Play Hard

16 Michelin Star restaurants in Yorkshire, Scotland and the North East

For only the finest of fine dining, it really needs to have a Michelin Star...

Written by Becky Hardy
Published 31.03.2023

MICHELIN STAR RESTAURANTS: NORTH EAST

RESTAURANT PINE, NORTHUMBERLAND

In February 2022, Restaurant Pine became one of the UK’s latest Michelin starred restaurants – and the second Michelin Star restaurant in Northumberland – with a listing in the Michelin Guide 2023, earning a Michelin one star as well as a Michelin Green Star for sustainability.

Set in a beautifully renovated cow barn, Restaurant Pine offers an intimate setting where you can admire the sloping Northumberland landscape alongside Hadrian’s Wall, or watch your evening meal be prepared by our team of dedicated chefs in the bespoke open kitchen.

During the day, Restaurant Pine offers a classic three-tiered afternoon tea with a refined, modern approach. In the evening, enjoy a generous tasting menu using ingredients foraged from the Northumberland countryside, or grown at its onsite kitchen garden.

A real North East gem, the decor is aimed to reflect the surroundings, with a warm, inviting, country feel throughout.

Wednesday – Saturday: Evening tasting menu only.

Friday – Sunday: Afternoon tea and evening tasting menu.

Tasting Menu – £120pp

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HJEM, NORTHUMBERLAND

Restaurant Hjem (pronounced “yem”) was Northumberland’s first Michelin starred restaurant. With its gorgeous Scandinavian menu and country inn setting, this eatery is well worth a visit. It only has 24 seats so make sure you make your reservation well in advance!

It’s part of  The Hadrian Hotel which is ideal so you can just head upstairs to your room after all of that delicious food and wine.

The team serves a tasting menu created from ingredients sourced from the surrounding farms and gardens of Northumberland. The menu is between 15-18 servings, some of which are small bites, others are larger dishes – offering a really unique dining experience. All of the food is cooked with Scandinavian precision and techniques.

Tasting Menu – £120pp

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SOLSTICE BY KENNY ATKINSON, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

Opened in 2022, Solstice is the newest fine dining restaurant in Newcastle by Kenny and Abbie Atkinson.

A small but perfectly formed restaurant, diners are served a tasting menu of around 15-18 individual servings from snacks to savoury meat and fish dishes before a sweet section of desserts and petit fours.

The atmosphere is intimate, with chefs presenting the plates to the guests themselves.

View a SOLSTICE BY KENNY ATKINSON sample tasting menu.

Lunch: £155pp

Dinner: £170pp (from 1st April 2023)

Wine pairing: £95

Non-alcoholic pairing: £55

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HOUSE OF TIDES, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

Kenny Atkinson’s House of Tides was Newcastle’s only Michelin Star restaurant until his new venture Solstice scooped a star too.

Opened in February 2014, House of Tides is located on the North East’s historical Newcastle Quayside, just minutes from the city centre, and set within the beautifully restored Grade 1 listed 16th Century former merchant’s townhouse.

Set over two floors, the rustic ground floor entrance level with its original 16th-century flagstones and exposed beams provides an excellent venue whether you’re settling in for a drink, pre-dinner aperitif, or a leisurely nightcap. The first floor houses the main restaurant seating area also with exposed beams, a big open fireplace, and views over the River Tyne. A real city centre gem.

Check out a sample menu. 

Thursday to Saturday lunch: £100pp
Wednesday to Saturday dinner: £120pp

VISIT WEBSITE

MICHELIN STAR RESTAURANTS: SCOTLAND

CAIL BRUICH, GLASGOW

Cail Bruich means ‘to eat well’ and this smart restaurant run by two brothers certainly lives up to its name.

And while the restaurant is run by two brothers, its head chef Lorna McNee who is grabbing all the headlines. Currently the only female chef in Scotland holiding a Michelin star – achieving the feat in little over five months – Lorna creates elegant cuisine that make the most of Scotland’s seasonally-changing ingredients.

