The AA has awarded the prestigious accolade of four AA Rosettes to a single restaurant, 21212 in Edinburgh, while thirteen establishments are celebrating being awarded three AA Rosettes.
21212
The name lays out the culinary concept of chef Paul Kitching’s much talked about Edinburgh venue: the menu format offers up to five courses – choose from two starters, two mains and two desserts with small, but perfectly formed, morsels in between. As the unorthodox name suggests, Kitching’s cooking is exciting, artful, complex, even confrontational stuff that defies easy classification. The venue is a splendid townhouse in a smart Edinburgh postcode with a high-ceilinged Georgian dining room done out with the original fancy plasterwork.
3 Rosettes
The new three rosette restaurants range from Cartmel in Cumbria to Padstow in Cornwall with four restaurants coming from the North of England but just one in London:
- Rogan and Co, Cartmel, Cumbria
- Freemasons Country Inn, Wiswell, Lancashire
- Wynyard Hall, Billingham, Co Durham
- 1851 Restaurant, Peckforton Castle, Peckforton, Cheshire
- The Sir Charles Napier, Chinnor, Oxfordshire
- Titchwell Manor, Titchwell, Norfolk
- Dabbous, London
- Lewtrenchard Manor, Lewdown, Devon
- Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath
- The Feathered Nest Inn, Nether Westcote, Gloucestershire
- Marquis at Alkham, Dover, Kent
- Paul Ainsworth at No 6, Padstow, Cornwall
- Stoke Park, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire
AA Hotel Services manager Simon Numphud said:
“To be awarded four rosettes a restaurant must show a passion for excellence, superb technical skills and intense ambition as well national recognition for its cooking and 21212 certainly covers all these. Restaurants serving food of a three rosette standard are worthy of recognition from well beyond their local area and I am delighted that these very deserving restaurants have been acknowledged for their efforts.”
AA Rosettes are awarded solely by AA Hotel and Restaurant Inspectors with no influence from hotels, restaurants or other guides. The AA Rosette scheme is long established and successfully recognises cooking at different levels nationwide. The success or failure in achieving Rosettes is based on at least one visit to a hotel or restaurant. Essentially it’s a snapshot, whereby the entire meal including ancillary items are assessed. Of all the restaurants across the UK, approximately 10% are of a standard which is worthy of one Rosette and above.