Michelin Guide 2024: all of London’s Bib Gourmand restaurant
Michelin has today announced 20 new Bib Gourmand awards for the UK, but has only awarded two to restaurants in greater London.
The classic French bistro in Crouch End, Les 2 Garçons and the buzzy disco-led Indian restaurant Empire Empire in Notting Hill were the only restaurants in the capital to make the cut.
This continues a downward trend from Michelin, which is awarding fewer and fewer Bibs in London each year. The two Bibs granted for 2024 is half the number given last year, itself down from five on the 2022 list and seven in 2021.
Chef Robert Reid and maitre'd Jean-Christophe Slowik opened Les 2 Garçons in Crouch End in 2021, and the restaurant quickly garnered critical success for its approachable, bistro-style Gallic fare. In 2022 the Good Food Guide named the spot as “London’s best local restaurant”.
The music and art-led Indian restaurant Empire Empire, meanwhile, opened last year courtesy Gunpowder founder Harneet Baweja, receiving generally positive, if occasionally mixed reviews.
The Bib Gourmand award from Michelin is a more value-led proposition, with Michelin themselves describing the award as “our best value for money restaurants offering a three-course meal at a reasonable price”.
The guide continues: “there’s no set formula for a 'Bib' restaurant – they are all unique and can vary greatly from one place to the next.”
It's a statement that has drawn criticism in some areas on the grounds that it makes the award inconsistent.
Elsewhere in the UK, London-based chef Adam Handling was awarded a Bib for his restaurant The Loch and the Tyne in Old Windsor, whilst sister pub to Notting Hill’s The Pelican, The Bull in Charlbury, was also awarded a gong.
London’s new Bib Gourmand restaurants for 2024...
Les 2 Garçons.
Empire Empire. Read our full review
...and the rest of London’s Bib Gourmand restaurants
Evernight, Nine Elms. Read our review
HÄm, West Hampstead. Read our review
The Pelican, Notting Hill. Read our review
Plaza Khao Gaeng, Oxford Circus. Read our review
Brutto, Clerkenwell. Read our review
Pahli Hill, Regent’s Park and Marylebone. Read our review
Manteca, Shoreditch. Read our review
Imad’s Syrian Kitchen, Soho. Read our review
Humble Chicken, Soho.
Padella, London Bridge. Read our review
Popolo, Shoreditch. Read our review
St John Bread and Wine, Spitalfields. Read our review
Smokestak, Shoreditch. Read our review
Plaquemine Lock, Angel. Read our review
José, Bermondsey. Read our review
Legare, Tower Bridge. Read our review
Brawn, Bethnal Green. Read our review
The Barbary, Covent Garden. Read our review
Bancone, Covent Garden. Read our review
Berenjak, Soho. Read our review
Hoppers, Soho. Read our review
Palomar, Soho. Read our review
Kricket, Soho. Read our review
Brasserie Zédel, Piccadilly. Read our review
Kiln, Soho. Read our review
BAO, Soho. Read our review
Trullo, Islington. Read our review
Westerns Laundry, Highbury. Read our review
Primeur, Newington Green. Read our review
Farang, Highbury. Read our review
Kudu, Peckham. Read our review
Trinity Upstairs, Clapham. Read our review
Hereford Road, Notting Hill. Read our review
Provender, Wanstead
Gunpowder Spitalfields
Volta do Mar, Covent Garden
Paradise, Soho
Peckham Cellars
Kateh, Warwick Avenue
Further details can be found at guide.michelin.com