This month, restauranteurs all over the UK were waiting in anticipation to see whether who would get their first, second or third prestigious Michelin star. The 2025 accolades were handed out in ceremony on Monday, February 10, with 23 restaurants celebrating newly awarded stars.
But the food business is cut-throat, and every year there are restaurants that sadly lose stars. This year, most deletions aren’t because the restaurants have got worse, but simply because they’ve ceased to exist.
One of the saddest losses in 2024 was Purnell’s in Birmingham. It earned its Michelin star in 2008, just one year after it opened. Owned by Glynn Purnell, the beloved restaurant had to shut its doors in October, following a ‘really tough time’ that saw bookings fall by more than 20 percent.
The only other UK venue outside of London to drop from the Michelin star list was Store in Stoke Holy Cross, Norfolk. It earned its star just two years ago, but closed down in September after head chef Liam Nichols announced he would be leaving.
The Dining Room in the Cotswolds was stripped of its Michelin green star for sustainability (which it’s held since 2021) but retained its one Michelin star. The rest of the places that had Michelin stars removed are all in London. You can read about those here.
These are all the UK restaurants that lost Michelin stars in 2025:
- City Social, London
- Kai, London
- Locanda Locatelli, London (closed)
- Purnell's, Birmingham (closed)
- Store, Stoke Holy Cross (closed)
- Pollen Street Social, London (closed)
- Cornerstone, London (closed)
ICYMI: Inside Restaurant Sat Bains, the Nottingham establishment crowned the UK’s best restaurant for 2025.
Plus: We ate at the UK’s ‘best’ gastropub – here’s what it was really like.
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