Michelin deletes stars from 16 restaurants in 2020 guide

A total of 16 restaurants, including Benares and Galvin at Windows in London and Graham Garrett’s West House in Biddenden, have lost stars in the newly launched Michelin Guide to Great Britain and Ireland 2020.

The Araki lost its three-star status after head chef and sushi master Mitsuhiro Araki returned to Japan, handing over the reins to his second in command Marty Ryu.

A number of London restaurant lost stars as a result of closure, such as Bonhams, Fera at Claridges, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Hedone.

Alongside Benares and Galvin at Windows, the other London restaurant to lose a star was Yauatcha Soho, the Hakkasan Group’s dim sum tea house.

Meanwhile, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Devon (pictured), lost a star after the departure of head chef Chris Simpson. He was replaced by Chris Eden, who moved from the Driftwood hotel in Cornwall, which also lost a star in this year’s guide.

Driftwood owner Paul Robinson said that it was news the business had anticipated, having appointed a new chef Olly Pierrepont, who is still working to put his stamp on the menu.

He said: “Whilst we’re obviously not celebrating the loss of our Michelin star, we’re in no way disheartened as we’re delighted with the food being cooked by our newly appointed head chef, Olly Pierrepont, recognising the outstanding cuisine he delivers for our guests.

“The recent changes in our kitchen have occurred at a time that we knew was likely to impact our rating, so we were expecting the news. However, at Driftwood the ethos behind our food is to please the guest, and we’ve never cooked with inspectors in mind.”

The full list of deleted Michelin stars

Deleted three stars

The Araki, London

Deleted one star

Benares, Mayfair, London

Bonhams, Mayfair, London

Fera at Claridge's, Mayfair, London

Galvin at Windows, Mayfair, London

Yauatcha, Soho, London

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Covent Garden, London

Hedone, Chiswick, London

Fischer's at Baslow Hall, Baslow, Derbyshire

The West House, Biddenden, Ashford, Kent

Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon

The Yorke Arms, Pateley Bridge, Harrogate

Driftwood, Portscatho, Cornwall

Samphire, St Helier, Jersey

21212, Edinburgh

Tyddyn Llan, Llandrillo, Denbighshire