The Fat Badger, a hidden dining room in Notting Hill, was the only London restaurant added to the Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland in August 2026. It was one of 22 British and Irish restaurants to make the cut last month, according to the guide's monthly update.
Michelin inspectors select 22 new restaurants
Michelin's anonymous inspectors evaluate restaurants on consistency, mastery of flavour, quality of ingredients, and the chef's personality as expressed through the cooking. Each month, they visit new and existing establishments to decide which ones deserve a place in the guide.
In July, four London restaurants were added, including Japanese restaurant Aki and Greek spot Clio. In June, Burro in Covent Garden was one of three London places on the list. The August intake, however, featured just one London venue.
Fat Badger: a restaurant disguised as a pub
Located at 310 Portobello Road, W10 5TA, the Fat Badger is accessed through the backdoor of a townhouse, past a woman with a guest list, and up to the top floor. Although the establishment describes itself as a pub, Michelin called it 'worlds away from your usual London local'.
Time Out food editor Leonie Cooper agreed, stating it is not a pub or even a gastropub but 'simply a very good restaurant'. Diners are served a no-choice five-course meal focused on old school British fare.
Sample menu and critic's verdict
A sample menu includes chilled aubergine, pepper and courgette soup, dover sole with sobrasada and white beans, and a fig leaf ice cream bun with poached peach. During her visit, Cooper had guinea fowl for her main, which she declared a 'triumph' with 'hunks of soft, juicy meat on a fragrant, almost medieval tumble of foie gras, pear and sprouts'.
She also tasted hasselback potatoes, describing them as 'the most flawless example of the Swedish-style spud we've ever come across, each sliver perfectly crisp and salty, stacked like the inside of a filing cabinet if it were made of carbs'.
