Tonight (February 9), at the 2026 Michelin Guide ceremony, a Birmingham restaurant has been awarded its first Michelin star. Led by chef Alex Claridge, The Wilderness, located in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, was awarded one Michelin star at the ceremony held at the Convention Centre in Dublin.
The Wilderness was one of 20 restaurants in the UK and Ireland that received the prestigious award on the evening, with the dining spot now becoming the fourth Birmingham restaurant to hold a Michelin star. The restaurant describes itself as “rock and roll fine dining in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham”, serving “provocative, playful tasting menus” in a restored factory, set to the soundtrack of rock, punk, and heavy metal.
Birmingham and heavy metal go hand-in-hand, so there was bound to be a restaurant in the city where those two worlds collide – in a restored factory no less. Despite boasting dark and moody interiors, The Wilderness’ menu is certainly not bleak as the Michelin Guide praised the originality of chef Alex Claridge’s cooking, which is “always underpinned by superb ingredients (often aged in-house) and clever balancing of both flavours and textures”. Michelin highlighted dishes such as the restaurant’s take on brioche bread and butter pudding with barbecued brassicas and a delicate dessert of smoked chocolate and prunes.
Chef Alex Claridge is also the founder of the “weirdest restaurant in Brum”, Albatross Death Cult, an omakase-style restaurant also in the Jewellery Quarter serving “an ever-changing, rapid-fire” menu of roughly 12 courses, in the kitchen, seated at a monolithic counter gathered around the pass.
But it wasn’t the only win for the West Midlands on the night as in nearby Lichfield, The Boat also received one Michelin Star following years of development by Chef Liam Dillon. His intricate dishes spotlight superb local produce, plus some from his own ‘micro farm’.
One Michelin Star Winners
- The Pullman, Chef Angelo Vagiotis, Galway
- Legado, Chef Nieves Barragán Mohacho, London
- The Boat, Chef Liam Dillon, Lichfield
- Fifty Two, Chef Adam Degg, Harrogate
- 1887, Chef Danny Young, Torridon
- Tom Brown at the Capital, Tom Brown, London
- Ugly Butterfly by Adam Handling, Adam Handling, Newquay
- JÖRO, Luke French, Oughtibridge
- Ambassadors Clubhouse, Shantilal Bhushan, London
- Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Chef James Goodyear, London
- Vraic, Nathan Davies, Vale in Gurnsey
- The Wilderness, Alexander Claridge, Birmingham
- Somssi by Jihun Kim, Jihun Kim, London
- Labombe by Trivet, Evan Moore, London
- Kerfield Arms, Jay Styler, London
- Corenucopia by Clare Smyth, Gary Mundi, London
- Maré by Rafael Cagali, Ewan Waller, Brighton and Hove
- Michael Caines at the Stafford, Simon Ulph, London
- Killiecrankie House, Tom Tsappis, Cairngorm
- Forest Avenue, John Wyer, Dublin
Two Michelin Star Winners
- Row on 5, Chef Spencer Metzger, London
- Bonheur by Matt Abé, Matt Abé, London
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Three Michelin Star Winners
- The Fat Duck, Chef Karl Jaques, Bray on Thames
- Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Chef Kim Ratcharoen, London
- The Waterside Inn, Chef Alain Roux, Bray on Thames
- Moor Hall, Chef Mark Birchall, Lancashire
- Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, London
- CORE by Clare Smyth, London
- Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, London
- L’Enclume, Chef Simon Rogan, Cartmel
- Sketch, The Lecture Room & Library, Daniel Stucki, London
- The Ledbury, Chef Brett Graham, London
Great Britain and Ireland now have 192 one-Michelin-star establishments, and 28 two-Michelin-star, while all 10 existing 3-Michelin-star restaurants retained their stars for 2026.
Where to find The Wilderness and how to book a table
The one Michelin-star restaurant, The Wilderness, is located at 27 Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, B18 6JQ. You can book a table at the restaurant here.