Michelin Guide 2024: The Ledbury awarded three stars with flurry of new two stars announced

The restaurant, which re-entered the Guide last year with two stars following its post-pandemic relaunch in 2022, becomes the ninth three Michelin star restaurant in the Great Britain & Ireland Guide.

A further six new two Michelin star restaurants were announced at this year’s star revelation ceremony, which was held tonight (5 February) at The Midland Hotel in Manchester, with The Peninsula London’s rooftop restaurant Brooklands, led by chef director Claude Bosi, entering the Guide with two stars having only opened back in October.

Alongside them, 18 restaurants have been newly awarded one Michelin star. Additionally, six restaurants received a Michelin Green Star, which highlights those at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices.

First opened in 2005 when the Australia-born Graham was just 23, The Ledbury soon became one of London’s most famous and in-demand dining rooms for both Londoners and visitors to the city.

The restaurant was forced to undergo a two-year hiatus between 2020 and 2022 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and while the closure led to numerous changes, The Ledbury’s overall ethos has remained the same: namely an obsession with top quality produce; a singular approach to cooking that blends classical and contemporary elements seamlessly together; and - perhaps most importantly - an unusually warm and flexible service style.

Reacting to the promotion at the Michelin ceremony, Graham said: “I’m just blown away, I had no idea.

“We were coming up today wondering what might happen and we knew we had sort of been on the radar a bit, but I had no idea. It’s an amazing surprise.”

A good night for London restaurants

From Cornwall to Cork, the newly crowned restaurants span across Great Britain and Ireland.

London, in particular, has had a highly successful year, with three new two star and 11 new one star restaurants alongside The Ledbury’s promotion.

Cumbria adds two new one star restaurants to its collection with Lake Road Kitchen and Cedar Tree by Hrishikesh Desai; and Birmingham has welcomed its first ever two star restaurant in the form of Aktar Islam’s Opheem, which received its first Michelin star back in 2019.

However, while the awards were held in Manchester, the city failed to be awarded any additional stars.

Opheem was one of two Indian restaurants to be promoted to two stars in this year’s Guide, with JKS’ Mayfair restaurant Gymkhana also upgraded.

Elsewhere in London, Trivet has made the jump from one star to two; while in Crieff, The Glenturret Lalique becomes only the second two star restaurant in Scotland.

County Cork also has another two star restaurant to add to its collection in the form of Vincent Crepel’s Terre at the Castlemartyr Resort.

An ‘innovative and impressive’ dining scene

Eleven of the 18 new one-star restaurants announced are in London with Adejoké Bakare’s Chishuru and Aji Akokomi’s Akoko singled out by Michelin for putting West African cuisine firmly in the spotlight in the capital.

London’s Japanese dining scene was also celebrated with Sushi Kanesaka and Angelo Sato’s Humble Chicken both gaining a star. Meanwhile, wood-fired cooking continues to be on-trend with Mountain and Humo being recognised as ‘masters of the form’.

Three of the new stars are under the auspices of big name chefs, with Simon Rogan’s Aulis, Yannick Alléno’s Pavyllon London, and 1890 by Gordon Ramsay also each picking up a star.

Additionally, Dorian in Notting Hill and Ormer Mayfair each received their first stars, with the former recognised for being ‘free from pretension but big on quality ingredients’ by the guide, and the latter celebrated for ‘combining classical and modern cooking’.

Outside of the capital, husband-and-wife duo Joshua and Victoria Overington’s new north Yorkshire restaurant Mýse also received its first star; while in the West Country, Dan Cox’s Crocadon in St Mellion built on its Green Star from last year by being awarded one star for its cooking this year.

The Republic of Ireland, meanwhile, added three new one star restaurants to its tally with Homestead Cottage in Doolin, The Bishop’s Buttery in Cashel and Dublin's D’Olier Street all recognised.

In total, the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2024 recommends 170 one star restaurants and 27 two star restaurants.

“The dining scene in Great Britain & Ireland continues to be both innovative and impressive,” says Gwendal Poullennec, international director of The Michelin Guide.

“With a new three Michelin star and six new two star restaurants, the selection’s global standing has grown even further. Among all of the newly awarded stars, both the quality and variety of the dining experiences are wonderful to see.

“There are enormously talented chefs turning their hands to anything from wood-fired sharing plates to finely tuned sushi.

“To have so much positive news to share with the industry, at a time when restaurants are facing so many challenges, gives me great pride and is proof of the continued vitality within British and Irish dining.”

This year also celebrated the Great Britain & Ireland Guide's 50^th anniversary, having been published annually since 1974.