February 2023: The Michelin Inspectors' Favourite New Restaurants

Bistros are truly back in style. There’s the very likeable Café Bohème in Aberdeen; no-one will ever leave Belzan in Liverpool still hungry; and The Galley in Topsham, Exeter is so cute you’ll want to take it home. Fell Bistro is another diminutive bistro, this time in the Ribble Valley; in contrast, Waterman in Belfast is big, bold and buzzy.

We’ve added some great pubs to the guide. In London, The Baring has us all wishing we lived in Islington, while The Pelican in Notting Hill is the best thing to have happened to All Saints Road since The Sugar Club all those years ago. The Holland looks like it’s the perfect fit for Kensington and, in Bath, The Chequers provides a great spot for refuelling after a day spent coveting all those handsome Georgian houses. The Baiting House is a delightful country pub in Worcester, while the Olde Glen Bar is one of the oldest in Donegal, Ireland. The (sort of) Japanese equivalent of a pub – an izakaya – is represented by Awabi in St Helier in Jersey, while Evernight, close to the US Embassy in London’s Nine Elms, is what a contemporary version of a pub looks like.

Several landmark buildings are now home to some impressive restaurants. Any visit to Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House should also include a bite to eat at Piazza, while Legacy is a fitting name for the formal restaurant at the historic Grand Hotel in York. In Ireland, D'Olier Street in Dublin is found in the former Chambers building and, in County Kildare, the very ornate Morrison Room sits within Carton House . Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, The Spence occupies a grand old banking hall.

Speaking of buildings, this month’s crop of new restaurants can be found within a variety of interesting properties. Culture in Falmouth occupies a former quayside warehouse; a tiny Grade 2 listed 18C house in Ledbury is home to charming 33 The Homend; and Yr Hen Printworks in Cardigan, Wales, shows what can be done with an old printworks. For those after a bucolic setting, Winslade Manor, outside Exeter, dates from the 19C and boasts over 86 acres; while The Rectory in Malmesbury is, as its name conveys, a restored Georgian rectory, with a lovely garden.

Many much-loved establishments are also returning to the guide, such as The Crown at Burchett's Green (now under new ownership) and the iconic Langan’s Brasserie in Mayfair, London. Some well-respected chefs and restaurateurs have also added to their portfolios: Rafael Cagali, chef-owner of Da Terra, now has another restaurant at the Town Hall Hotel – Elis; while in Bristol, the Sanchez-Iglesias family have reinvented their erstwhile Casamia restaurant with the opening of Casa.

At this time of year, when there’s a little more warmth to the sun and the days are starting to get longer, one’s appetites turn to lighter, sunnier fare. COR in Bristol and Lovage in Jesmond both offer appealing dishes inspired by the Mediterranean and the pasta at Emilia in Ashburton is terrific. Seafood is the draw at Dulse in Edinburgh, while Root Wells, in Somerset, is all about vegetables.

Other additions to the guide include Memsahib's Lounge, in a Georgian terrace in Cheltenham; Compton which took over the premises of the much-loved Modern Pantry in London; the very warmly run Neighbourhood in Naas, Country Kildare; and the equally fulfilling Café Deco in Bloomsbury. Finally – and now for something completely different – we have the Monarch Theatre, an immersive dining experience for fans of DC comics.

Discover which restaurants were added to the Great Britain & Ireland Guide in the months of March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December and January…