Synonymous with starched white tablecloths and silver service, thanks to all their usual trappings Michelin restaurants are rarely associated with the word ‘budget’. However, as luck would have it the cheapest Michelin restaurants in the UK have actually managed to make fine dining somewhat more affordable.
While we’re not saying you’re going to be able to beat a meal deal from your local Tesco, we do think it’s surprising how far your spend will go at some of the UK’s best restaurants if you know where to look. The easiest way to cut back on cost is to plump for a lunch instead of a dinner, where typically prices are much lower but the standard of cookery remains the same.
Whether you’re looking to treat someone special or elevate your average mid-week lunchtime, there are a handful of high-end dining experiences across the UK that are comfortingly easy on the finances. Holiday company Parkdean Resorts recently undertook research to rate and rank the UK’s cheapest Michelin restaurants with surprising results. They measured the list on affordability plus reviews to weigh up not only value for money on the menu front, but also all-round experience. We've picked out a few of our favourites, as well as adding a couple of our own top shouts.
As a general rule, those looking for Michelin-style meals at a snip of the price might find what they’re looking for via the Bib Gourmand accolades instead of diving in straight at the deep end of Michelin stars. Restaurants with Bib Gourmands highlight places offering both excellent quality food and good value for money. These types of places often do away with the hallmarks of fine-dining spots, like tasting menus and starched napkins, and instead reward guests with hearty plates of delicious, seasonal food.
From tapas in Nottingham through to Italian in Glasgow, the best cheap Michelin meals in the UK are spread far and wide and truly offer something for everyone. Find out more about them below.
The Coach, Marlow
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This might be the best deal in this guide, which is why we've put it straight to the top. Tom Kerridge's gastropub The Coach in Marlow serves simple, classic food with a modern touch - and it's so good it went and earned itself a Michelin star in 2017. The good news is that eating here isn't off limits if you're strapped for cash. It serves an excellent value set lunch menu which includes two courses for £15, and a third course for an extra £7.50. The menu changes weekly and is available Wednesday to Friday, but examples include mushroom soup with truffle and hazelnut pesto, fishcakes with mustard mayonnaise and a poached egg, and blood orange posset with cardamom meringue and salted oats.
Michelin credentials: Michelin star
Cost: Two-course lunch for £15
Where: 3 West Street, Buckinghamshire, SL7 2LS
Book now: The Coach
John's House, Leicester
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Beautifully rustic and wonderfully understated, John's House is one of the most unsuspecting Michelin star restaurants out there. And it's all the better because of it. Chef John Duffin is the man behind the masterpiece, who produces skilled dishes on his family farm in Mountsorrel using ingredients grown on the land. While a seven-course tasting menu for dinner comes in at a rather hefty £115, you can dine for lunch for a mere 45 quid, which gets you the likes of lightly smoked salmon with leek, horseradish and lovage, and poached Cornish cod with barley risotto, prawns and pink grapefruit.
Michelin credentials: Michelin star
Cost: Three-course lunch for £45
Where: 139-141 Loughborough Road, LE12 7AA
Book now: John's House
The Woodspeen, Berkshire
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The Woodspeen serves a seasonal market menu for both lunch and dinner which is inspired by what's growing in its garden at the time. That means, it's constantly changing and always reflects the seasons. Always a great thing! Start with the likes of Parmesan pastry with cheese custard, pickled scorched onions and mustard seeds, followed by poached hake with Jersey Royals, wet garlic, cavolo nero and sherry sauce. Oh, and the best bit: two courses are yours for a reasonable £32, or go for three courses for £38.
Michelin credentials: Michelin star
Cost: Two-course set menu from £32
Where: Lambourn Road, Woodspeen, RG20 8BN
Book now: The Woodspeen
Wilson's, Bristol
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Sustainably minded Wilson's is a Michelin green star holder, which commends restaurants for their eco practices. It sources from producers that practice regenerative farming and is committed to nature and seasonality, with its entire menu built around its market garden. You can eat lunch here for a mere £25 a head, from its 'menu da jour', or it offers a full six-course taster for £60 if preferred. Naturally, the dishes evolve all the time, but example might include pollock with spicy mushroom XO and parsnip puree, or Longhorn tartare with turnip kimchi.
