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Twenty restaurants across the UK and Ireland have just been awarded the culinary crown that is a Bib Gourmand nod in the Michelin Guide for Great Britain & Ireland 2024.
Two of them are in fair London town, with Crouch End’s Les 2 Garcons and Notting Hill’s Empire Empire joining the elite restaurants recommended by the gastronomic tastemakers.
A Bib Gourmand isn’t quite a Michelin star, but it’s pretty damn close, offering a more value-led meal than budget-busting main Michelin star menus. It's “our best value for money restaurants offering a three-course meal at a reasonable price”, say Michelin. Those two new restos join 35 other London restaurants with the honour, including Trullo and Farang in Highbury, Kudu in Peckham, Primeur in Newington Green, Brasserie Zedel and Kiln in Soho, Brutto in Clerkenwell, Padella in London Bridge and Plaza Khao Gaeng in Arcade Food Hall by Tottenham Court Road.
Empire Empire only opened last year and is the latest project from the team behind the Gunpowder restaurant group. ‘Empire Empire focuses on the full throttle cuisine of the northwestern Punjab region, with biryanis, kebabs and tikka given top billing,’ we wrote in our review of the west London restaurant.
Les 2 Garcons meanwhile is a French restaurant in north London run by Robert Reid and Jean-Christophe Slowik. Slowik previously ran L’Absinthe in Primrose Hill and Reid is the former head chef of Marco Pierre White’s Oak Room and has cooked at Home House in Mayfair and Balthazar in Covent Garden. They offer a daily blackboard menu of ‘French classics’, including escargots, steak frites and tarte fine aux pommes.
The full Michelin list for the UK will be revealed at a ceremony in Manchester on February 5, when the UK and London’s newest Michelin starred restaurants will be announced, as well as Michelin’s Green Stars for sustainable gastronomy.
Les 2 Garcons, 14 Middle Lane, N8 8PL
Empire Empire, 16 All Saints Rd, W11 1HH
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