The UK’s top restaurants have been recognised at the highly anticipated AA Rosette Awards spring update - and Merseyside has a new multi-rosettes winner.
The long-established AA Rosettes scheme celebrates successful cooking at different levels across the UK. Awarded by the AA’s team of inspectors, receiving this award is a significant achievement in the industry and rosettes range from one to five.
Restaurants that achieve one rosette have ‘standards that stand out in their local area’ with around 50% of rosette holders achieving one. At the other end of the scale, restaurants that are awarded five rosettes, feature cooking that is ‘on par with the best in the world.’ The renowned Dining Room and Cellar at Hillbark Hotel & Spa in Frankby was Merseyside's only new multi-rosette-winning restaurant featured in the spring update, earning three rosettes. However, more than a dozen local eateries feature in the 2024 guide. Below are all the restaurants in and around Merseyside to receive AA Rosette Awards for Culinary Excellence for 2024, listed in alphabetical order.
5. Burnt Truffle, Heswall 🏵️🏵️
🍽️ Burnt Truffle is located in Heswall and is by the team behind Wreckfish. The eatery has great food and a beautiful outdoor terrace. 💬 An AA inspector said: “Gary Usher, owner of the six-restaurant Elite Bistros group, opened his Wirral bridgehead in 2015, following a crowdfunding campaign; its name was decided by the Twitterati. Walls are decorated with food and wine pictures, old London restaurant menus and names of crowdfunding donors. Monthly changing menus offer bistro-style takes on modern British and international dishes. Outside is a heated terrace.”📍106 Telegraph Rd, Heswall, Wirral CH60 0AQ | Burnt Truffle Photo: Burnt Truffle/Facebook
6. Chez Mal Brasserie (Malmaison), Liverpool 🏵️
🍽️ Chez Mal Brasserie is a luxury restaurant at Malmaison, on Liverpool’s docks. 💬 An AA inspector said: “On the landward side of Princes Dock, Malmaison’s first purpose-built hotel is a landmark for the maritime city. Echoing the city’s industrial heritage, the exposed bricks, lighting gantries and air ducts of the double-height brasserie, are balanced by warm, plush, purple and black furnishings.”📍 William Jessop Way, Princes Dock, Liverpool, Merseyside, L3 9AG | Third Party Photo: Third Party
7. Hillbark Hotel & Spa, Frankby 🏵️🏵️🏵️
🍽️ The Dining Room and Cellar are located at the beautiful Hillbark Hotel & Spa and offer delicacies created by chef Kevin Lynn. The restairants 💬 An AA inspector said: "Originally built on Bidston Hill in 1891, the splendid Tudor Revival-style mansion of Hillbark was dismantled and moved to its current site in 1931. The house now sits in a 250-acre woodland estate and enjoys delightful views towards the River Dee and the north Wales hills. These days Hillbark is an all-mod-cons spa hotel, and there’s a tasting menu on offer in the Dining Room and downstairs in the cosy vaulted Cellar, where two glass walls show off the wine cellar. You might find a perfectly balanced dish of oyster, shallot, dill and elderflower – delicious enough to turn any oyster 'hater', while a blue Stilton fruit loaf with honey is an unusual treat." 📍 Hillbark, Wirral CH48 1NP | Google Photo: Google
8. Lawns Grill (Thornton Hotel Hall), Thornton Hough 🏵️🏵️
🍽️ Lawns Grill serves up European and British food, with a range of grilled dishes. 💬 An AA inspector said: “The Victorian Thornton Hotel Hall is a popular place for weddings, meetings and functions. The restaurant has a notable leather ceiling, and Grecian frieze moulding, which are part of the property’s original features. Staffing is structured and quite formal in delivery, but smart casual dress rather than uniforms help keep things intimate and informal." 📍 Thornton Hall Hotel & Spa, Neston Rd, Thornton Hough, Wirral CH63 1JF | Lawns Grill via Tripadvisor Photo: Lawns Grill via Tripadvisor