Last week, 20 British eateries were handed their very first Michelin stars. Among the worthy winners were Maré in Brighton, JÖRO in Sheffield and Vraic in Guernsey. But now that these newly decorated places have one of the most coveted accolades a restaurant can get, they’re likely to be even harder to book a table at. And if you do manage to secure a table, you should be prepared to cough up a small fortune.
That’s where Michelin’s Bib Gourmand comes in. Introduced in 1997, the Bibs are awarded to restaurants that offer outstanding food at a far more approachable price point.
Michelin says that ‘you typically won’t find molecular gastronomy or extremely precious ingredients’ at a Bib Gourmand restaurant. Instead, you’ll leave your table ‘with a particular sense of satisfaction at having dined so well without breaking the bank’. This year, 32 UK restaurants were awarded a Bib Gourmand. So, here’s the breakdown.
Time Out favourite Sebb’s in Glasgow was one of four Scottish joints to make the cut in 2026. The low-lit subterranean bar serves up a selection of globally inspired small plates such as cod cheek skewer with tamarind, carrot and almond salad or braised beef feather blade, hummus, date mollases and zhoug ranging from £7.50 to £15.50.
Michelin adds that Sebb’s has a ‘stand-out cocktail’ selection with concoctions like raspberry sherry with sour pineapple and white chocolate, a ‘cowboy martini’ made with beef fat tequila, dry vermouth, blue cheese olive or the ‘homage’ made with mezcal, poppyseed and kiwi.
Photograph: Kelly Bishop for Time Out
Over in Manchester, stylish natural wine bar and restaurant (and another Time Out pick) Erst earned a Bib Gourmand. When our local expert Kelly Bishop went, she reported that Erst is ‘surprisingly reasonable for one of Manchester’s best loved restaurants’. The flatbread dishes with spreads like whipped beef fat and urfa chilli or leek butter sit at around £7.50, while the heftier fish and meat dishes such as skate with clams and sherry, or hogget rump cost closer to £30.
Wales had two restaurants that were awarded a Bib Gourmand distinction. The first was The Gaff in Abergavenny, which has small plates ranging from £10 to £16 and larger dishes priced between £17 and £32. The second was Cardiff’s Purple Poppadom, which has previously been named the UK’s best South Asian restaurant and features on our own list of the Welsh capital’s finest eateries.
Just one Northern Irish establishment was added to the Bib Gourmand roster: Beau in Belfast. Its main dishes cost anywhere between £12 and £23. Michelin said that its inspectors ‘enjoyed the simplicity and pure natural flavours of dishes like the langoustine scampi with sauce gribiche and the courgette with ricotta and basil, which really showed off the quality of the vegetable itself’.
As ever, a bunch of London restaurants were decorated with a Bib Gourmand too, including the new Singburi, Akara and Lai Rai. You can read about those in more detail here.
The UK’s new Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurants 2026
Northern Ireland
Wales
The Gaff, Abergavenny
Purple Poppadom, Cardiff
Scotland
Mara, Aberdeen
Angeethi by Sagar Massey, Cardonald
Sebb’s, Glasgow
The Clarence, Glasgow
England
Norman’s Neighbourhood Kitchen, Kirkburton
Almanac, Glossop
Erst, Manchester
Cantaloupe, Stockport
Piccalilli, Nottingham
The Yurt at Nicholsons, North Aston
The Oarsman, Marlow
Gina, Chingford
Shwen Shwen, Sevenoaks
Jai Ho, Bishop’s Cleeve
Post, Newnham
RAGÙ, Bristol
Counter Culture, Newquay
London
Calong, Stoke Newington
Oren, Dalston
Cadet, Islington
Goodbye Horses, Islington
Singburi, Shoreditch
Canteen, Notting Hill
Café Spice Namasté, Royal Albert Dock
Akara, Borough Market
Lai Rai, Peckham
Kruk, Peckham
Tamila, Clapham
ssam ssam, Wimbledon
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