I’ve been lucky enough to go to a few Michelin star restaurants.
Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham *
Lumiere, Cheltenham *
Restaurant 4 Saisons, Oxford *
Clove Club London *
Salt, Stratford upon Avon *
No 6 Padstow *
Purnels Birmingham *
Murano London *
Gymkhana *
L’enclume, Lake District **
Hand and Flowers, Marlow **
Midsummer House Cambridge **
Fat Duck ***
Restaurant Gordon Ramsey ***
IMO it’s easily worth the money. You can easily 3-4 times as much as a normal restaurant but they’re experiences I’ll remember forever. It’s not just a meal, it’s an experience in the way going to a film premiere at Leicester Square is not putting a film on Netflix.
I would also say they can be some of the best value meals I’ve ever had. Mothers day a few years back I took mum to the Hand and Flowers and we ended up getting the lunch special.
The best meal of my life up to that point was about £45pp in a 2 star restaurant where a starter is roughly £25, main £50, desert £30. It’s such a bargain that I felt like I was being paid to eat it.
The only negative experience I had was Gordon Ramsay. It was amazing food but it was a client dinner (only one in the list that was) and I really did not like the client and it was slow.
If the price is an issue I would really look into set lunch menus, especially if it’s out in the countryside as they get less footfall, and also listen out for buzz around a place and simply go before they get a star. The food is the same, the prices aren’t.
Destination ones are always my favourite, because people are going there to eat. Youll meet other people who’ve travelled across the country or world to come and are really excited, and they really care about the food. If you go to London you’ll be surrounded by very rich people who just have a booking to show off.
My one regret is I never got to Le Gavroche. What a restaurant and the roll call of chefs who trained there is insane. My sister says she still wakes up occasionally thinking about the treacle tart they served for desert.
