and dining here will cost you the not insignificant sum of £300 per person for the privilege of sitting down to the set menu. But don’t expect to grab a table (or rather a stool) anytime soon at The Araki, off London’s Regent Street, as this 10-seater sushi restaurant has just joined a very exclusive band of brothers. Head Chef Mitsuhiro Araki now sits at the top table of UK gastronomy alongside Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal, Alain Roux and Alain Ducasse – The Araki is one of just five UK venues to be awarded three Michelin stars in the 2018 edition of The Michelin Guide To Great Britain & Ireland.

The Clock House at Ripley in Surrey has been awarded a Michelin star

Another London venue, Claude Bosi at Bibendum, was the only new two-star venue and a total of 17 restaurants across England, Scotland and Ireland gained a star, among them the Clock House at Ripley in Surrey, Devon’s Lympstone Manor and Moor Hall in Lancashire. There were also 27 new Bib Gourmands awarded, recognising good-quality and good-value cooking, including the Staith House in North Shields. 

A new star for Moor Hall in Lancashire (above) and two for Claude Bosi at Bibendum in London (header image) 

The cream of the the Michelin crop  (Three stars -'Exceptional cuisine - worth a special journey'):

• The Araki, London
• Alain Ducasse At The Dorchester, London
• Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London
• The Waterside Inn, Bray, Berkshire
• The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire

Check out the full 2018 list of Michelin stars and bib gourmands