Michelin has snubbed London for the fourth year in a row – has the capital lost its grip on the foodie scene?

Notoriously covert, there’s something mischievous about the way Michelin operates. At the end of January, the guide made an announcement that it had awarded 20 new restaurants with Bib Gourmands – a ranking that recognises good food at moderate prices.

Wales and Scotland received nominations for the Touring Club and Tipo respectively. Ireland received five, Northern Ireland one (Belfast’s Home regained its status) and 10 more were awarded to restaurants in Lewes, Manchester, Bury St Edmunds, Hove, Charlbury, Bristol, Old Windsor, Falmouth, Hoveringham and Fordham.

Of the 20 accolades handed out, just two were in London – Empire Empire, a disco-themed Indian restaurant in Notting Hill, and Les 2 Garcons, a French bistro in Crouch End. London still holds the most (35), but with half the number of Bibs awarded this year compared to last, down from seven in 2021, and with places like Bristol, Brighton and Manchester on the up, the downward trend for the capital has been branded a snub.

So does this signify a wider shift away from London for foodies? According to Bloomberg, London lost 125,824 people to regional areas in 2023 and the historical hyper-focus on the capital is fading. But are chefs being forced out of London’s expensive centre or are restaurateurs following lucrative new markets outside of the city where young professionals are settling down?

To understand, let’s go back in time. Michelin introduced Bib Gourmands (named after the brand’s plucky mascot Bibendum) in 1997. Essentially, they’re a marker of fantastic food at affordable prices. The criteria are more flexible now than in previous years, when establishments had to offer three-course menus for under £30. Not in this lifetime, Bibendum. Now with a much looser “value” strapline, you’d think the goalposts were wide enough for everyone to take aim. But the lack of London representation in this year’s honours list suggests otherwise. Is the idea of value in London a different beast entirely? “Yes,” says Robin Gill, chef proprietor of Darby’s, “it’s certainly getting more expensive to eat out [here], but the cost of everything has gone up and that should reflect on the criteria.”

He’s talking from experience. His Clapham restaurant Sorella, which was awarded a Bib between 2019-2021, lost it in 2022.

Downgrading Sorella was a classic Michelin move. The gastronomy god giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other. Nobody can get too comfortable. From a business perspective, Gill says they had firm enough roots in the community to weather the storm. But money and footfall aside, it was Gill’s team that took the knock hardest: “It’s certainly not great for morale when something gets taken away.”

open image in gallery

Despite the loss, Gill’s not too churlish to admit it’s something he’d still like to reclaim. “For most chefs, they’d be lying if they said they didn’t care about it or wouldn’t be over the moon if they got it,” he says.

“I do think it’s very unhealthy for an individual or a restaurant to want to achieve an award and that be the be-all and end-all, though. There are a lot of restaurants out there cooking incredible food that may not have been recognised by Michelin for whatever reason. If you set out to get that goal, it’ll only torment you. And Michelin would probably say that themselves; they don’t want chefs literally killing themselves to get an award.”

So has London just become too pricey? Henry Coldstream from Great British Chefs says: “Sadly, London restaurants can just no longer compete with the price points of the likes of Higher Ground in Manchester and Lark in Suffolk. In my mind, there’s no question that restaurants like Borough’s addictive new Thai grill Kolae should have been recognised this year, but good value for money in London is evidently a very different thing from good value for money elsewhere in the UK.”

Restaurateur James Gummer has a unique perspective, owning restaurants in both London and Oxfordshire. His London pub, The Pelican, swiped itself a Bib last year, and his latest venture – The Bull in Charlbury – was one of this year’s winners.

“Let’s not forget that Bibs have certain parameters, and are there blockers for affordable restaurants succeeding in London? Of course there are,” he says. His point is backed up by ResDiary data, which says that last year 43 per cent of London restaurants predicted they would generate less revenue in 2023 than in 2022.

“Rents are really high, rates are traditionally really high, labour is high, produce is high. Something has to give in order to be able to provide an affordable restaurant of a certain standard,” he says. “You either have to do a really good volume, or you probably can’t afford the best produce or the best labour, and that’s a very difficult position for people trying to start up affordable restaurants in London at a certain level.”

