The Michelin Guide has named 20 eateries given a Bib Gourmand award, including an impressive three spots hailing from Bristol. Ahead of next week's announcement by the prestigious guide, in which it will award UK restaurants new stars, green stars for sustainability and special awards, the gastronomic institution has revealed those it considers to offer good food at a reasonable price.
Created in 1997, the award is named after Bibendum, who is non-other than the Michelin Man mascot himself. The Bib Gourmand rating recognises friendly establishments serving good food at moderate prices that are considered good value by Michelin's demanding inspectors.
This year's list is dominated by the South West of England, with Bristol putting in a strong showing with three new Bibs, including city centre Italian restaurant Marmo, the Blaise Inn pub in Henbury and Mediterranean restaurant COR, which only opened at the end of last year.
Read More: Michelin Guide 2023 reveals all the Bristol restaurants on the esteemed list
The Michelin guide describes COR as "somewhere between a Mediterranean restaurant and a tapas bar, with some counter dining and shelves bursting with cookery books and wine." The listing praises dishes like "hake with mussels or Tropea onion with hazelnut beurre noisette" and its charcuterie and cheeses.
Posting about the award on Instagram, COR wrote: "Amazing to be added into the guide as one of The Michelin inspector's favourite new restaurants next to an excellent list in Bristol."
Somerset put in an equally strong showing with its three new Bibs, including Root Wells, the sister restaurant of Bristol's Root in Wapping Wharf, which was itself named a Bib last year. Run by chef Josh Eggleton and farmer Luke Hasell, the Wells restaurant is known for its small plates formed around vegetables and has been open for less than a year.
Also making the list in the South West is Chequers restaurant in Bath and the Queen of Cups in Glastonbury. Elsewhere in England, there are ten new Bibs, one new Welsh Bib, two in Belfast, one in Ireland and no new awards for Scotland.
Last year there were only three eateries in the Bristol area selected - Root at Wapping Wharf, BOX-E in Bristol and Beckford Bottle shop in Bath. The complete online listings will be updated on 27 March, but in total, there are 116 Bib Gourmand restaurants in the guide this year, down from 122 last year, of which 20 are new additions.
Read More
- Bristol's Root to open second restaurant outside of city
- New family-run restaurant hopes to bring inclusive dining South Bristol
- The popular Bristol pub given a new lease of life by top chef
- Bristol's ramen pop-up serving noodles made by Michelin-trained chefs
- The Michelin-recommended Bristol restaurant that's never had a bad review
