01-10-2012
Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2013
The Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2013 will be available in bookshops from Friday 5 October 2012, priced at £14.99 (€16.99 in Ireland).
This year’s guide sees three restaurants promoted from one to two Michelin stars. Sketch, in Mayfair, opened in 2002 and received its first Michelin star in 2005; L’Enclume, in Cartmel also opened in 2002 and was awarded its first Michelin star three years later; while Michael Wignall at the Latymer, Bagshot, opened in 2007 and won its first Michelin star in 2009.
Editor, Rebecca Burr said: “These are three equally worthy recipients of our two star award but each restaurant is very different in nature. Michael Wignall’s cooking offers a distinct sense of sophistication, Jean Denis Le Bras at Sketch has a much more ambitious style, while Simon Rogan’s cooking has steadily evolved and is now much more aligned with nature.”
Eighteen restaurants have been awarded one Michelin star. The furthest north is James Close’s Raby Hunt in Summerhouse, Darlington, while the furthest south is Paul Ainsworth at No.6 in Padstow, Cornwall. There are eight new one star establishments in London.
“I am very pleased to reveal that there are two further pubs included in this year’s star awards”, commented Burr. Heston Blumenthal’s Hinds Head in Bray, and Guy and Britt Manning’s Red Lion Freehouse in East Chisenbury have received this distinction. “This suggests that the trend for British pubs acknowledging diners as well as drinkers, and striving to raise their standards of cooking, is continuing to move in a positive direction.
“There are also two one star additions in Ireland – Locks Brasserie in Dublin and Aniar in Galway. Like the pubs, these two offer fairly simple surroundings and focus their attention where it really matters: on excellent quality food”.
There are 39 new Bib Gourmands, 11 of which are in London. The Bib Gourmand recognises restaurants offering particularly good value for money – the current limit being £28 for three courses (€40 in Ireland).
“In difficult financial times, establishments awarded a Bib Gourmand have been a real hit with our readers, proving that providing good value for money doesn’t have to mean compromising standards”, concluded Burr.
In total, 346 restaurants and 138 hotels have been added to the guide this year; the ‘New’ (N) symbol has been introduced to highlight these establishments.
Also published on Friday is the Michelin Guide London 2013, priced at £10.99 (€12.99 in Ireland). This provides extended text on London’s restaurants, with additional photographs and information on all starred establishments. It also includes a selection of London’s best hotels, across all categories of comfort.
Bären 
General notes :
Context : With friends
Ratings details
The interior of this restaurant is rustic and honest. This is matched by the food. We ordered a wide variety of dishes and could taste different aspects of the menu including broth, gnocchi, octopus, quail & goose liver terrine. All dishes where high on flavour. This being chicken farming country, the chicken was naturally excellent & superbly priced. Deserts were simple but tasty. Service was good, although felt a bit slow towards the end of the meal.
To be ultra critical, the quail main could have done with a bit more sauce and the truffle flavour could have come though a bit more, but this was a minor observation on an otherwise pleasant evening.