Alchemilla Restaurant

The tone is set as soon as diners arrive at Alchemilla; a living plant wall and an open brushed aluminium kitchen sit within the exposed brickwork of the original coach house arches. It's the first thing guests see, and that invites diners to join the chefs in their experience of cooking, which is relaxed and fun with laughter often being heard. There's also a Chef's Table for eight, which is accessed through the kitchen. This space gives diners an even closer insight into the creation of dishes and the room's feature bookcase with jars of foraged sweet woodruff and elderflower sit alongside Nordic cookery books and plants, hinting at some of the many inspiration sources behind the vision. This ambitious but unstuffy restaurant is a hive of activity that shifts the spotlight from meat to plant-based cooking, and is well deserved of the title Best New Restaurant in the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards 2019.