Elm: Sheffield restaurant lands three AA Rosettes just 13 months after opening
Only around 15 per cent of restaurants with AA Rosettes reach three Rosettes, according to the AA.
Sheffield restaurant lands Three AA Rosettes just 13 months after opening.
A Sheffield restaurant has landed Three AA Rosettes just 13 months after opening its doors – putting it among the city's standout dining destinations.
Restaurant Elm, which opened in April 2025, has been awarded the coveted three Rosettes following an inspection in May.
The independent restaurant had only received Two AA Rosettes in February before making the jump to Three just three months later.
The Three Rosette award was confirmed in June and has now been formally announced by the AA.
Three Rosettes are awarded to outstanding restaurants that are considered worth travelling for, with the AA saying there is “little room for error” at this level.
The award recognises cooking where precision, timing, seasoning and flavour combinations are consistently strong, with high-quality ingredients handled with skill.
Only around 15 per cent of restaurants with AA Rosettes reach three Rosettes, according to the AA.
The AA also says restaurants being considered for Three Rosettes are assessed over a longer period, with consistency across multiple visits and seasons an important part of the process.
Restaurant Elm's rise has also been recognised by Michelin, with the Sheffield restaurant included in the Michelin Guide in July.
It means the restaurant has received recognition from both major restaurant guides within around 15 months of opening.
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Restaurant Elm was founded by head chef Nathan Wall and brothers Jon and Nik Daughtry, who created the restaurant independently.
The three founders said they were “incredibly proud” of the recognition.
They said: “When we opened Restaurant Elm, we had a very clear idea of the restaurant we wanted to create, but we could not have imagined receiving this level of recognition so early.
“To have progressed from Two to Three AA Rosettes within months, and to have joined the Michelin Guide at such an early stage in the life of Restaurant Elm, is something we are incredibly proud of.”
They said the award was recognition for the whole team behind the restaurant.
The founders added: “Restaurant Elm has always been a shared project. This recognition belongs to the whole team who have helped build the restaurant with us, and to everyone who has supported us since we opened.”
The restaurant's head chef Nathan leads the kitchen, with the founders saying they want to combine ambitious cooking with a “warm and personal” experience.
They said the award had given them “enormous confidence” as they enter the next stage of the restaurant's development.
The founders added: “We are still a very young restaurant and there is a great deal more we want to do.”
The AA Rosette scheme has been recognising the quality of cooking in restaurants and hotels across the UK for more than 70 years, having been introduced in 1956.