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Home > Travel > Celebrity Chef Restaurants >

Celebrity Chef Restaurants

Pick a celebrity chef restaurant for a memorable meal out

With a clutch of 'Jamie's Italian' now established and more in the pipeline, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's "affordable and accessible" chain is going down a storm.

The food is rustic and seasonal with the menu featuring antipasti, pasta, seafood, steaks and salads. Casual, relaxed dining is the order of the day but a no-bookings policy can mean long queues. Tables can be reserved for larger parties at some branches though.

The celebrity chef has also launched a chain of cookery shops selling produce and providing guidance on how to cook with it, there and then. Trained chefs are on hand to demonstrate recipes which customers can make on the spot or take home and cook. The first 'Recipease' branches are now open in London's Clapham Junction and Brighton.

Fab food at Fifteen

If you want a more high-end Jamie O experience head to one of the fab Fifteen restaurants. Although the Fifteen Foundation is a charity, Jamie's one of nine trustees and was instrumental in setting up the eateries – and his influence is evident throughout.

Each of the Fifteen restaurants on home turf has been awarded an AA Rosette. Try London's, off City Road, or Cornwall's – in a beautiful setting at Watergate Bay. If you're going abroad why not check out the Amsterdam branch?

Hunger for Hugh

To sample the local, back-to-basics ethos of 'Chicken Run' champion Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his River Cottage experience, pop into the celebrity chef's local store and canteen in Axminster, Devon. Or try the Komedia in Bath, where the dining is accompanied by an eclectic mix of comedy and cabaret in the Beau Nash Picture House.

If you've a hearty budget and a passion for lovingly produced, seasonal, local food, why not opt for a private bespoke event at River Cottage HQ, on the Devon-Dorset border.

Rick's quartet

You could be forgiven for thinking that fish-lover and celebrity chef Rick Stein owns Padstow, with his empire now boasting four eateries plus accommodation in the Cornish coastal town. Witness Stein's passion for seafood and sample his selection at The Seafood Restaurant, St Petroc's Bistro, Rick Stein's Cafe or Stein's Fish and Chips. He also owns a patisserie, a deli and a gift shop.

Delia's delights

Head across the country to Norfolk to sample celebrity chef Delia Smith's signature dishes, cooked to her own standards. Delia's Restaurant and Bar, and Yellow's New-York style diner can both be found at Norwich City Football Club. Menus draw on her amazing collection of some 6,000 published recipes.

Home Counties bounty

The Thames Valley boasts a whole host of eateries owned by famous names and celebrity chefs.

'Culinary alchemist' and self-taught chef Heston Blumenthal owns the multi-award-winning Fat Duck, in picturesque Bray, near Maidenhead, Berkshire. After opening in 1995 it went on to achieve its third Michelin star in 2004 and also boasts five AA Rosettes.

Most famous for its snail porridge and scrambled egg and bacon ice-cream, the tasting menu employs innovative methods and offers more adventurous diners a host of original flavour combinations. There's also an à la carte menu offering slightly less unusual fare.

Celebrity chef Heston also owns two pubs in Bray. The Hinds Head is a fairly relaxed affair serving traditional British cuisine. It retains a village public house feel and boasts two AA Rosettes. And Heston recently took over the Crown at Bray, which sits opposite and offers simple, traditional English food.

And his latest venture – Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London's Park Lane wows critics with its individual approach to the menu, comprising simple modern dishes inspired by Britain's historic gastronomic past.

Heston himself has been appointed OBE for services to food and awarded honorary degrees from the University of Reading and Bristol University.

Meat on the menu

Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson is based in Oxfordshire and, despite having closed some of his restaurants when the recession hit, he reopened The Greyhound, at Rotherfield Peppard, and he also owns the Windsor Grill, and Windsor Larder in Berkshire, and London's Kew Grill.

The best of Blanc

Raymond Blanc's signature collection is small but perfectly formed. The jewel in the crown is the Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, near Oxford, which boasts five AA Rosettes and an AA Regional Food Award.

The Manoir itself is a 15th-century manor house set in picturesque landscaped grounds. Seasonal produce is high on the menu and there is a kitchen garden boasting 90 types of vegetable and more than 70 varieties of herbs.

There are also a number of Brasserie Blancs dotted across the south, and another in Leeds. Raymond sums up the chain on his website: "If the Manoir is a delicate waltz then the Brasseries are the Can Can. Brasserie Blanc is a place for relaxed enjoyment where I can offer you simple, high quality food that comes as close as possible to the meals that my mother prepared for me at home."

Capital crackers

Tom Aikens, Marco Pierre White, Gary Rhodes and Gordon Ramsay are firmly established in London.

But Gordon Ramsay's empire is now a global enterprise. His bid for world domination appears to be gaining momentum with Gordon Ramsay Holdings now boasting restaurants in the US, Ireland, Versailles, the Middle East, Italy and Japan.

There's also Plane Food in Heathrow's Terminal Five, plus a dozen or so pubs and restaurants in the capital, with more opening under the leadership of Angela Hartnett.

With a fist full of Michelin stars and yet more international restaurants in the pipeline, there seems to be no stopping this chef. However, some critics say he may be spreading himself too thinly and cannot possibly be closely involved in that many establishments.

A taste for Tom

Award-winning, Michelin-starred Tom Aikens became the youngest British chef to hold two Michelin stars at 26, and London restaurants have an impressive list of accolades, including a clutch of AA Rosettes.

Tom's Kitchen is a relaxed but bustling brasserie serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The lunch and dinner menus offer a wide range of tasty meat, fish and pasta dishes.

His signature restaurant Tom Aikens is a more formal affair that also offers private dining.

Gorge at Gary's

Celebrity chef Gary Rhodes' style is somewhat different to Tom's. As well as two London restaurants there are also restaurants aboard P&O's luxury cruise ships Arcadia and .

His restaurants in London's Cumberland Hotel, the W1 Restaurant and the W1 Brasserie and Bar both boast AA Rosettes. There are classical French influences in the more formal W1 menu; while the brasserie offers British and European cuisine in a more casual setting.

Fans can also dine at Rhodes Twenty Four, at Tower 42, London, another Rosetted restaurant. Enjoy wonderful modern British cooking on the 24th floor of Tower 42, with unparalleled views of the City.

Dine with Marco

Marco Pierre White is another chef with restaurants on the high seas, and has restaurants on P&O's Aurora and Oceana. However, back in Blighty, he also owns a country pub. The Yew Tree Inn near Newbury is a refurbished dining pub with rooms, offering upmarket British pub food. It also boasts AA Rosettes.

There are now branches of Frankie's Italian Bar & Grill – Marco's joint venture with Frankie Dettori – in the capital. Meanwhile, Wheeler's of St James's is another joint venture restaurant in London – this time with Sir Rocco Fort&233;.

Marco has also branched into the world of football. He owns Marco at Stamford Bridge, in the Chelsea Football Club complex, which boasts AA Rosettes. And he recently joined forces with celebrity chef John Benson Smith to launch Blue Moon Cafe, an eaterie for Manchester City fans, which forms part of the new City Square development.

Other MPW establishments in London include The Steak and Alehouse and The London Steakhouse and Grill.

Many of these restaurants, plus pubs, hotels and more, can be found in our free online search facility.

Check out our other inspirational ideas for days out and weekend breaks.

The AA Restaurant Guide lists more than 1,800 establishments that have been awarded Rosettes by our professional inspectors this year. There are also restaurants of the year, the Chef's Chef award and three AA Wine Awards.