Love it, loathe it, the annual revision to the Michelin guide is still relevant. Widely scrutinised, lambasted and worshipped by restauranteurs and restaurant lovers alike, it is perhaps the most recognisable of all restaurant guides. But, it has probably lost some respect with stakeholders in this edition, which coincidentally, marks the bib’s 100 year ‘presence’ (actually 38th published edition) in GB.

As ever, the red guide’s annual selection process polarise opinion. People seem to feel that chosen restaurants are skewered toward larger operations, French food, good capital investment (..the grade of cotton used for hand towels..), popularity of chef. So much so, it appears that savvy restaurateurs have seemingly nailed down a formula for consistently winning the coveted macaroons.

This year, the national tally increases to 140, surpassing the (previously record) 2010 haul. In part, it has helped propel the status of British restaurants to yet another new high…at least if you believe the bib’s estimations. There are no *** inductees this year (how long before AD wins another eh) , but two reputed chefs, Helene Darrozze and Nathan Outlaw have made the leap to the ** club, bringing the London total of 2 star restaurants to 8.

I had expected the Galvin brothers to cap their year of expansion with Michelin success. After the (surprise) Windows award last year; they make on the list yet again, this time with their big budget opening: La Chapelle. Gaining a star after only about a year or so in operation. Commercial (and critical) success probably belonged to the Galvin restaurants in 2010. The other master chef behind the rise of London stars is of course Phil Howard. And with W8 gaining a star, his influence on the London guide, spans his own double starred, The Square, and his former protege’s The Ledbury and also Harwood Arms.

Of course, as you well know, 2010 was a great year for London restaurants. There were lots of exciting openings, thankfully not all were geared toward the stuffy conventions which the bib apparently gives out its stars on. Nevertheless, it’s good to see Alexis Gauthier and Nuno Mendes making the cut, after only being opened for such a short while. Both men already have a good reputation, and I do think their recipes are ace, and they deserved to be recognised.

Gordon Ramsay gained one this year, and didn’t lose any. I went to Petrus early last year when it opened and already thought it had nailed a secret formula to winning stars (Gordon does have a closet full of ‘em afterall), what with Mark Askew at the helm, it was always in with a shout. But I think therein was the problem I suppose – the quintessential definition of a Michelin restaurant, no longer seems to command allure like it used to anymore.

Just look at the success of places like Polpo, Trullo, Bar Boulud (to a certain extent Bob Bob Ricard and Bruno Loubet) and Koya. Egalitarian, modern, down to earth, completely down with the tweepers. Although to be fair, half the London gastroheads were eating burgers through 2010.

Not to say that old guard, red guide approved institutions are bad; far from it of course. The likes of Zafferano and Le Gav for example – both of which represent the idea of Old World fine dining – are in my opinion, still the best at what they deliver, but I feel that we are now more sensitive to value for money. We also prefer hearty and wholesome. On the other hand, I think some Michelin restaurants are just not worth the attention. It does baffle how the bib favours glamour over quality of cooking…sometimes.

Perhaps, that’s why the Bib Gourmand might actually step out of the shadow of the Michelin Guide. In its current state, it is no where near as practical as it could be, but the guideline – “good food at moderate prices” – sounds much more sensible. They list 28-50, Trullo, Zucca and Polpo, which I do agree fit the guideline.

As with any list, it means very little, especially with food being the subjective topic in itself. But that’s why so many blogs and critics continue to plow the ‘net with their opinion. Something which I still believe that as restaurant goers, we only stand to benefit from the range of opinion out there to help you decide on what to eat and what to avoid.

Commiserations to Francesco Mazzei for missing out yet again, though I do think L’Anima is almost there, if he is still interested in getting there. And to be fair, my favourite restaurant in London, Cambio de Tercio – which in my opinion serves the best Spanish food in the city – has been doing it since the late 90’s , and how the bib continues to ignore its brilliance is utterly beyond me.

Who else should I mention ? How about Terroirs/Brawn? the husband & wife outfit that is Sushi of Shiori ? Yashin ? Bryn Williams at Odette’s? Or the juicy work Goodman/Hawksmoor are doing? Let’s not forget some old school heroes like Andrew Edmunds, innovative openings like Parle’s Dock Kitchen, and the always dependable GQS (which is in the Gourmand list). And how can I not mention Uncle Lim’s awesome Hainanese chicken rice…pho at Café East…. And for a limited time throughout the month of February, 2011: The Bryon Big D. We know they’ll never make the red guide, but we love them, and in my mind, they have become London institutions in their own right. No guide is ever definitive, especially something like the Michelin guide.

And the clock resets itself.

