The Michelin Guide has announced the retirement of its Green Star, a sustainability award introduced in 2020 to appeal to younger generations. The accolade, also known as the guide's sustainability award, recognized restaurants for high ethical and environmental standards, including working with sustainable suppliers and avoiding waste.
Green Star to Be Replaced by Mindful Voices
Just three months after the latest winners were announced, the Michelin Guide has decided to phase out the Green Star. Instead, it will introduce Mindful Voices, a title that is not a formal accolade and does not come with its own logo. Mindful Voices will honor pioneering practices of chefs, hoteliers, and wine producers.
Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, stated via trade publication Caterer: "Mindful Voices will give a platform to all those who are rewriting the rules in their respective fields. This new framework draws directly from what our inspection teams witness first-hand: encounters and experiences that are transforming how things are done and that deserve to be shared."
Impact on UK and Ireland Restaurants
Thirty-seven green-starred restaurants across the UK and Ireland will lose the award, including Daylesford Organic Farm and London's Petersham Nurseries Café. Notable restaurants affected include:
- Angela's, Margate
- Apricity, London
- Black Swan, Oldstead
- Coombeshead Farm, Lewannick
- CULTURE, Falmouth
- Daylesford Organic Farm, Daylesford
- Eight at Gazegill by Doug Crampton, Rimington
- Exmoor Forest Inn, Simonsbath
- Forest Side, Grasmere
- Forge, Middleton Tyas
- Glebe House, Southleigh
- Homestead Kitchen, Goathland
- Interlude, Lower Beeding
- Jericho, Plungar
- Knepp Wilding Kitchen, Horsham
- L'Enclume, Cartmel
- Marle, Heckfield
- Moor Hall, Aughton
- Oak, Bath
- Osip, Bruton
- Petersham Nurseries Café, London
- Pine, East Wallhouses
- Pythouse Kitchen Garden, Tisbury
- Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
- St. Barts, London
- The Small Holding, Kilndown
- Where The Light Gets In, Stockport
- Wild Shropshire, Whitchurch
- Wilsons, Bristol
- 1887, Torridon (Scotland)
- Inver, Strachur (Scotland)
- The Free Company, Balerno (Scotland)
- Timberyard, Edinburgh (Scotland)
- ANNWN, Narberth (Wales)
- CHAPTERS, Hay-on-Wye (Wales)
- The Whitebrook, Whitebrook (Wales)
- Kai Restaurant, Galway (Republic of Ireland)
Michelin Guide's Evolution Amid Controversy
The Michelin Guide has a controversial history, with famous chefs renouncing their stars due to pressure. Marco Pierre White famously gave up his three Michelin stars in 1999. Once the ultimate benchmark for fine dining, the guide now faces fierce competition from food influencers and online reviewers, who can make restaurants go viral instantly. The guide has had to adapt to stay relevant to diners increasingly focused on eating out but less interested in formal fine dining.
Recent Restaurant Closures
Earlier this year, eight restaurants in the UK and Ireland disappeared from the Michelin Guide after closing. The closures reflect a challenging climate for the hospitality industry, with rising business rates and Rachel Reeves' national insurance hike increasing staff costs. Among those closed are five London restaurants, including Bibendum in Fulham, founded by Sir Terence Conran in 1987. Chef Claude Bosi could not reach a resolution with landlords, leading to its abrupt closure in summer 2025.
In other news, Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire closed for an 18-month refurbishment. Hjem in Hexham, Northumberland, which opened in 2019 and quickly gained a Michelin star, closed in December 2025 citing challenges. Crocadon in Cornwall, a farm-to-table concept, closed its kitchen in October last year. Dosa at the Mandarin Oriental closed after chef Akira Back and the hotel parted ways, but was replaced by Somssi, which earned a star this year. The Bridge Arms in Kent and Humo in Mayfair lost their stars after menu changes or chef departures.
