Every month inspectors are on the road testing out new venues to add to the gastronomic bible.
Last month, three north London eateries were added to the food guide including a Ukrainian restaurant Tatar Bunar in Shoreditch, Rake at The Compton Arms, and Highbury newcomer Lupa.
The latter, a 28-cover Roman style trattoria in Highbury Park is Lupa only opened in summer 2025 and is a collaboration between The White Lotus and The Gentlemen actor, Carousel co-founder Ed Templeton and chef Naz Hassan -formerly of Pidgin.
Critics have praised punchy, hearty comforting dishes such as a “sublime carbonara” burrata stuffed courgette flower, slow-roasted porchetta stuffed with apricot and a savoury peach tart.
The team have been spurred on to open a second venture, a Milanese restaurant in Shoreditch.
Rake @ The Compton Arms has been a fixture of the tiny backstreet Islington pub for more than a year with fans swooning over their crispy ray wing crumpets, Cornish fish pie, aged steak tartare, and treacle tart.
The pub itself is said to have inspired George Orwell’s paean to his ideal boozer The Moon Under Water and it was his local when he was living in Canonbury Square in 1946.
Now Jay Claus and Syrus Pickhaver who have 20 years combined experience in the kitchen at the likes of Quo Vadis, Smoking Goat, BRAT and Acme Fire Cult have earned the Michelin stamp of approval.
Tatar Bunar opened in Curtain Road, Shoreditch in March 2025 as a collaboration between Ukrainian restaurateurs Alex Cooper and Anna Andriienko.
The 90-seat venue is inspired by Alex’s hometown of Tatarbunary in southern Ukraine, and the menu reflects his own family traditions – led by his grandmother’s hearty, comforting recipes.
The likes of chicken Kyiv and beetroot soup – borscht – take pride of place on a menu which celebrates the produce of the Bessarabia region. The restaurant took over the site of Tapas Brindisa Shoreditch with critics praising its look and feel courtesy of reclaimed wood from the Carpathian region, Bulgarian stone handmade ceramics and an open kitchen will overlooking the restaurant and internal courtyard.