Three Stars

• Alain Ducasse at The Dorcester, Mayfair
• The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire
• Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Royal Hospital Road, London
• The Waterside Inn, Bray, Berkshire

Two Stars

• Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, Mayfair – 2011 Addition
• Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Cornwall – 2011 Addition
• The Ledbury, Westbourne Grove
• Le Gavroche, Mayfair
• Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, Berkeley hotel, Knightsbridge
• Pied á Terre, Bloomsbury
• The Square, Mayfair
• Hibiscus, Mayfair
• L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Covent Garden

One Star

• Kitchen W8 , Kensington 2011 Addition
• Petersham Nurseries Café , Richmond 2011 Addition
• Viajante, Bethnal Green 2011 Addition
• Galvin La Chapelle, Spitafields 2011 Addition
• Pétrus, Belgravia 2011 Addition
• Seven Park Place, at St James’s Hotel and Club 2011 Addition

Gauthier, Soho 2011 Addition

• The Harwood Arms, Fulham
• Bingham Restaurant
• Apsleys (at the Lanesborough Hotel), Belgravia
• Galvin at Windows (at London Hilton Hotel), Mayfair
• Tamarind, Mayfair
• Texture, Regents Park
• Chapter One, Kent
• Hakkasan, Soho
• Rhodes TwentyFour, City of London
• Club Gascon, City of London
• River Cafe, Hammersmith
• La Trompette, Chiswick
• St John, Clerkenwell
• Tom Aikens, Chelsea – On my eat list
• Rasoi, Chelsea
• The Glasshouse, Kew Village
• Chez Bruce, Wandsworth List
• Amaya, Belgravia
• Zafferano, Belgravia
• The Greenhouse, Mayfair
• Murano, Mayfair
• Maze, Mayfair
• Benares, Mayfair
• Umu, Mayfair
• Kai, Mayfair
• Semplice, Mayfair
• Wild Honey, Mayfair
• Nobu (at the Metropolitan), Mayfair
• Nobu Berkeley, Mayfair
• Sketch The Lecture Room and Library, Oxford Circus
• L’Autre Pied, Marylebone
• Rhodes W1, Marylebone
• Locanda Locatelli, Marylebone
• Yauatcha, Soho
• Arbutus, Soho
• Quilion, Victoria
• Deleted- Nahm, Belgravia
• Deleted – Roussillon, Victoria

Source : GB Michelin Star List 2011 ; GB Michelin Bib List 2011.

As many of you have heard, the big news for restaurant obsessives this week is the (leaked) release of the 2010 update to the Michelin Guide. As usual, there are some winners, some losers and some shock decisions where potentials didn’t make the big time. Whether you love it or hate it, backpatting exercise or true culinary standard, winning a michelin star (or two) is still seen by many as the ultimate accolade in the restaurant world. The iconic Red Guide has been kicking around Britain since 1974 and in it’s latest iteration has decided to award another three jewel to the British gastronomical crown. As of 2010, Britain now boasts four three-star restaurants. The lucky fella is of course the international brand name Alain Ducasse, and the winning restaurant is based in the Dorchester… which coincidentally is owned by the Sultan of Brunei.

The other big winners are of course the rising star himself Mr Brett Graham and by extension his mentor Phil Howard of The Square. The Ledbury finally lives up to their ‘rising stars’ status bestowed upon them last year, and in my view they have scored a surprise whopper with the addition of Harwood Arms to the list. So now both master and apprentice share the limelight in London, both on equal footing with two stars. I think 2009 was definitely the year of Howard and Graham, I had already alluded to this in my Ledbury/Square reviews in 2009 and while they weren’t quite the hottest tables in town, they certainly ran the best kitchens.

So who were the biggest losers then? Without a doubt, it’s got to be Gordon Ramsay. Whilst his pride and joy at Royal Hospital Road remains untouched; Claridges has been stripped of it’s solitary star. To add insult to injury, reports of his GR Holding’s financial losses certainly does not help. So this looks like a personal kitchen nightmare for Ramsay, it would be interesting to see how he digs himself out of this. Less TV work, less books and more time in the kitchen perhaps? For more on this, you can read Jay Rayner’s extended commentary. Though probably more damaging is The Capital being stripped of both stars! I was planning a visit (I still am) since it was the most affordable of the London two stars, but I had thought it was more underrated rather than dipping standards. Oh well, now that they have lost their stars, I have somehow become more fascinated with it… will they suck it up and cook their pants off this year to recapture the glory days? Has anyone been and what were your thoughts?

One announcement I was expecting never came and I am still reeling from the shock of Eastside Inn’s exclusion from this list. For me, this was 2009′s breakthrough restaurant, and I think Bjorn thoroughly deserves his sparkles. Coincidentally, I actually dine at the Bistro last night, and had a chance to speak with Bjorn himself about this year’s revision. I could tell he was gutted, well I am gutted for him as well. Though I fully expect them to gain a star when I do this write-up again in a year’s time.

