Restaurant awarded four rosettes in new AA guide

A RESTAURANT in Shiplake has been named one of the top 50 in the UK for the sixth year running.

Orwells features in the AA Restaurant Guide 2023 and is the only venue in South Oxfordshire to be awarded four rosettes, the second highest category.

Hotel du Vin in Henley was awarded one rosette, as was the Baskerville in Shiplake, which closed in August.

Ryan Simpson-Trotman, who owns Orwells with his husband Liam, said: “It’s an absolutely amazing achievement. It’s hard to maintain the standards but it’s pure passion and love for what we do that keeps us going.

“We’re really proud of what we’ve achieved. We keep up with the times and always ask ourselves how we can do it better. Whatever it is, we think about how we can tweak and improve it. I think that constant tweaking is what gives us that recognition we keep getting.

“We analyse everything because this is our business as well as our home and we want everyone who enters to have smiles on their faces.

“I can never say I’m not worried about the future but no matter what, we won’t ever compromise the quality.

“With the cost of living crisis, we think about how many people we employ, how we utilise our fuel and our use of gas and electric.

“We use coal for a lot of our cooking — we try to use a lot of natural methods. We use induction for our stove so when a pan is on, it will heat up but once the pan is removed it will turn off.

“We won’t compromise on quality because it’s what gives us our name. People have said to us that they’re not eating out as much but that when they do, they want to pay for quality and not waste their money on something that isn’t great.”

The four rosettes are printed on a white crockery plate which has been put up by the front door.

The restaurant, which opened in May 2010, has received other marks of recognition in previous years including the Good Food Guide readers’ restaurant of the year award and a listing in the Michelin Guide.

Mr Simpson-Trotman said: “We must be doing something right.”