HLN Hint: You can experience the magic of the open kitchen at Cail Bruich by dining at their unique Chef’s Table, and pop the cork on your celebrations with Krug Champagne.

Friday & Saturday: Lunch and tasting menu

Tuesday – Thursday: Tasting menu only

Surprise tasting menu: £140pp

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CONDITA, EDINBURGH

Edinburgh’s intimate dining experience is small – comprising only six large wooden tables – and yet it’s not just the innovative changes to its understated, modern décor that has made waves in the Scottish foodie scene.

Chef Conor Toomey offers a surprise menu, with a hand-drawn bookmark picturing some of the ingredients the only hint of what is to come on your near-three hour gastronomical adventure.

Expect interesting, modern dishes that are confidently prepared and skilfully presented.

Tuesday – Saturday: tasting menu only

Surprise tasting menu: £140pp

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HERON, LEITH

A new addition for 2023’s Michelin Guide, Heron is a relaxed, fine-dining restaurant with enviable views of Edinburgh’s Water of Leith.

Priding itself on an uncomplicated, understated ambience – reflected in the cuisine the team here creates – Heron’s two chef-owners are firm farm-to-table champions, offering both an à la carte and tasting menu that showcase some of Scotland’s best seasonal produce.

A kitchen team that thrives on their keen understanding of flavour, we’ve heard (from the Michelin Guide itself, no less), that the sauces here are a real highlight.

Saturday & Sunday: Lunch and dinner

Wednesday – Friday: Dinner only

Tasting menu: £95pp

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MARTIN WISHART, LEITH

After 20 years at the top of Edinburgh’s foodie scene, Martin Wishart’s Leith establishment is something of a Scottish institution.

The Edinburgh-born chef has firmly established himself as one of the UK’s most highly respected chefs, having trained under heroes such as Albert Roux, Michel Roux Junior, Macro Pierre White and John Burton-Race and transforming what he learned from each into a culinary magic all his own.

A deep understanding of classic French cooking techniques has formed the backbone of his signature style, while a passion for sourcing quality Scottish produce has seen his restaurant shine.

Wednesday – Saturday: Lunch and dinner

Tasting menu: £125pp

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THE KITCHIN, LEITH

Chef-owner Tom Kitchin was born and bred in Edinburgh and is a passionate ambassador for all things Scottish.

His contemporary restaurant, housed within a smartly converted whisky warehouse, is living proof: demonstrating the Highlands in the tree bark and dry stone décor, while the serving team dressed in kilts bring that effervescent Scottish charm to your table.

On your plate, you’ll find a combination of Tom’s nature-to-plate philosophy and his classical French training, which results in dishes that hit the mark every time. Highland game is a speciality, as is his ‘Rockpool’ dish of fresh local seafood.

Tuesday – Saturday: Lunch and dinner

Surprise tasting menu: £140pp

VISIT WEBSITE

THE GLENTURRET LALIQUE, CRIEFF

Having made its home within Scotland’s oldest working whisky distillery, this intimate restaurant combines the luxury with the everyday: both in its surroundings (its beamed ceiling is hung with two beautiful Lalique chandeliers), as well as in its dishes, with the likes of tattie scone served alongside Highland Wagyu and caviar.

Charged with an ethos to provide engaging, cosmopolitan Scottish hospitality with a strong sense of heritage and place, The Glenturret Lalique offers truly innovative cooking in its multi-course tasting menu, alongside world-class wines and sophisticated service.

Wednesday – Saturday: Dinner only

Tasting menu: £195pp

VISIT WEBSITE

TIMBERYARD, EDINBURGH

Another new addition to 2023’s Michelin Guide, Timberyard offers a rustic warehouse aesthetic that perfectly accentuates an ethos centred around the local, the seasonal, and letting ingredients speak for themselves.

