Every now and then, a special occasion comes around that gives us the perfect excuse to really splash out on a meal. To try something a little more high-brow. And if you’re on the look out for such a thing, there’s plenty of inspiration to be had from this year’s AA Hospitality Awards.
As part of the awards, AA selected its restaurants of the year for England, Wales, Scotland and London. Fair warning, the winning venues are all very bougie – a meal at any of them isn’t just a meal but a carefully crafted culinary experience. So, let’s get into it.
The Old Stamp House in Cumbria was named England’s restaurant of the year and described by an AA inspector as a ‘charming little basement restaurant’ with a ‘cosy, intimate feel’ and ‘efficiently informal service’. And this eatery is no stranger to an award or two. It holds a Michelin star and was recently named the third best fine dining spot in the entire world in TripAdvisor’s Travellers Choice Awards.
In Wales it was The Jackdaw in Conwy, which only opened two years ago, that came up trumps. Set in a former cinema, the AA described this venue as having ‘clever modern dishes and a cool Scandi vibe’ and gave a special shoutouts to its ‘Blaenau Slate’ – a delicious-sounding dessert of gooseberries, sheep’s yogurt, sorrel and pistachio with meringue shards.
Scotland’s restaurant of the year was awarded to Cail Bruich in Glasgow. According to AA, a ‘typical meal might kick off with Isle of Skye langoustine, west coast brown crab, mussel and oscietra caviar, followed by Peterhead cod with heritage carrot, citrus and spiced sauce’ with a Yorkshire rhubarb almond and ginger almond cream to finish off. Phwoar.
Finally, AA crowned Chutney Mary the restaurant of the year for London. A stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace, this Indian establishment was described as ‘infinitely glamorous’. Its selection of modern south-Asian dishes include griddled scallops in Mangalorean sauce, venison samosa, tandoori sea bass Amritsari, Afghani chicken tikka and wild Madagascan prawns.
You can see the full list of winners from AA’s Hospitality Awards 2023 on the official website here.
Time Out’s take
After our intensive investigation into why Cumbria boasts so many Michelin stars, we’re really not surprised at The Old Stamp House’s victory. As for London, here’s our own extensive, ultimate ranking of the capital’s best restaurants.
ICYMI: this is Britain’s best takeaway, according to Uber Eats.
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