The Boat Inn, Lichfield, which is also on the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list, was given three Rosettes alongside the Pheasant in Harome, North Yorkshire
AA Media managing director Simon Numphud said: “This has been an immensely difficult year for the hospitality industry and yet restaurants across the country have continued to provide incredible dining experiences to the public, despite these considerable challenges.
“The dedication and hard work of the teams behind these establishments is inspiring, particularly during this time and we are pleased to be able to celebrate them with the announcement of these AA rosettes.”
Cooking style
About the Boat Inn, AA said: “The Boat occupies a rather unassuming location just off the busy A461 but once inside it’s clear that this is a restaurant of substance with serious foodie chops.
“An open kitchen with a chef’s table takes pole position in a light, airy space that maintains a relaxed charm. And the menu? It has a sharp eye for the seasons and a love of big-hearted, well-matched flavours, as in Dorset crab with ribbons of kohlrabi, seaweed and wild cranberry, or pig’s cheek with squash and sumac.
“Elsewhere, there’s rose veal served with crisp sweetbreads and chanterelles and, for pudding, a lush chocolate gateau with caramel ice cream.”
It described the Pheasant in Harome, North Yorkshire, as a “rather refined hotel with bags of smart country-style and food that’s certainly worth going out of your way for.
It said: “The contemporary cooking style produces technically adept, imaginative dishes, starting out with slow-cooked hen’s egg (from the village) with roasted pecan whip and smoked hen of the woods mushrooms, then a storming main course of Gigha halibut Véronique with salt and vinegar potatoes, charred gem lettuce, heritage beetroot and brelot onions.”
The new Rosettes in full
New four AA Rosettes:
- Ocean Restaurant at The Atlantic Hotel, Jersey, Channel Islands
- Muse, south west London
- The Ritz Restaurant, west London
- The Latymer, Pennyhill Park, Bagshot, Surrey
New three AA Rosettes:
- The Vineyard, Newbury, Berkshire
- Driftwood, Portscatho, Cornwall
- The Old Stamp House, Ambleside, Cumbria
- The Feathered Nest Country Inn, Nether Westcote, Gloucestershire
- Albert and Michel Roux Jr at Inverlochy Castle, Fort William, Highland
- Hide and Fox, Hythe, Kent
- The Barn at Moor Hall, Ormskirk, Lancashire
- Davies & Brook, London, W1
- Frenchie Covent Garden, London, WC2
- Hide Above, London, W1
- Les 110 Des Taillevent, London, W1
- The Betterment by Jason Atherton, London, W1
- The Dysart, Petersham, Greater London
- The Northall, London, WC2
- Trivet, London, SE1
- Mana, Greater Manchester
- Where The Light Gets In, Stockport, Greater Manchester
- Minster Mill, Minster Lovell, Oxfordshire
- Windlestraw, Walkerburn, Scottish Borders
- The Haughmond, Upton Magna, Shropshire
- The Boat Inn, Lichfield, Staffordshire
- Interlude, Lower Beeding, West Sussex
- Goldsborough Hall, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
- Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire
- The Pheasant, Harome, North Yorkshire