They say it takes more skill to make something simple taste exceptional and that is certainly the case at Timberyard. The chefs here transform a few choice ingredients sourced from local, artisan suppliers and Scotland’s natural larder into culinary masterpieces – which you can enjoy alfresco in the courtyard when the sun shines or snuggled up by the fire during the winter.

Thursday: Dinner only

Friday – Sunday: Lunch and dinner

Tasting menu: £105pp

VISIT WEBSITE

UNALOME BY GRAEME CHEEVERS, GLASGOW

Equating his unique style to the vast culinary encounters he has experienced from a young age, chef Graeme Cheevers’ style can best be described as a delectable hybrid of Japanese cuisine and traditional French cooking techniques.

The arrival of Cheevers and his dynamic team back in 2021 signified an innovative addition to the thriving West End foodie neighbourhood of Finnieston, and it seems Glasgow locals have well and truly adopted Unalome into their hearts as the restaurant celebrates its second consecutive year in the Michelin Guide.

Exuding elegance in its design, you may expect luxurious yet relaxed dining and a tranquil atmosphere at Unalome.

Wednesday – Sunday: Lunch and dinner

Tasting menu: £110pp

VISIT WEBSITE

MICHELIN STAR RESTAURANTS: YORKSHIRE

ROOTS, YORK

This charming restaurant offers Michelin-starred dining right in the heart of historic York, curated by celebrated chef Tommy Banks.

Harnessing innovative cooking techniques, the tasting menus here evolve naturally according to the availability of produce – which originates from the onsite kitchen garden, small regional suppliers and chef-owner Banks’ parents’ farm.

Inspired by his own farming heritage, the tasting menu at Roots showcases Yorkshire’s larder in all its glory, within a modern, laidback, city-centre dining room.

Wednesday & Thursday: Dinner only

Friday & Saturday: Lunch and dinner

Tasting menu: £145pp

VISIT WEBSITE

SHAUN RANKIN AT GRANTLEY HALL, RIPON

Located within the luxurious Grantley Hall Hotel, chef Shaun Rankin has created a delicious tasting menu that is served in decadent surroundings.

For more in-depth information, check out our interview with Shaun Rankin, where we spoke to him about how he created the menu.  

The 10-course tasting menu is created entirely from locally sourced produce (everything is sourced from within 20-miles) and includes dishes such as Bread, Butter, Dripping and Beef Tea, and Lanark Blue Cheese with a Harrogate Bun.

The restaurant was awarded a Michelin Star when the restaurant opened in January 2021 and has retained it again this year.

Check out a sample menu. 

Tasting Menu: £130pp

VISIT WEBSITE

STAR INN AT HAROME

Star Inn at Harome is a beautiful thatched inn with a stylish dining room and a cocktail bar looking out onto the rear gardens and Kitchen Garden.

On cooler days, the pub bar has a roaring fire – perfect to enjoy a pre-dinner gin. There’s a traditional low-ceilinged old dining room and upstairs they have a coffee loft with beautiful bright decor and a private dining room.

The Restaurant is normally open all year round offering a seasonal A la Carte Menu with honest flavours and a range of small plates and bigger dishes. Pre-book to experience the full Tasting Menu with the option of a matched package of premium wines selected by their Wine Consultant.

Check out a sample menu.

Tasting Menu: £95pp

VISIT WEBSITE

THE ANGEL, HETTON

Situated within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, The Angel is an ancient stone inn with a two Michelin-starred chef renowned for his high-quality cooking. Michael Wignall has reimagined the pub’s offering and created a delicious new menu which earned the pub a Michelin Star rating from October 2019.

With a style that’s casual and contemporary, the new Angel is all about seasonal menus, great food and great hospitality. It aims to give people a relaxed experience with a range of menus – if you want to go with kids, it all offers an exciting menu for children, with the option to choose a four-course mini-gourmet menu for £42.00.

Check out a sample menu.

Tasting Menu: £80pp

VISIT WEBSITE
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