What joy. My copy of The Michelin Guide Great Britain Ireland 2019 arrived today. As I pulled it from its packaging I immediately recognised that its weight was lighter than last year's edition. Mmmm .... why's that then? 750 pages this year, 900 pages last year. Last year's pages were printed on glossier, higher quality paper than this new 2019 edition. Obviously there's a grand effort afoot to reduce costs. Let's hope The Guide doesn't lose a star as a result!
As detailed in Blog 35 Birmingham retained all four of its single stars - Adam's, Carter's Of Moseley, Purnell's and Simpsons. The city's Michelin Plate status has increased a little - out goes Lasan after Aqbar Islam gave up his role there and Turner's At 69 which of course closed earlier this year while Andy Waters, Asha's, Opus and The Wilderness retain their status and in comes Ben Tesh's Folium, Harborne Kitchen and Aqbar Islam's new venture Opheem.
A little further afield Kenilworth's The Cross At Kenilworth retains its single star, Hampton In Arden's Peel's likewise holds on to its star and as reported in Blog 35 Stratford upon Avon's Salt has been awarded its first star. In Stratford also No. 9 Church St. pleasingly holds on to its Michelin Plate as do Lamb's in Sheep Street and Rooftop at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
Over in Cheltenham we already know that David Everett-Matthias' Le Champignon Sauvage is down a star from two to one but the town has 10 Michelin Plates while last year it had 12! Cheltenham's gastronomic status has gone downhill a little this year but we must not forget that it still has 3 more Plates than Birmingham. The restaurants which have held on to their Plates are Lumière, Daffodil, Bhoomi, Curry Corner, East India Café, Prithvi, White Spoon, No. 131 and Purslane while Koj is awarded a Plate for the first time.
The city of Wolverhampton has a single Michelin Plate in the form of Bilash, Worcester has one Plate (Old Rectifying House), Warwick has 1 Plate (Tailors), Leamington Spa and Coventry do not get a single mention in the Guide while Shrewsbury has a single Plate (The Haughmond). Burton-Upon-Trent is home to 99 Station Street which has a Michelin Plate and Henley-In-Arden has two Plate-holding restaurants - Cheal's of Henley and Bluebell.
At Ludlow The Charlton Arms has a Bib Gourmand and Forelles (at Fishmore Hall), Mortimers and Old Downton Lodge are all recognised with a Plate. Lichfield has 2 Plates - The Boat Inn and Wine House, Broadway also has 2 Plates - Buckland Manor and Russell's, Ilmington has 1 Plate (Howard Arms), Great Malvern has 1 Plate (L'Amuse Bouche) and 1 Bib Gourmand (The Inn at Welland), Gloucester is not mentioned but Stafford has 1 Plate (Moat House). The Old Butchers at Stow-On-The-World has a Michelin Plate and surrounding the town are Fox Inn, Cafe at Daylesford Organic, Kings Head Inn and Feathered Nest which all possess a Michelin Plate.
At Leintwardine The Lion holds a Plate, in Hereford there is Castle House in possession of a Plate, Long Compton is home to Red Lion (possessor of a Plate) and at Chipping Norton there is Wild Thyme which holds a Plate. Stoke on Trent does not get a mention in the Guide.
This is not an exhaustive list of restaurants mentioned in The Michelin Guide 2019 in the West Midlands but covers many places in our region.
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