For those who want to dine well without spending a fortune, here’s a selection of restaurants newly awarded a Bib Gourmand in the 2024 Michelin Guide. The award is given to establishments offering excellent, good-value cooking.
Higher Ground
Started as a pop-up by three friends in 2020, this bistro in the heart of Manchester is “charming and cheery”. Much of the produce on the inventive menu is grown in the establishment’s own market garden in rural Cheshire. If you sit at the comfortable counter, you can watch the chefs “putting care and pride into every dish” – such as devilled pork livers and bilberries on sourdough toast, or “terrific” malted barley pudding with stout caramel.
Faulkner House, New York Street, Manchester (0161 236 2931)
The Three Horseshoes
With its beams and inglenook fireplace, this family-run pub near Colchester – housed in four former cottages – has a “huge amount of character”. The menu mixes modern British dishes with pub classics, such as beer-battered fish and triple-cooked chips. Everything is cooked with “great care”, so that the “strong” flavours shine through. And the pub has a charming terrace for use on sunny days.
74 Church Road, Fordham, Essex (01206 240195)
Les 2 Garçons
This “immensely likeable” French bistro in Crouch End caused such a stir when it opened in 2021 that it couldn’t hope to accommodate the demand. Fortunately, it recently moved to larger premises, making it much easier to bag a table. “The two garçons in question” – Robert Reid and J.C. Slowik – are both “stalwarts of the London restaurant scene”, and their knowledge and experience shine through in “every element” of their restaurant.
14 Middle Lane, Crouch End, London N8 (020 8347 9834)
The Clifton
Located in “trendy” Clifton, this pub offers “unpretentious, locally inspired cooking”. The menu, which changes daily, ranges from snacks and small plates to larger sharing options – such as braised short rib or Cull Yaw shepherd’s pie. There’s also a “particularly good-value lunch menu” available on weekdays. Dishes are “generous both in size and flavour”, and “extra refreshment” is afforded by the “well-priced wines and local ales”.
16 Regent Street, Bristol (0117 431 2002)
Empire Empire
This “neighbourhood spot” in Notting Hill with a “cool vintage vibe” specialises in the cuisines of northwest India and the Punjab: “expect plenty of biryani, butter chicken and kebabs”. The menu is so appealing that the “hardest decision is choosing what not to order”. If you go for brunch on Sunday there’s unlimited dum biryani. It also does takeaways.
16 All Saints Road, Notting Hill, London W11 (020 3930 3658)
Tipo
This “relaxed” new venture from the group behind the popular Edinburgh restaurants Noto and Lyla offers a range of Italian-inspired snacks and small plates. But what really catches the eye is the selection of homemade pasta: pappardelle with crab and chilli; strozzapreti with duck ragù; bigoli with cacio e pepe. All are “seriously good”. This is your ideal “go-to” for a delicious lunch in the New Town.
110 Hanover Street, Edinburgh (0131 226 4545)