Restaurant Gradings

Restaurant Gradings

Undiscovered Scotland's Eating & Drinking listings refer to two grading schemes, those produced by Michelin and by the AA.

The Michelin Guides grade restaurants as 1, 2 or 3 Star, and the criteria are VERY selective. The 2009 Michelin Guide to GB and Ireland lists just one restaurant in Scotland with 2 Michelin Stars and thirteen more with 1 Michelin Star. You can find out abut the history of the award of Michelin Stars since the first appeared in Scotland in 1974 their site here.

The full criteria for the award of AA Rosettes to restaurants can be found on their site here. In summary, however:

• 1 Rosette "Excellent restaurants that stand out in their local area."
• 2 Rosettes "The best local restaurants."
• 3 Rosettes "Outstanding restaurants that demand recognition well beyond the local area."
• 4 Rosettes "Cooking that demands national recognition."
• 5 Rosettes "Stands comparison with the best in the world."

Some 300 Scottish restaurants have been awarded AA Rosettes. As of early 2009, just three had been awarded 4 AA Rosettes; and twenty-four more 3 AA Rosettes.