‘Michelin star’ remains one of the most searched-for terms on this site, so the appetite for more is clearly there among the people/visitors of Newcastle. And since the heady days of Café 21 Queen Street in the early 2000s, right up to Sonnet in the 2025 edition, it’s clear the quality and quantity of consistently excellent cooking is on the rise in the region. There are more entries than ever in the latest (updating monthly) edition, representing the shift over the past couple of decades towards Newcastle becoming a real destination when it comes to food and drink.
Here are the current entries in the hallowed guide, as of February 2025, including some restaurants removed from previous years. I’ve covered loosely the Newcastle, Northumberland, and Durham areas to represent the North East, though of course there’s some flex here.
Last updated 11 February 2025.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 Stars: 0
⭐️⭐️ 2 Stars: 0
⭐️ 1 Stars: Four
🍀 Green Stars: 1
😋 Bib Gourmands: 2
Selected Restaurants: 12
3 Michelin Star Restaurants in the North East
Nope, nowhere near 😢.
2 Michelin Star Restaurants in the North East
None since The Raby Hunt closed in January 2024. The team has moved over wholesale and is revamping Rockcliffe Hall into a dining destination of sorts, so it is one to watch.
1 Michelin Star Restaurants in the North East
Low food miles, Scandi-inspired Northumberland cooking. It’s accurate, it’s clinical, there’s some mega flavours. Hem has been wildly popular since it opened, and gained a star within its first year (2021) of opening. It’s a multi-course menu, with minimally plated, single bites of flavour bombs. Told you so.
Currently tasting menu only £150pp.
Kenny Atkinson’s flagship was the first to reach Michelin star status for a number of years, when it made the guide in 2015. In a beautiful old Grade I listed building, it’s as unfussy and informal as you could expect for Michelin star dining, but that doesn’t stop the dishes from being mega-refined, and with playful nods to classics.
Current tasting menu only £98/130
In a similar vein, and not a million miles away from the above Hjem, Pine is a multi-course tasting menu of low-food-miles ingredients, many of them grown on the beautiful Pine farm just off the Military Road. A small and eager team, they also achieved success very quickly after opening, and were also one of the recipients of the new Michelin Green Star for sustainability efforts in 2022. We finally got there in 2024, and it was everything I expected, and more.
Tasting menu £145/£170
As obvious as inclusion as there was ever going to be, really. Solstice has probably been designed for a star from its inception, with minimal plates engineered to perfection, expensive ingredients, and the price tag to match it. It’s as special occasion as you’ll find on this list, but brining a higher standard of restaurant to the city will have a halo effect that’s wider reaching. Unfortunately, a Michelin star likely just means the price can stretch even higher. 🫤
Tasting menu £175
North East Bib Gourmands
The Broad Chare, Newcastle
Still one of my very favourite restaurants in town. Using restaurant loosely, it is a gastropub, without any airs or graces, just quality cooking every time. Whether you’re just in the market for a pint and a scotch egg, or three courses of finely honed comfort food, you’re in good hands every step of the way. Best Sunday lunch in town, too.
Dishes £7 – £22.
More about The Broad Chare on Newcastle Eats
Haveli, Ponteland
It’s a testament to Haveli that its Indian food made it into the guide, famously reluctant to dole out awards to anything less than stuffy and French. Classics you know and love, as well as chef specialities, it’s Indian food, but with that chefs kiss over the top. Dishes from about £15.
More about Haveli on Newcastle Eats
Michelin Guide
Not ‘award-winning’ but still deemed worthy of inclusion in the guide:
21, Newcastle
Coarse, Durham
Cook House, Ouseburn
Dobson & Parnell, Newcastle
Faru, Durham
The Feathers Inn, Hedley-on-the-Hill
Lovage, Jesmond
Nest, Heaton
Osters, Gosforth
Rebel, Heaton
Six, Gateshead
Sonnet, Alnwick
Former entries
Were in the guide, but are now either removed or have since closed:
Eleven/Bawn (the former closed in April 2023, reopened in April 2023, and closed late 2024)
Bistro 21, Durham (Bib, 2014, closed)
Bistro Forty Six (closed in 2021)
The Curious Mr Fox, Durham (2022 guide only)
Fern, Jesmond (removed in 2025)
Finbarrs, Durham (removed 2023)
Khai Khai, Newcastle (2022 guide only)
Ophelia, Gosforth (closed in 2024)
The Patricia, Jesmond (removed/closed 2023)
The Raby Hunt (formerly 2 stars, closed 2024)
The Rat Inn, Anick (frequent inclusion, removed 2025)
River Cafe on the Tyne, North Shields (in 2017 guide)
Route (Bib, closed in April 2023)
The Staith House (Bib, closed in 2021)
Träkol, Gateshead (closed end December 2023)
Violets Cafe, Newcastle (Bib Gourmand, 2020, closed – now Solstice)