The first Michelin guide, published in 1900, advised motorists on which restaurant stops to add to their route. To this day, the guide issues highly prestigious ratings that can set a restaurant on a business path to success.

The youngest chef to earn the much-coveted three Michelin stars in 1995, British restaurateur and television personality Marco Pierre White launched the Restaurant Marco Pierre White, operating between 1993 and 2002 in London’s Hyde Park Hotel.

After that closed in 2002 amid changes in ownership and transfers between hotels, White went on to build a TV chef career and franchise off 15 steakhouse, Italian, and “modern British” restaurants in the United Kingdom.

“We’re no longer at this location,” Marco Pierre White restaurant in Liverpool tells guests

This week, UK outlet The Sun reported that the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill in Liverpool had closed. The restaurant’s website offered no explanation for why the restaurant shut down after 15 years at its Hotel Indigo location.

“Sorry we missed you!” the website for the restaurant currently states. “We’re no longer at this location. But don’t worry, you can still get succulent steaks and tantalising [British spelling] desserts at another one of our Marco Pierre White restaurants. See you there soon!”

Related: These hotels just got the equivalent of three Michelin stars

Social media platforms for the restaurant have disappeared seemingly overnight, and booking systems state that it is no longer operating.

In the final months of 2025, this location offered travelers several seasonal menus and a “kids eat free” promotion, Liverpool World reported, but the deal ultimately failed to attract the necessary foot traffic.

Another popular dessert chain, Kaspa’s, with more than 100 locations across the United Kingdom, also closed its doors in Liverpool this month, according to The Sun.

The Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill was located at the Hotel Indigo in Liverpool.

The Michelin rating system and what it can (and can’t) do for a restaurant

Hotel Indigo Local government authorities posted numbers showing that tourism to Liverpool fell by more than 5% from one year to the next.

The city is currently home to 16 Michelin-recognized restaurants (this means they were not awarded stars, but were singled out by the guide’s inspectors as worthy of a visit).

Marco Pierre White’s Hotel Indigo location was not one of them, since he became disillusioned with the system in 1999 and “returned” the stars he had earned.

  • Major airline launches surprising flight between Las Vegas and Paris
  • United Airlines CEO gives stark warning on Olympic Games
  • The highest rooftop in Barcelona is in a surprising place
  • US government issues sudden warning on Switzerland travel

Travel news: Over the last year, the Michelin Guide has come to a number of cities where it had previously not awarded stars. The Wolf’s Tailor in Denver got its first two-star recognition last September, while Her Place Supper Club, Friday Saturday Sunday, and Provenance in Philadelphia received their first stars two months later in a November ceremony.

In the United Kingdom, cities with the most Michelin restaurants are London and Birmingham. Thirty minutes outside of Liverpool, the small city of Aughton is also home to three Michelin-starred restaurants (more than both Liverpool and Manchester), due to Chef Mark Birchall building out his restaurant base there.

Related: Global airline cancels all flights in Chapter 7 liquidation plan