Restaurant wins top AA food award

A WATERFORD restaurant was given a top award from Automobile Association restaurant inspectors yesterday.

The House Restaurant, at the Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore, won three AA rosettes and is now one of only six restaurants in the country to have attained the three-rosette level or higher.

The rosettes are given for quality of cooking and are similar in standard to Michelin stars. They are awarded on a rising scale of one to five and have been handed out for over 50 years.

The five-rosette award has never been presented to an Irish restaurant. One restaurant in Ireland, at the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, has four rosettes.

Food at the House Restaurant was described by AA hotel inspectors as being “out on its own”.

The AA said inspectors were highly impressed by the restaurant’s “finely tuned, seasonal and imaginative menus” which included local organic ingredients.

Cooking at the three-year-old restaurant was led by Dutch chef Martijn Kajuiter.

Speaking yesterday, the restaurant’s general manager Adriaan Bartels said they were delighted to be recognised by the AA.

“The team are delighted to see that all their hard work and effort has been justly rewarded,” he said.

Dublin eatery “Wilde The Restaurant”, at the Westbury Hotel, was also honoured yesterday and received two rosettes.

Inspectors were impressed by this restaurant’s range of dishes, presented by executive chef John Nagle. They also praised the provenance of the Irish ingredients used throughout the menu and the restaurant’s “friendly yet professional staff”.