The fine dining restaurant at Chouet, which only opened seven months ago, was awarded a coveted star at the annual Michelin awards held in Dublin earlier this week.
Visit Guernsey lead marketing officer Zoe Gosling said her team could not be more delighted for head chef Nathan Davies and his hard-working team.
‘Visit Guernsey has, and continues to, enjoy a really close working relationship with Nathan and the team, which has been hugely beneficial for Guernsey, particularly as we position ourselves as a food destination with the new Big Eat food festival,’ she said.
‘The quality of the experience that Vraic presents to visitors is second to none and has elevated the overall proposition that the "Islands of Guernsey" now offer.’
This is Mr Davies’ second star. He previously earned one for his first restaurant, SY23, in Aberystwyth.
When Mr Davies and his wife, operations manager Hollie, relocated their family to the island to open Vraic, they were joined by several senior colleagues from SY23, including head chef Kuba Biskup, sous chef Max Davies and bar manager Filip.
Vraic offers a multi-course tasting menu built around ingredients from Guernsey and its surrounding waters, with seaweed a recurring motif throughout, including in the name of the restaurant itself.
It is the first local restaurant to hold the coveted accolade since Christophe at Fermain closed in 2009.
Vraic’s star was one of 20 new stars awarded to UK restaurants.
However, what Michelin gives it can also take away, and 11 restaurants had stars removed, although most of these were due to closures.
One man who was in no doubt about the merit of Vraic’s award was local chef Jesse James, now at Brighton restaurant Lost in the Lanes, who had visited Vraic this summer on a return to the island and also previously eaten at SY23.
‘To see a restaurant born in Guernsey, wearing a Guernesiais name with pride, it hits something deep,’ he said.
‘I know how easy it is for our island to be forgotten in the wider food conversation, but what Nathan Davies and his team have built makes it impossible to ignore.
'This is craft, this is dedication, this is a kitchen driven by belief in its home.’
He added that he had looked on from afar at the journey, graft, pressure and quiet determination it took to open a place such as Vraic.
‘Chef to chef, I see it, and I respect it massively. You have given Guernsey something to rally behind.
'You are shining a light on Sarnia, on our produce, on our people, on what can come from a small rock in the sea when passion is big enough.’
Guernsey’s flourishing food scene was further reinforced as a Michelin Bib Gourmand, the guide’s way of recognising restaurants that offer good food at a great price, was awarded to Alba, in the market buildings.
Japanese restaurant Fukku was also recently added to the Michelin Guide, while La Fregate became the sole Guernsey entry in the 2026 Good Food Guide.
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