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Gummer sees the shift as a natural post-Covid progression. With so many people having been forced to live within the confines of their immediate neighbourhoods, there’s a reinvigorated sense of community, and the allure of more space and a quieter life is drawing more chefs – and customers – out of the metropolis.

“Traditionally chefs would really only come to London to hone their skills, but it’s no longer the only place growing within the industry,” he says. “There are places outside of London where you’re able to take your cooking to a really great level.”

open image in gallery

For Anna and Dean Parker – co-owners of Celentano’s in Glasgow, awarded a Bib Gourmand six months after opening in 2021 – the move from London was their only choice. Dean spent years working at some of London’s best restaurants, but with his sights set on the couple running their own venture, their ambition eventually drove the move north.

Now settled in Scotland, Anna says: “We couldn’t have afforded a restaurant in London, not even close to it. As much as we always wanted to have our own place, it wasn’t a realistic dream if we stayed where we were. I’m not sure how anyone does it without investors or financial backing of some sort.”

Staying north of the border, Tipo was the only Bib Gourmand winner in Scotland this year, and comes from the same stable as Noto, also in Edinburgh, which also holds the award. Operations director Jade Johnson runs both outlets plus two others (Aizle and Lyla) with chef owner Stuart Ralston in Edinburgh. Stuart’s background is firmly based in the Michelin sphere, with experience working in one-, two- and three-star kitchens, so the pair set out to make the list from the off. “It was no secret that that was something we were aiming for,” says Jade.

She suggests the lack of Bibs in London isn’t just a money issue. Being away from the behemoth affords more room to grow. “Being out of London allows you to do something different without being nose to nose or elbow to elbow with someone competing for the same business as you.”

“I think the result will be that even more chefs will be forced to move away from the city eventually, and that’s actually a really exciting thing for the UK food scene.”

Back to Gill: he thinks the rise in social media has played a role in the Michelin spotlight switching focus, with Instagram making geographical expansion much simpler for the brand. “You don’t actually have to travel to discover where the good food is, you can see it online first,” he says. “There’s a proper little renaissance happening, with a full-scale restaurant boom in the UK across places like Manchester, north Wales and Nottingham.”

Pete Dreyer, restaurants editor at SquareMeal, echoes the sentiment: “This year’s awards are reflective of the fact that London isn’t the be-all and end-all of good food any more. There are so many great places outside of the capital now that Londoners would love to have on their doorstep; I’m not sure that was true 20 years ago. It’s only going to keep getting harder for London places to compete.”

Not everyone agrees that London is losing its grip. Sarah Allard of Conde Nast Traveller says: “London has always been the UK’s most exciting foodie destination, and with a slew of new openings planned for 2024. London holds 34 of the UK and Ireland’s Bibs, which makes up nearly a third of the full list. That’s a pretty clear indicator that it’s still very much leading the charge when it comes to great, affordable cooking across Great Britain and Ireland.”

Michelin said they weren’t in a position to comment when contacted for a quote.

Higher Ground, Manchester

open image in gallery

Joseph Otway opened Higher Ground off the back of his successful pop-up at natural wine bar Flawd, where he had the luxury of a sandwich maker, an induction hob and an electric pressure cooker. Higher Ground shows off just how much he can do when armed with full kit and his own kitchen garden.

Touring Club, Penarth

open image in gallery

Said to have been inspired by a restaurant in Patagonia, this one’s from Welsh-born chef Bryn Williams of Odette’s in London. It’s a beautifully designed minimalist space serving breakfast through to dinner. You can expect local fare such as Welsh rarebit sitting beside international favourites such as beef empanadas.

Ichigo Ichie Bistro and Natural Wine, Cork

open image in gallery

Japanese food has long been a darling of the Michelin inspectors, and this sweet neighbourhood spot ticks multiple boxes by dealing in local ingredients and natural wine too. They also claim to be the first people in Ireland serving buckwheat teuchi soba noodles.