Recently in Restaurant Guides Category

Londoners' favourite restaurant in 2011 was Jason Atherton's Pollen Street Social, according to eating out guide Square Meal which awarded its BMW Award for Restaurant of the Year to the Mayfair eatery.

The first solo venture from former Gordon Ramsay Holdings' Maze chef director Atherton, the Michelin-starred restaurant was praised for offering top quality food, good value and impeccable service.

Meanwhile, bad service is the biggest bugbear for restaurant diners in the capital, according to the 2012 Square Meal Complaints Survey.

Grumbles over poor service in restaurants amount to 45% of all complaints and way eclipse the second-largest area of upset, which is ambience and décor (19.5%), reports the survey.

The restaurant guide's annual look at the industry, based on the opinions of about 8,000 London restaurant-goers, found that rude staff, slow service and unknowledgeable staff as well as the practice of automatically adding service charge to the bill, contributed to ruining guests' dining experience.

Complains about atmosphere are up 39% from last year, with disappointing décor, lack of ambience and too much noise topping the list of grievances.

Also on the capital's list of annoyances was disappointing or overpriced food, although this has remained steady at 18.5%, with diners enjoying set menus at high end restaurants and other offers.

Roganic named best new restaurant by Square Meal >> 

Japan has confirmed its title as the world's leader of gastronomy as Michelin has awarded a total of 32 restaurants in the country with its top accolade of three stars.

Michelin today released its 2012 guide to Tokyo, promoting three new restaurants to three-stars including Sushi Yoshitake and Ryugin in Tokyo and Koan in Shonan. The Japanese capital now has 17 three-star restaurants.

After the release of its guide to western Japan last month, the country now boasts more three-Michelin-starred restaurants than France, which currently has 25.

However, the size and scale of the restaurant industry in Japan helps to partly explain its success when it comes to Michelin stars. There are around 160,000 restaurants Tokyo, compared with about 40,000 in Paris.

Michelin's 2012 Tokyo guide this year expanded its coverage to include the areas of Yokosuka, Hayama, Zushi, Fujisawa, Chigasaki, Hiratsuka, Oiso, Odawara and Yugawara.

A total of 57 restaurants gained two stars, with 13 new additions, including Korean restaurant Moranbong, which is the first in the world to achieve the award. Meanwhile 54 establishments celebrated their first star, bringing the total to 219.

Bernard Delmas, president of Nihon Michelin Tire, commented: "Thanks to our readers, we have reached the 5th anniversary of the Michelin guide in Japan. Since the first publication of the guide in 2007, we have enriched the selection by expanding the area."

He added: "We hope that readers from all over Japan and also from overseas will visit the shining stars in Tokyo Yokohama and Shonan and have a wonderful time. And we sincerely hope that we can contribute to Japan's restaurant and tourism industry by publishing this guide."

US chef Grant Achatz's Alinea has become the only three-starred restaurant in Chicago after L20 lost two stars in Michelin's second guide to the US city.

L20, whose famous chef, Laurent Gras, left the day after the restaurant gained its third star last year, has been demoted to one-star-status.

Charlie Trotter's and Ria have retained their two stars, while 18 establishments celebrated their first Michelin star.

Achatz's new restaurant Next, which has gained wide critical acclaim since opening in the spring, has failed to be recognised by Michelin. The restaurant is described as a "permanent pop-up", changing its menus entirely four times a year.

The Michelin guide Chicago 2012, which goes on sale on 16 November, features a total of 432 restaurants 45 types of cuisine, including 21 holding stars. It also lists 56 restaurants with Bib Gourmands serving two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less.

The Chicago guide is Michelin's third US guide after New York and San Francisco and the Bay Area. Guides to Los Angeles and Las Vegas were discontinued.

Andrew Fairlie has become the latest addition in the UK to the ranks of Grand Chefs recognised by luxury hotel consortium Relais & Chateaux.

The prestigious accolade is held by only a select number of 160 chefs around the world, including 70 independent operators, in recognition for leading the way through innovation and excellence.

Fairlie, who runs his eponymous restaurant at Gleneagles hotel in Perthshire and is the only chef in Scotland to hold two Michelin stars, joins an elite group of just seven chefs to have been awarded the title in the UK.

The others are: Alain Roux at the Waterside Inn; Heston Blumenthal at the Fat Duck; Michel Roux Jr at Le Gavroche; Michael Caines at Gidleigh Park; Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons; and Martin Burge at Whatley Manor. Fairlie is only the third independent UK operator to have been named a Relais & Chateaux Grand Chef.

Fairlie said he felt extremely honoured and proud. "Receiving my award in front of 500 Relais & Chateaux proprietors including Michel Guérard, Michel Troisgros and Olivier Roellinger was a very special moment," he said.

