AA Restaurant Guide 2016 (Oct 2015) New Rosette Awards

Posted on: October 10th, 2015 by Simon Carter

AA Announces New 3,4 and 5 Rosette Awarded Restaurants

The AA last night announced which of the nation’s restaurants have been awarded new multi rosettes, with two restaurants achieving the highest rating of five AA Rosettes.  In addition, seven restaurants have achieved four Rosettes and 20 have been awarded three Rosettes.

To obtain five AA Rosettes restaurants have soon that their cooking stands comparison with the best in the world with highly individual cook, breathtaking culinary skills and set the standards to which other aspire.  The four Rosette establishments also show intense ambition, a passion for excellence, superb technical skills and an appreciation of culinary traditions combined with a desire for exploration and improvement while restaurants with three AA Rosettes have shown that they are outstanding and demand recognition well beyond their local area.

NEW FIVE ROSETTE RESTAURANTS

  • The Kitchin, Edinburgh
  • Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London

This award makes Tom Kitchin’s Edinburgh restaurant, The Kitchin, the only five Rossetted restaurant in Scotland while Restaurant Gordon Ramsay’s award takes the total of five Rosetted restaurants in London to five.

NEW FOUR ROSETTE RESTAURANTSAA Restaurant Guide

  • Plas Ynyshir Hall Hotel, Eglwys Fach
  • Stovell’s, Chobham
  • The Westbury Hotel, London
  • Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac
  • Claridge’s, London
  • The Ledbury, London
  • Fraiche, Birkenhead

NEW THREE ROSETTE RESTAURANTS

  • Old Downtown Lodge, Ludlow
  • The Cellar, Anstruther
  • EIPIC, Belfast
  • The Boathouse Restaurant, Bangor
  • Galgorm Resort and Spa, Ballymena
  • Cail Bruich, Glasgow
  • Lough Erne Resort, Enniskillen
  • Sudbury House, Faringdon
  • Lickfolk Inn, Lickfold
  • Amaya, London
  • The Horn of Plenty, Tavistock
  • Lavenham Great House Restaurant with Rooms, Lavenham
  • Rockliffe Hall, Darlington
  • The Coach, Marlow
  • L’Ortolan, Shinfield
  • Marmadukes Town House Hotel, York
  • The Kingham Plough, Kingham
  • Sosban & The Old Butcher’s Restaurant, Menai Bridge
  • Macdonald Complete Angler, Marlow
  • Restaurant James Sommerin, Penarth

The new Rosettes were awarded at the AA Hospitality Awards held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.  The awards, often referred to as the industry’s ‘Oscars’, were hosted by Fiona Bruce and guests were treated to a sensational gourmet meal created by 2014 AA Chefs’ Chef, Nathan Outlaw.

The award event also sees the launch of the 2016 AA guides to UK hotels, restaurants, pubs and B&Bs which contain details of all the winning establishments.

The Kitchin

78 Commercial Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6LX

A former whiskey warehouse in Leith’s old dockside is home to one of Scotland’s most dynamic chefs – Tom Kitchin. Designed around original stone and wood features, the dining room is intimate and cosy in grey and silvery colour tones throughout. The walls are a striking turquoise and purple with wallpaper designs by Timorous Beasties. The atmosphere is relaxed giving diners the opportunity to unwind and enjoy the theatre of cooking through the glass window to the kitchen. The professionalism of the staff is obvious without being intrusive and guest satisfaction is important to the team.

With TV appearances and books to his name, Tom has been a rising star since he and his wife Michaela opened the Kitchin in 2006. Prior to that Tom worked with some of the greats, including Alain Ducasse and Pierre Koffman, where he gained a wealth of classical experience and training.

Tom’s philosophy is to bring nature to the plate and this is not just lip service – he is dedicated to using the best ingredients at the very best time of year. All of the meat and fish is bought in whole and the butchering and filleting is done in house. Superb ingredients from Scotland’s natural larder arrive fresh at the door daily. They are then transformed into beautiful plates of food that spark with clever ideas and technical craft.

In Food and Beverage Director Philippe Nublat and Maître d’ Sylvain Rance, Tom and Michaela have an excellent team behind them, but it is the passion and ambition of this husband-and-wife team that has created a fantastic restaurant that could not be more worthy of this prestigious accolade.

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

114 Tottenham Court Rd, London W1T 5AQ

The mothership of the Gordon Ramsay’s empire, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay opened in 1998 when 31-year-old Gordon got the keys to his first restaurant. Clare Smyth has been in charge of the kitchen since 2008 and now holds the title of Chef Patron.

Gordon has a reputation for nurturing talent and giving his chefs the scope to develop and Clare has really made the restaurant her own. Clare was born in County Antrim and left home at just 16 to study catering at a Hampshire college. Completing her studies, she worked for brief stints at Bibendum in London, Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck and the Roux brothers’ Waterside Inn. This was followed by a six month catering job in Australia. By the time she was 29, she was the Head Chef at one of the most famous restaurants in the UK.

Internally the restaurant shows contemporary elegance with an art deco feel that creates an air of exclusivity. The service, led by Jean-Claude Breton is a stand-out feature and it remains charming, gracious and extremely proficient.

There are a host of menus to choose from, starting with a set lunch and extending up to the 7 course ‘Seasonal Inspiration’ tasting menu. Clare has developed Ramsay’s modern French cuisine with luxury ingredients of outstanding quality. The food is complimented by an exceptional wine list with entries from the world’s top producers.