Restaurant AO is a modern and inviting fine dining restaurant located just off the London Road in central Southampton, run by chef patron Daniel Rogan - the son of L'Enclume founder Simon Rogan.
Despite the sleek, black exterior, this independent, fine dining restaurant is rustic and homely inside, with exposed brick walls and chunky wooden tables providing some contrast with modern, stylish decor. A long open kitchen and chef's counter provides some theatre, where guests can see the kitchen team in full flow, cooking and sending dishes out to tables.
Those dishes all come from a single menu - an eight course tasting menu, which is available with an optional wine flight. Dishes are thoughtfully curated and designed to be hyper-seasonal, showing off local produce from well known Southampton producers and suppliers like JS Fresh Fish, Bellord and Brown and Lusso Leaf greens.
The menu doesn't give much away, giving only a sense of the ingredients to come and leaving an element of surprise and interest. The menu is regularly changed however expect to find tempting and intriguing dishes such the locally inspired Old Winchester Cheddar, and the chicken fat Hampshire potato. Desserts sound equally as interesting with dishes such as white chocolate, caramel and malt, and a dish named New Forest strawberry.
The menu is also available for vegetarians, with dishes at the time of writing including cauliflower and lovage, and leek dill potato. emulsion.
If you're looking to organise a special meal, a work meeting, or perhaps a private celebration at Restaurant AO, you may also be interested to know there are private dining options available for groups of 4 or more. Chat to the friendly team about the menus on offer, and to hear more about the private dining room available to hire.