Two Welsh restaurants added to the Michelin Guide for the first time

Two Welsh restaurants have been added to the Michelin Guide for the first time ever. Dishes in Prestatyn and The Fanny Talbot in Barmouth have been listed as some of the best restaurants in the UK and Ireland this January.

The Michelin series of guides have been published since 1900 and is renowned all over the world. While Michelin stars specifically rate the quality of a restaurant's food, their guides recommend various restaurants for their excellence. For the latest restaurant reviews, sign up to our food and drink newsletter here.

In October of last year, Gorse restaurant in the Pontcanna area of Cardiff made it onto the guide only a matter of months after opening - you can read more about this restaurant here. Meanwhile, Dishes in the seaside Denbighshire town of Prestatyn was opened this summer by leading chef Andrew Sheridan.

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The establishment, located in Prestatyn High Street, which is close to where Sheridan currently lives focuses on small plates and aims to create a "relaxed neighbourhood restaurant" which offers "small, social" plates of food and a "carefully" curated drinks menu in a "lively, social setting".

For Sheridan, this is the latest listing into the prestigious guide, which also includes his flagship venture 8 By Andrew Sheridan, as well as his OXA establishment in the Wirral and Black & Green in Barnt Green. In the guide, the "stylish" restaurant is praised for its "relaxed atmosphere" and encourages diners to "relish the opportunity to delve into a roll-call of terrific Welsh ingredients".

The Michelin guide review of the restaurant reads: "Chef Andrew Sheridan has returned to his native north Wales to open this stylish restaurant occupying a former cloth shop on the High Street. Take a seat at the counter or a high-topped table and relish the opportunity to delve into a roll-call of terrific Welsh ingredients – be it meaty Menai oysters or caramelised mutton belly from just up the road. Order sharing plates from the à la carte or opt for the chef’s choice if you’re indecisive. A relaxed atmosphere pervades throughout, with both the service team and chefs adept at interacting with their guests."

Around 70 miles away, another north Wales restaurant has made it onto the guide. The Fanny Talbot on Barmouth high street in Gwynedd was opened as a gastro pub on the site of the old Lion Hotel in July 2023. Since then, the establishment has been garnering praise far and wide, offering "informal fine dining" with MasterChef finalist Owen Vaughan at the helm.

The Michelin guide praised the gastro pub for its "cosy, unpretentious feel" and the chef's "classical technique" in his cooking. The review reads: "Nestled in the heart of a Welsh seaside town, this modern gastropub has a cosy, unpretentious feel with simple yet comfortable fixtures and fittings like faux-leather banquettes and padded velvet chairs. The cooking is underpinned by the chefs’ strong classical technique and skilled handling of prime seasonal produce; Highland venison with a textbook jus and girolles is the perfect example. There are comfortable rooms available if you’re looking to stay the night."

Here are all the UK and Ireland restaurant that made it onto the Michelin guide this January:

1. Amari, Brighton and Hove

2. BALOCI, Birmingham

3. Briar, Bruton

4. Circa Totnes, Totnes

5. DA COSTA, Bruton

6. Dishes, Prestatyn

7. Fallachan Kitchen, Glasgow

8. FIFTY TWO, Harrogate

9. Fonda, London

10. Great Bustard, Great Durnford

11. Hem, Warwick

12. Horse & Groom, Bourton on the Hill

13. Jericho, Plungar

14. Le Vin Perdu, Ashburton

15. Lucky Khao, Brighton and Hove

16. Margo, Glasgow

17. North Street Kitchen, Fowey

18. OTHER, Bristol

19. Row on 5, London

20. Satori, Birmingham

21. Starling, Esher

22. The Braywood, Bray

23. The Fanny Talbot, Barmouth

24. The Lamb Inn, Oxford

25. The Old Deanery, Ripon

26. The Old Manse of Blair Restaurant, Blair Atholl

27. The Plough, Wombleton

28. Three Darlings, London

29. Wildflowers, London