The London restaurant the Ledbury has been awarded three stars in the Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland.
The Notting Hill restaurant is the sixth in the capital to hold the guide’s most prestigious accolade, while Gymkhana is one of the first two Indian restaurants in the UK to receive two stars, alongside Birmingham’s Opheem.
Michelin, which revealed its latest guide at a ceremony in Manchester on Monday night, said the Ledbury’s third star was “an enormous achievement”, the “very highest of gastronomic honours” and “not given lightly”.
It said: “Led by Brett Graham, the kitchen team display a technical mastery across dishes that deliver sublime flavours using ingredients of unsurpassable quality.
“Each mouthful provides considerable depth of flavour, with the consistently harmonious combinations showcasing a streak of originality.”
Graham is the first Australian chef to claim three Michelin stars for a restaurant he co-owns. Born in Newcastle in Australia, Graham opened the Ledbury in 2005, and was awarded two Michelin stars in 2010. After a two-year closure, the restaurant reopened in 2022.
Gymkhana was opened by the hospitality group JKS in 2013 and is known for its muntjac biryani, lamb chops and salmon tikka.
Judges described Gymkhana as “largely based on traditional Indian recipes that have been exquisitely executed by the chefs”, adding: “The detail and precision that goes into the cooking is of an assured two-star level, with superbly balanced spicing present throughout.”
Opheem, described as “progressive Indian cuisine” by its chef-owner, Aktar Islam, served “highly original dishes that keep Indian cooking at their core but have a more modern slant than at Gymkhana”, Michelin said.
It added: “Each creation demonstrates sophistication and depth of flavour while showcasing the fabulous culinary knowledge that goes into such complementary flavour and texture combinations.”
Elsewhere in London, Trivet made the jump from one star to two for the “flavour-packed, technically superb cooking of Jonny Lake and his team” while Brooklands, inside the luxury Peninsula hotel, went straight into the guide with two stars.
In Crieff, the Glenturret Lalique has become the second two-star restaurant in Scotland. Set inside a working distillery, it “boasts not just a brilliant whisky selection but precise, sophisticated cooking from a kitchen team led by chef Mark Donald”, judges said.