"Being accepted into Relais & Chateaux has been an ambition of mine for many years. I first heard of Relais & Chateaux in 1985 when I was working at the Waterside Inn just before I was due to start my scholarship with Michel Guérard. The guide was full of the greatest chefs in the world and as a young 20-year-old I dreamt that one day I would be included."

Fairlie won the first Roux Scholarship in 1984, offering him the opportunity to train with Guérard at Les Prés d'Eugénie in Gascony, during a period when the UK's food reputation on the world stage was poor and a foreigner working in a French kitchen almost unheard of.

He opened his restaurant within Gleneagles hotel in 2001 and achieved a Michelin star in 2002 as well as the Newcomer of the Year Catey. His second star followed in 2006 and he remains the only chef in Scotland with two stars. He was named Scottish Chef of the Year in 2008.

The 2012 Relais & Chateaux guide features 31 properties in the UK, including newcomers Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Greywalls Hotel and Isle of Eriska, all in Scotland.

Michelin has released its 2012 guide to Germany and has awarded La Vie in Osnabrück three stars and promoted a record number of 10 establishments to two-star-status.

Thomas Bühner's restaurant in the North West of Germany has won Michelin's top accolade after being tipped a rising three-star for two consecutive years.

With Nils Henkel's Gourmetrestaurant Lerbach losing its third star, Michelin's 2012 guide to Germany continues to list a total of nine three-star restaurants, more than any other European guide bar France.

Meanwhile 10 restaurants celebrated their second Michelin star. These include Lorenz Adlon and Reinstoff in the capital of Berlin; Schwingshackl Esskultur in Bernried and Kastell in Wernberg-Köblitz in Bavaria; and Rosin in Dorsten and La Vision in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The North continues to dominate the ranks of Michelin-starred restaurants in Germany, with the new guide awarding a second star to four establishments in the region: Haerlin and Jacobs Restaurant in Hamburg; Buddenbrooks in Lübeck; and La Mer in List on the island of Sylt.

A total of 23 restaurants were awarded their first stars bringing the number of one-star establishments to 208. Overall Germany now has 249 restaurants holding one or more Michelin stars.

The number of Bib Gourmands, restaurants offering good food at moderate prices, rose by 45 and now totals 431.

The 2012 Michelin guide to Germany goes on sale on 11 November.

Thomas Keller's French Laundry and the Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley in northern California have remained the only restaurants to hold three stars in the Michelin guide to San Francisco, the Bay Area and Wine Country.

The 2012 edition of the famous guide has awarded two establishments in San Francisco their second stars: Asian restaurant Benu and the American eatery Saison, as well as modern French restaurant Baumé in South Bay. The Californian guide now features six two-star restaurants including David Kinch's Manresa in Los Gatos in the Santa Cruz mountains, Daniel Patterson's Coi in San Francisco, and Cyrus in Sonoma.

Meanwhile, 20 restaurants celebrated their first Michelin star, bringing the total of one-star establishments in the guide to 39.

Now in its sixth edition, the Michelin guide to San Francisco, Bay Area and Wine Country, which was released yesterday (25 October), identified 77 restaurants as Bib Gourmands (19 new) - offering two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for less than $40 (£25).

It is one of three US guides, including New York, which recently awarded two new three- and two new two-stars, as well as Chicago, which will be released next month.

Earlier this month, San Francisco began discussing implementing a mandatory 25% service charge.

Brett Graham's two-Michelin-starred restaurant the Ledbury in London has won yet another award after being named the top restaurant in the UK in the Sunday Times Food List.

The award comes after the Ledbury recently topped both the Zagat and Harden's surveys for best food in London and after Graham earlier this year won the prestigious Chef of the Year Catey.

The Sunday Times Food List is based on food quality alone, chosen by 8,000 restaurant goers from across the UK and compiled by Harden's Restaurant Guide in conjunction with Rémy Martin.

Graham commented: "It's a huge honour to top the list, especially as it comes from such a broad base of customers. This is a testament to everyone in the extremely talented and energetic young team here at the Ledbury."

Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, came second in the Food List while last year's winner, Gidleigh Park, placed third. 

Gidleigh Park also won the Rémy Martin X.O. Excellence Award for Best All Round Restaurant, while Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley picked up the Coeur de Cognac Award for Best Dessert, and Heston Blumenthal's Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental received the Rémy Martin V.S.O.P Best Newcomer Award.

Other findings from the Sunday Times Food List, which will publish the top 100 restaurants in Britain in full on Sunday (30 October), include that half of the top 100 restaurants are outside London (up from 40% last year); while Asian restaurants have fallen by half; and there are 31 new entries.

Michelin has today released its 2012 guide to the Kansai area in western Japan and has promoted three restaurants to its top rating of three-stars.

