‘I’ve tried almost every three-Michelin-star restaurant – Britain’s aren’t as good as France’s’

In 2004, restaurant critic Andy Hayler became the first person to have eaten at every three-Michelin-star restaurant in the world - Geoff Pugh

I have spent much of my life chasing stars. Not celebrities or celestial bodies, but Michelin stars. I have written about restaurants professionally since 1990, and in 2004 became the first person to have eaten at every three-Michelin-star restaurant in the world.

I kept up to date with Michelin as it expanded globally. By the end of 2019, there were 131 restaurants around the world with the ultimate three-star accolade, six of which were in the UK. I ate at every one of them (a tough job, but someone has to do it).

I have always been intrigued by the intricacy and theatre of fine dining – a pinnacle of eating that so many chefs strive for and so few achieve. (I stopped visiting every three-star restaurant during the pandemic, though I have tried many of the new ones. There are now 10 in Britain, and 31 in France.)

Michelin remains a global authority on restaurant rankings, and its scoring system – which awards one, two or three stars – is carried out anonymously by full-time inspectors. It is opaque enough to generate intrigue and respect.

Yet for all the brilliant restaurants I’ve been to, Michelin doesn’t always get it right. I recall a trout dish in what was, at the time, a two-star restaurant (Gourmetrestaurant Schlossberg in the Black Forest, Germany) that was so salty it could be used to cure a whole ham. That meal cost me £362.

I once sent back a sad summer salad at The Waterside Inn, in Bray, though its replacement was fine. At fellow three-Michelin-star Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, one white truffle dish had so little fragrance that my entire table wondered whether we had simultaneously contracted Covid.

Pictured: souffle at the Waterside Inn. Not pictured: the ‘sad’ salad Andy was served at the same restaurant

But I am always delighted when I come across a new restaurant with three stars that actually deserves it – and it’s well worth the significant outlay when it is. Jan Hartwig’s superb Jan, in Munich, for example, serves exciting, modern dishes. In Britain, however, I’m not sure any of the three stars are truly of the level of their French and Japanese counterparts.

Sometimes Michelin seems bafflingly slow to react to new talent. I recall reviewing the freshly opened (and now closed) Greenhouse in Dublin, in 2012, where Mickael Viljanen was cooking up a storm. It took Michelin four years to grudgingly give a star, and four more to give it a second. Yet the meals I had there across that period were uniformly stunning.

It was a similar story with The Ritz in London, blithely ignored by Michelin for years despite consistent outstanding cooking. The venerable hotel restaurant combines excellent ingredients, unrivalled culinary technique and truly professional service, all served in a grand 1906 dining room fit for a king (appropriate given it has served multiple members of the Royal family). One two-starred American chef asked me at the end of a meal there whether it had three stars – and was astonished to discover it had none. Michelin finally relented and granted one in 2017, followed by a second last year.

The Ritz, in London, only received its first Michelin star in 2017

Yet they can also award stars at an unseemly pace – Behind, in Hackney, was granted a star 20 days after it opened in 2021. I suppose this creates an aura of mystery about the Michelin system: “Never apologise, never explain”.

There has been a major shift in the way Michelin funds its guides in recent years, too. Now, essentially all the guides outside Europe and Japan are funded by tourist boards. The potential issue is that there could be a tension between tourist-board funds and outcomes. If someone hands over several million dollars for a guide, that could create pressure to ensure a respectable number of stars for that destination. I recall a visit to Shanghai some years ago with three well-travelled Chinese food writers, and we were all disappointed by the quality of the several newly awarded two-star restaurants we tried. I’ve honestly had better food in Chinatown.

Closer to home, my favourite places in London often have one star or none. The Dysart Petersham, in Richmond, does superb food, with huge amounts of effort going into its glorious sauces, yet it has just one star – in my mind, it easily deserves two.

Poached quince, autumn berries, local medlar ice cream, candied pecans and a muscovado tuile from The Dysart Petersham

Meanwhile, Koyal, in Surbiton, serves terrific Indian cuisine that is better than virtually any of its starred counterparts in central London. I’ve been to India 24 times and there are few restaurants there serving better food than Koyal, which is routinely ignored by Michelin.

Similarly, The Cocochine in Mayfair uses vastly superior ingredients to many Michelin-starred spots, and the cooking is world class, yet it has no star. Outside London, Sō-lō, in Ormskirk, is at a level well beyond its current one star, serving some terrific fish and seafood dishes.

Sō-lō is known for its inventive takes on seafood, including this amuse bouche from a collaboration with Tom Parker in 2023

But for all its faults, Michelin is the best guide we have. This week, the 2026 guide was announced and Mayfair’s Row on 5 and Bonheur by Matt Abé both received two stars – deservedly so. In general, Michelin gets more right than wrong. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Michelin is the worst form of restaurant guide – except all those others that have been tried from time to time.

Bonheur by Matt Abé, in Mayfair, is one of Michelin’s most recently awarded two-star restaurants - Andrew Crowley

Andy Hayler is an independent restaurant critic. In 2004 he became the first person to eat at every three-Michelin-starred restaurant in the world. You can read his reviews at andyhayler.com

Hayler’s top Michelin-starred restaurants in the UK

Two stars

The Ritz earned its second Michelin star in 2025 (pictured: executive chef, John Williams) - Andrew Crowley

• The Ritz, Piccadilly, London
• Row on 5, Mayfair, London

One star

Rutland’s Hambleton Hall is among the best Michelin restaurants Andy has visited

• The Dysart Petersham, Richmond
• Sō-lō, Ormskirk, Lancashire
• Martin Wishart, Edinburgh
• Hambleton Hall, Rutland
• Le Champignon Sauvage, Gloucestershire
• The Kitchin, Edinburgh

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