List of three Michelin starred restaurants in the United Kingdom

The Waterside Inn, the first restaurant outside France to hold three Michelin stars for 25 years

Michelin stars are a rating system used by the red Michelin guide to grade restaurants on their quality. The guide was originally developed in 1900 to show French drivers where local amenities such as restaurants and mechanics were, the rating system was first introduced in 1926 as a single star, with the second and third stars introduced in 1933.^[1] According to the Guide, one star signifies "a very good restaurant", two stars are "excellent cooking that is worth a detour", and three stars mean "exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey".^[2] The listing of starred restaurants is updated once a year.^[3]

The first restaurant in the UK to gain a Michelin star was Albert and Michel Roux's Le Gavroche, in London.^[4] It went on to become one of the first UK restaurants to win a second star in 1977, and the first to win a third, in 1982.^[2] Today it is still open as a two star restaurant, run by Albert's son, Michel Roux, Jr.^[5] In 2010 the Roux family's second restaurant, the Waterside Inn, became the first restaurant outside France to have held three Michelin stars for 25 years.^[6] The Roux family was also influential in training and influencing other chefs who themselves have gone on to win Michelin stars; Pierre Koffmann,^[7] Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay all went on to open restaurants which earned three Michelin stars after working with the Roux brothers.^[8][9]

There are currently four restaurants in the UK which hold three Michelin stars, including the aforementioned Waterside Inn. The remaining three restaurants are Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and The Fat Duck. Out of the four restaurants, two are located in London, while the other two are located in Bray, Berkshire.^[10]

List of Michelin three starred restaurants

Restaurant	Chef	Cuisine	Location				Current	Ref.
				Year to star
Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester	Ducasse, AlainAlain Ducasse	Contemporary French	London	& —	2009	2010–		[11]
Chez Nico	Ladenis, NicoNico Ladenis	French cuisine	Reading, Berkshire (1973–81) London (1982–99)	1981–83	1984–94	1995–99	Closed	[12]
The Fat Duck	Blumenthal, HestonHeston Blumenthal	Molecular gastronomy	Bray, Berkshire	1999–2001	2002–03	2004–15[Note 1] 2017–		[13][14]
La Tante Claire	Koffmann, PierrePierre Koffmann	French cuisine	London	1979	1980–92 1999–2002	1993–98	Closed	[15]
Le Gavroche	Roux, Jr., MichelMichel Roux, Jr.	French cuisine	London	1974–76	1977–81 1993–	1982–92		[16]
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay	Ramsay, GordonGordon Ramsay	French cuisine	London	& —	1999–2000	2001–		[17]
The Restaurant Marco Pierre White[Note 2]	White, Marco PierreMarco Pierre White	French cuisine	London	2001–02	1994	1995–99	Closed	[12]
The Waterside Inn	Roux, AlainAlain Roux	French cuisine	Bray, Berkshire	1974–76	1977–84	1985–		[18]

See also

• List of Michelin starred restaurants
• List of Michelin starred restaurants in Ireland
• List of Michelin starred restaurants in the Netherlands
• List of restaurants in London
• Lists of restaurants
• List of Michelin starred restaurants in Scotland

Notes

1. The Fat Duck does not appear in the 2016 Michelin Guide for the UK and Ireland as following a refurbishment and temporary relocation to Australia, it was not open in time to be considered.^[13]
2. The Restaurant Marco Pierre White was known simply as "The Restaurant" in 1994 when it was awarded two Michelin stars. After it moved to Mayfair in 1998, it became known as "Oak Room Marco Pierre White".

Citations

1. Boxell, James (15 July 2011). "Star-crossed". The Financial Times. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
2. Dixon, Rachel (24 January 2008). "Q&A: Michelin stars". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
3. "Top Michelin-rated restaurants". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
4. "Observer classic". The Guardian. 12 May 2002. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
5. "Albert Roux & Michel Roux, Jnr". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. 25 September 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
6. Kapur, Sonia (20 May 2010). "Waterside Inn celebrates 25yrs of three-star quality". Maidenhead Advertiser. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
7. Cooke, Rachel (20 June 2010). "Pierre Koffmann: 'Not enough British chefs cook from the heart'". The Observer. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
8. Barber, Lynn (21 October 2007). "What's eating Marco?". The Observer. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
9. Vines, Richard (16 November 2010). "Chef Albert Roux Has Advice for Protege Ramsay: Get Cooking". Bloomberg. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
10. Rogers, Simon (7 October 2011). "Michelin stars 2012: get the full list of restaurants". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
11. Kuhn, Kerstin (18 January 2010). "New Michelin-starred restaurants praised by guide editor". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
12. Ryder, Bethan (27 September 2001). "When Marco met Nico". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
13. Hyslop, Leah (16 September 2015). "Michelin Guide 2016: Japanese restaurants in London win coveted stars". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
14. "Heston Blumenthal: Why snail porridge consumes me". CNN. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
15. Maschler, Fay (15 December 1998). "Koffmann's classic La Tante Claire". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
16. "Le Gavroche". Time Out. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
17. "Gordon Ramsay". Harden's. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
18. Norman, Matthew (18 June 2010). "Berkshire restaurant guide: The Waterside Inn in Bray, Berkshire". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 September 2012.

References

• "England Michelin Star Restaurants". Michelin Online. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
• "London Michelin Star Restaurants". Michelin Online. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2012.