Covering the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and for the first time Nara, the new guide features a total of 15 restaurants with three stars across the region. These include newcomers Fujiya 1935 and Koryu, both in Osaka, which have been promoted from two-star-status, as well as newcomer Wa Yamamura in Nara, which debuted with three stars.

Michelin also promoted 13 restaurants to two-star-status, bringing the total of two-starred establishments in the guide to 59.

A total of 222 restaurants hold one star in the new guide, with 61 restaurants celebrating a star for the first time.

In the 2012 guide to Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Nara 90% of the selection is made up of Japanese restaurants ranging from traditional Japanese to contemporary restaurants, while the remainder comprises steakhouses, French, Italian, Chinese and fusion restaurant.

Commenting on the new guide, Bernard Delmas, president of Nihon Michelin Tire said: "Japan is a unique country where many cities have a very high level of cuisine. This is why, even though we have reached the fifth anniversary of the Michelin guide in Japan, we continue to discover new stars to introduce to our readers."

Next to the guide to Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Nara, Michelin also publishes a guide to Tokyo, which will this year be extended to include the Shonan area, south west of the Japanese capital.

Michelin has released its 2012 guide for Great Britain and Ireland and has promoted the Hand & Flowers and Restaurant Sat Bains to two-star-status.

The new guide, out today, marks the second release for Michelin this year after the guide brought forward its publication date from January to October.

Michelin awarded a total of 11 restaurants in London and England with their first stars, as well as three in Scotland and one in Wales. There were no new additions in Ireland and eight establishments lost stars.

The results bring the total of Michelin-starred restaurants in Great Britain and Ireland to 151, the highest number in the guide's 38-year history of awarding stars.

A total of 28 new restaurants were named Bib Gourmands offering good food at moderate prices.

Great British Menu winner Tom Kerrige's Hand & Flowers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, has been named the first two-Michelin-starred pub in the country. 

Michelin's new editor Rebecca Burr said: "This is a good news story for the British pub industry and confirms our view that pubs serving good food are the ones that continue to thrive."

Meanwhile Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms has finally reached its second star after years of the industry calling on Michelin to recognise the Nottingham restaurant.

Among those operators celebrating their first star are newcomers including Heston Blumenthal's first London restaurant Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, as well as Jason Atherton's first solo venture since leaving Gordon Ramsay Holdings, Pollen Street Social, and Chinese restaurant Hakkasan's second outpost in Mayfair.

In England Restaurant John Campbell at Coworth Park near Ascot has been awarded a star, as well as Matt Gillan's the Pass at South Lodge near Horsham, Sussex, and the Black Swan in Oldstead in Yorkshire.

Tassili at the Grand Hotel on Jersey has become the third Michelin-starred restaurant in the Channel Islands, while the Checkers in Montgomery won a fourth star for Wales.

In Scotland, Martin Wishart was awarded a star at his restaurant at Loch Lomond, his second after his eponymous restaurant in Edinburgh, while Dominic Jack at the Castle Terrace in the Scottish capital converted the rising star he won in January and Adam Stokes at Glenapp Castle won his first star.

London restaurant Pied à Terre has lost one of its two Michelin-stars following the departure of former head chef Shane Osborn earlier this year, while Tom Aikens has lost his star following his restaurant's three-month closure for a refurbishment.  

Michelin has awarded two new restaurants in New York with three stars, bringing the total of restaurants holding its top accolade in the US city to seven.

Eleven Madison Park in Manhattan and Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare have joined the elite ranks of three-star restaurants, which also include Daniel, Jean-Georges, Le Bernardin, Masa and Per Se.

Restaurateur Danny Meyer's Eleven Madison Park, where chef Daniel Humm is in charge of the kitchen, was the biggest winner, jumping from one to three stars in the guide. Meanwhile Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, an 18-seat restaurant housed within a Brooklyn grocery store, jumped one after having been awarded its second star only last year.

SHO Shaun Hergatt and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon were awarded two Michelin-stars each, extending French chef Robuchon's lead as the most starred chef in the world, with 27 in total. A total of nine New York restaurants now have two-stars, including Gordon Ramsay at the London hotel.

Meanwhile 10 establishments celebrated their first star bringing the total of Michelin-starred establishments in New York to 72, including 46 with one star.

The losers were Picholine, which lost one of its two stars, and Shalezeh, a Persian restaurant on the Upper East Side, which lost its single star.

The 2012 Michelin Guide to New York also identified 31 new restaurants as Bib Gourmands (offering two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for less than $40), bringing the total to 114.

Michelin's generous handing out of stars in New York gives hope to the UK, where only one restaurant - Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester - has won new three stars in the past seven guides. The 2012 Michelin guide to Great Britain and Ireland will be released tomorrow (6 October) at noon. Look out for full coverage on catererandhotelkeeper.com.