Kilkenny fine diner one of two best restaurants in country: AA Guide

A local fine diner is just one of two restaurants in the country to have been awarded four rosettes in this year’s prestigious AA Guide.

This year’s guide, the 28th edition to date, features 1,700 restaurants that have all been singled out for “culinary excellence”.

Out of all the countries covered, Ireland did particularly well as two of its restaurants were awarded four rosettes, including the Lady Helen at Mount Juliet in Thomastown and the two-Michelin-starred Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin.

Lady Helen is the main restaurant in the Mount Juliet Golf & Spa Hotel. It is a one Michelin star fine dining restaurant and its executive chef is Cormac Rowe.

The AA Rosette award, rolled out in 1956, “was the first nationwide scheme for assessing the quality of food served by restaurants and hotels”, according to the AA website.

“Our team of inspectors have an unrivalled wealth of experience in assessing quality throughout the UK so receiving the award is a huge achievement not to be underestimated,” it said.