Michelin credentials: Michelin Green star
Cost: From £25 for lunch
Where: 24 Chandos Road, BS6 6PF
Book now: Wilson's
BOX-E, Bristol
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With space for just 14 guests, BOX-E’s wonderfully unpretentious approach is reflected perfectly in its location within a shipping container. For the adventurous diner there’s a blind seven-course tasting menu that’ll set you back £50 per person, while elsewhere the a la carte gives you more autonomy over your spend. Starters begin from around £7.50 while mains range from around £15-20. Expect sparklingly fresh seasonal plates made using top-class British ingredients. Think charred sprouting broccoli with goat's curd, hazelnuts and black garlic, and golden beetroot with smoked trout, apple and horseradish.
Michelin credentials: Bib Gourmand
Cost: Mains from £15
Where: Unit 10 Cargo 1, Bristol, BS1 6WP
Book now: BOX-E
Kindling, Brighton
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Headed up by chefs and best friends Holly and Toby, Kindling pays particular attention to sustainable practices which includes sourcing produce from the nearby area and looking for low-waste solutions. While it's recently done away with an a la carte menu to serve a tasting menu only for dinner, at lunch you can enjoy a range of mains starting from the £8 mark. Think smoked fish pate with Kindling pickles and fermented rhubarb, and roast Saddlescombe lamb shoulder with caramelised swede and fermented cherry.
Michelin credentials: Featured in the Michelin guide
Cost: Lunch plates from £8
Where: 69 East Street, Brighton, BN1 1HQ
Book now: Kindling
Juke and Loe, Sheffield
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We think part of Juke and Loe's success is due to the fact that it steers clear of sky-high prices in favour of crisp flavours and please-all plates that don't cost a fortune. Again, it’s lunch here that’s the real bargain with three courses on offer for a modest £35. Dishes change seasonally but example dishes might include crispy pigs head with hoisin sauce, blood orange, sesame, coriander, radish and chilli, followed by a potato cake stuffed with beef cheek ragu, cacklebean egg, garlic spinach and mustard beurre blanc, and finishing with chocolate delice served with salted caramel popcorn and white chocolate namelaka.
Michelin credentials: Featured in the Michelin guide
Cost: Three course lunch for £35
Where: 617 Ecclesall Road, Sharrow, Sheffield, S11 8PT
Book now: Juke and Loe
Iberico World Tapas, Nottingham
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The cosy, casual vibes at Iberico World Tapas have made this sweet Spanish spot a foodie pilgrimage for many. Expect family-style surrounds elevated by a stellar run of classic tapas plates. If you’re keen on counting the pennies then let us point you in the direction of the Express Dining menu. Here you’ll find two tapas dishes plus bread for £15.95. A couple of fancier things come with a £2 supplement but the bulk of the menu is included in the price. We’re talking crispy patatas bravas covered in allioli as well as melting pork shoulder croquetas with burnt apple and fennel.
Michelin credentials: Bib Gourmand
Cost: Express menu from £15.95
Where: The Shire Hall, High Pavement, Nottingham, NG1 1HN
Book now: Iberico World Tapas
Celentano’s, Glasgow
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Okay, this one doesn’t have a Michelin star, but it does have a pretty impressive Bib Gourmand – and for good reason. Dean Parker spent years working for revered London chef Robin Gill before making his way home to Glasgow to set up shop over on the east side of the city. Here he runs Celentano’s with his wife Anna. The pair focus on Italian plates and the results are fantastic. Our advice? Don’t skip the snacks – they're the best bit – and definitely leave room for dessert to try the kitchen’s creative take on an affogato. Cost-wise, you can get a small plate of pasta here from £11, while snacks start at £3.
Michelin credentials: Bib Gourmand
Cost: Pasta from £11
Where: 28-32 Cathedral Square, Glasgow, G4 0XA
Book now: Celentano’s
The Whitebrook, Monmouthshire
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A classic choice for Welsh foodies, The Whitebrook has held a Michelin star for a number of years and hasn’t let the accolade inflate its prices beyond the realms of relative affordability. We’re not saying this one’s a bargain, but for the quality of the cooking and the comfortable setting it offers considerably good value for money. The best bet is the £49 lunch menu which takes you through three courses of farm-to-fork food. From the Wye Valley asparagus served with maritime pine, hogweed and tintern mead sauce, to poached pears with buttermilk and yoghurt crumble, everything is designed to squeeze maximum flavour from just a few key ingredients.
Michelin credentials: One Michelin star
Cost: Three-course lunch from £49
Where: Monmouth, NP25 4TX
Book now: The Whitebrook
Love making the most of your money? You might like our guide to the best cheap eats in Edinburgh.