This year’s Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland has been released.

The list provides all the restaurants that have received and retained a Michelin star this year, and there are plenty near Northwich on the list. 

The Michelin Guide is produced by the French tyre company Michelin, which has been going since 1904 and can award up to three Michelin Stars for excellence to a select few establishments.

Here are all the Michelin-starred restaurants within an hour's drive of Northwich. 

What do the Michelin Stars mean? 

According to the guide, one Michelin Stars means "high quality cooking, worth a stop!", while being awarded two means "excellent cooking, worth a detour!".

Michelin Green Stars can also be awarded for "gastronomy and sustainability". 

One Michelin Star

New

The Barn, Aughton

Where: Prescot Road, Aughton, L39 6RT, United Kingdom

What the Michelin Guide says: "Cooking is modern and imaginative and the appealing à la carte menu offers dishes which are British at heart, with understated elegance and well-judged combinations of delicious flavours. The set lunch menu is a steal!

"Hand-crafted cocktails are enhanced with their own fermented produce, staff are attentive and professional and, as dining spots go, on a sunny day the hedge-enclosed terrace by the lake takes some beating."

Retained

Fraiche, Birkenhead

Where: 11 Rose Mount, Oxton, Birkenhead, CH43 5SG, United Kingdom

What the Michelin Guide says: "You start and end your night in the bar, where movie clips are projected onto the wall above illuminated tables and a diverse selection of music plays. The dining room itself has a darker, more moody feel with colourful acrylic tables laid with unique tableware. 

"A maximum of 10 diners are seated at the same time to experience a global tour of delicate, flavour-filled dishes with a playful edge. Ingredients come from across the world and are innovatively combined in different textures and flavours. There are two matching wine flights and a great range of half bottles available too."

Two Michelin Stars

Retained

Moor Hall, Aughton 

Where: Prescot Road, Aughton, L39 6RT, United Kingdom

What the Michelin Guide says: "Your meal commences with a tantalising array of snacks – the last served in the kitchen where you can chat with Head Chef Mark Birchall.

"His refined, highly original dishes feature some terrific English produce, including some lesser-known herbs and plants, and his versatility results in a range of cleverly blended flavours, textures and temperatures. The wine list will have oenophiles in raptures and contemporary bedrooms complete the package."