Michelin Guide has bestowed a whole new series of stars on London in the new 2018 guides.

The Araki, the £300 per person 9-seater, sushi bar in Mayfair has been upgraded from its two-star ranking making it the UK’s first three-star Japanese restaurant. It is the first time three new Michelin stars has been awarded in the UK since 2010 when Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, London, won the ultimate accolade three years after the restaurant’s launch. Chef Mitsuhiro Araki previously ran Araki restaurant in Tokyo for which he held three Michelin stars, but chose to close it in February 2013 in order to pursue a new challenge and relocated to London. 

The only new restaurant to be awarded two stars (there are just 9 restaurants with two-stars in the capital) was Bibendum in London’s Chelsea which opened six months ago in March. Bosi was awarded his first star in the UK at Overton Grange in 1997. He was then awarded a Michelin star at Hibiscus in Ludlow in 2001 and two in 2004. In 2007, he relocated the restaurant to London where it retained its two stars until he closed it last year. 

Six more London restaurants gained one star. This included two Indian restaurants, Mayfair’s Jamavar and Chelsea’s recently revamped Vineet Bhatia, along with modern Chinese restaurant A Wong in Victoria, St James’s Nordic restaurant Aquavit, Le Dame de Pic from chef Sophie Pic - France's only current three-Michelin starred female chef, and Kensington’s Elystan Street from former The Square chef Phil Howard. 

Ideal For

Star gazing