Vegan restaurant wins Michelin Star in UK first

One London restaurant made history at last night's Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2025 launch by becoming the first plant-based eatery in the UK and Ireland to win a coveted Michelin Star.

 

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Plates London in Hoxton, run by siblings chef Kirk Haworth and managing director Keeley Haworth, claims to be the result of a "lifelong fascination with food, a deep appreciation of nature, flavour and a passion for sustainable craft". The Michelin inspectors particularly praised Kirk Haworth's tasting menu, especially the "exceptional" barbecued maitake mushroom, black bean mole, kimchi, aioli & puffed rice, and the "supremely well-balanced" rice pudding ice cream with chewy beets & mulberries. "The restaurant is full of curious and discerning diners, who are here not because of their diets but because they’ve heard it’s one of the most exciting new restaurants around. Yes, this is a groundbreaking, unique establishment within the UK’s dining scene. But more than that, it’s just a wonderful restaurant with Michelin Star cooking that could convince the most committed of carnivores,” the guide concluded. Plates is not the first vegan restaurant to have won a star, however. Chef Claire Vallée's ONA (standing for 'Origine Non-Animale') in the southwest of France opened in 2016 and won one star in 2021, but the following year the restaurant closed due to staff shortages. In 2022, chef Daniel Humm's Eleven Madison Park in New York City became the first plant-based restaurant to win three stars.

Other firsts

22 new One Michelin Star restaurants were announced at the launch of last night's guide, bringing the total of restaurants in the UK and Ireland with one star up to 181. Also breaking new ground was Tom Waters' Gorse, the first in the Welsh capital to receive a star. OMA, the much-lauded Greek restaurant located close to Borough Market in London, became the first Hellenic eater in the UK and Ireland to gain a star. There was also one new addition to the pantheon of three-Michelin-starred restaurants, as Moor Hall in Aughton, Lancashire, is now one of 10 in the UK and Ireland to have gained this top honour.