Which brings me to speak about the significance of this list – how accurate is it, and what are their benchmarks? Does it guarantee good food? In my view, I feel that the Michelin guide doesn’t simply seek out great cooking, it’s judging a much smaller pool of restaurants which are backed with moneybags, or chefs with star power… sometimes, I just feel that it is abit of a back patting exercise, and stars being granted on the basis of reputation than on the back of bloody great recipes, executed by well-oiled kitchens. Then again, I don’t want to say that there is a definite pattern to things, because I don’t think there is any conspiracy here, nothing more than a madman’s babble. I think if one enjoys old fashioned wining and dining, the validity of the michelin guide still hold true. Not to say that the restaurants in the current guide serves bad food, but that good restaurants do exists outside this guide. Heck two of my personal favourites are not even in this list, Cambio de Tercio and Eastside Inn. I think it is down to different people having different perceptions of food, afterall, it is such a subjective topic that sometimes pinning down great cooking to a set of rigid standards is paradoxical to the spirit of food. One aspect of the guide that gets overlooked is value for money. As much as I love throwing money away to fund my ever increasing trouser sizes; the prices at multiple starred restaurants are simply out of reach for me. One thing is for sure: this list is not definitive. Somehow I feel that in the new mellenium, this sort of worship of the glamarous is horribly outdated, but still, I respect it.

Finally, looking into my personal crystal ball, I predict 2010 to be the year of the Galvins brothers. As I alluded to in my Bistrot de luxe write up, I think they are blazing a trail of glory this year; Windows has already won a star this year, and I am now ever anxious to see what the kitchen at La Chapelle is really capable of. They are highest on my list, and I expect to visit very soon.

Ok so what are your thoughts on this year’s guide? Feel free to share. I have put together the London List below and the information has been sourced from the official Michelin Guide website. For the restaurants which I had been to, I have linked it to my write-up where applicable, for the ones where I didn’t write it up, I have included a short remark of what I thought of the place. Deletions are marked with a strike through.

I’m hardly a Michelin Star worshipper, having only been to 19 from this list of 50 in the last two years. If you would like to follow a foodblog dedicated to the glamourous try Gen.u.ine.ness and FoodSnob.

Three Stars: 4 Restaurants

Two Stars: 7 restaurants

One Star: 39 restaurants

Source : The Michelin Guide for Great Britain & Ireland 2010 )

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The Michelin guide is quite possibly the most prestigious restaurant rating system in the world. Gaining one of these bad boys is like giving a restaurant a license to charge ridiculous amounts of money and be able to create gimmick heavy food while almost guaranteeing rock-star celebrity status within the community. The rating system is fairly straightforward in that it only gives them away to a fairly small group of establishments (and their mates) which are deemed worthy. There are only three categories:

1. One Star given for a very good restaurant in its category
2. Two Stars given for excellent cooking, worth a detour
3. Three Stars for exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

Over the decades, the Red Guide has had its fair share of critics, citing that because it’s a French publication – it’s ratings tend to be skewed toward French restaurants with an emphasis on stuffy over complicated formality and way too much attention to presentation rather than just straight forward great food. 

What did you expect right? It is a European based publication after all and they only release the red guide for a handful of countries (in which the UK is one of them) and interestingly enough, Tokyo holds the most number of stars compared to any other country (173 with one or more) . Still, the French version is now headed by a German woman, the Honorable Goddess Ms Juliane Caspar. She must have a sensitive tongue. I’d love to take her out for a meal.

In addition to the glamorous three stars, The Michelin guide also awards the ‘Bib Gourmand’ to restaurants which provide good food at moderate prices. In the UK, that means a menu priced at no greater than 28 squiddies.

So does this mean that a three star place is a guaranteed meal of a lifetime? Well, I don’t know, never been to one, but very few are in this category and there are only three in the whole of the UK and only one of them is in London (belonging to a certain flying Scotsman). It does guarantee that it’s going to be pricy though. I’ve noticed that restaurants in contention/possessing of a Michelin star do seem to loosely follow French conventions when it comes to service and style. In the UK, the price of the menu is also quite indicative of how many stars they possess ( 3 courses ):

1. 3 stars : £125 and up
2. 2 stars : £75 to £95
3. 1 star : About £50
4. In contention : £about 50 squiddies too, maybe less in recession.

I have been to a few one stars ( Hibiscus , Maze ) but only one two star ( Square ) and it seems like the Square is way better than the rest in terms of cooking, service, ambiance, even down to the cutlery. Does this mean that the more stars a restaurant holds, the better the food? Well, I don’t think so, I think it’s indicative of quality, but it doesnt guarantee that a one-star place is going to taste any less compared to a two-star place. I think when that happens, it means more stars for the former and a deduction for the latter. In that regard, it really means that holding a star does not equal good food (if it did, there would be no debate over this guide). 

Personally, the star just means more £££ to me and sometimes I just want simple tasty food and not burn a hole in my wallet. Although I do enjoy a beautiful dinner, after all that’s what I write about, but a beautiful dinner need not come from restaurants with a surcharge from the Michelin man.

What about you? What’s your view on the Michelin man? Is it a guiding light for your restaurant experiences, or do you rely on word of mouth and hidden gems to find your dishes? 

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