Jason Atherton’s iconic Tower 42 restaurant City Social was stripped of its Michelin star at the food guide’s annual awards ceremony this week.
In a bittersweet evening for Atherton, his new Row on 5 restaurant on Savile Row – seen as the celebrity chef’s flagship venue following the closure of Pollen Street Social last year – was awarded its first Michelin star.
The only other operating restaurant to lose a star was Mayfair’s Chinese fine dining spot Kai.
Despite the hotel recently announcing further financial losses, Ritz Restaurant was awarded two Michelin stars, alongside Soho’s Humble Chicken.
“Humble Chicken and its creative driving force, Angelo Sato, have made the leap to two stars just 12 months after being awarded their first,” said the 2025 guide. “Chef Sato’s thrilling cuisine is innovative and delicious in equal measure, impressing the inspectors with its original streak.”
Praise for Ritz Restaurant included: “Chef John Williams and his brigade are masters of their craft, taking classically based dishes – with nods to Escoffier – and adding increasing amounts of originality and modernity.”
London-based restaurants awarded a single star included Oma, AngloThai, Lita, 64 Goodge Street, Cornus, Caractere, Dosa, Plates and Mauro Colagreco at Raffles. The announcement makes Plates the first vegan restaurant in the UK to win a Michelin star. Oma was also named ‘opening of the year’.
Lancashire’s Moor Hall was awarded the maximum three stars, taking the total number of ‘three star club’ restaurants in the UK and Ireland to 10. According to the guide: “Chef Mark Birchall and his team have continued to hone their craft and have now achieved new levels of excellence… The Inspectors particularly enjoyed the classically based turbot cooked in brown butter.”
There are a total of 220 Michelin star restaurants in the UK and Ireland, including 10 three star, 29 two star and 181 1 star.
