Restaurant AO - (Near , South East)

5 /5 Monika Surowiec: I came here for my birthday! They greeted me with a lovely birthday message! The food was some of the best I’ve ever had. I don’t eat meat, but they were able to accommodate me and the food was sensational Would definitely come back

5 /5 Geoff Craig: The ultimate fine dining experience. Everything from setting foot into this restaurant, the food, the service and the knowledgeable staff is second to none. Unforgettable evening out. A must visit for foodies

5 /5 Lucía Medina: Very nice experience. This might be a slightly over critical review but I feel that for the price and the type of place is what’s expected. I would say that the menu got better gradually, the appetisers were just ok, I didn’t taste any charredness on the Jerusalem artichoke for example and the crab ball was more potato ball lacking a bit of that deep crab taste that I was expecting. However from here the Winchester cheddar custard was superb, incredibly umami , with the potato balls as texture and that amazing chicken skin crumb,a dish to remember. The celeriac was the perfect balance with cooked and crunchy still and that beautiful pancetta crumb that was so intense and the buttery velouté… amazing. The lobster was beautifully poached and the dumpling with the meet was so meaty and fresh, a nice contrast with the richness of the bisque. The cod texture and brine was impecable, just falling apart, well balance, reach, delicious. I would have personally increased slightly the size of the duck main(the cod was a better portion), was slightly under seasoned for my taste(just the meat)and I would have liked more crisps on the skin. Deserts where also very good, very impress with the yogurt and dill oil, a really original dessert/palate cleanser almost. The caramel parfait was reach and silky smooth and the chocolate was just superb, I would have add another textural element or a temperature contrast or some acidity to balance the richness of the parfait, and slightly small as it felt a bit of an appetiser again but it was very very good.. One more thing I would say is that I lacked some sort of charger plate or placemat or something on the table , as it felt slightly awkward just having the plates and the cutlery placed directly on the table, almost felt slightly naked. The service and drinks were excellent, very accommodating with all request. Maybe something to separate the reception area from the dining room would also be nice, but overall an amazing experience, good food, nice ambient; only open for 3 weeks in this location so plenty of room to improve as I feel there’s anything like it in Southampton at the moment.

5 /5 Nayeem Jamil: We chose this place for my wife’s birthday. Having been to the ION Harbour in Malta, we were told that Daniel was a chef there, so we thought to check out the AO. We were fortunate to see that the restaurant opened in Oxford Street recently. Honestly, the food was so so good. I am grateful that Southampton has an establishment like this and I hope it continues. We went for the 10-course set menu. The waiters and hosts were very friendly, engaging and probably more important, had a passion for the food and wine. Having been to other high-end restaurants, the price seemed reasonable to me. Something I found unique was the music; they played a lot of great music. I found myself immersed in the food while listening to Fleetwood Mac which was very surreal. Would want to come back for special events. Thanks for improving the standards of food in Southampton!

5 /5 Chrisy Parsons: Belated review from a visit in December. After not making it to AO whilst it was at Sunnyfields, we finally visited once it opened on Oxford Street. Since it was our anniversary, we ended up going for the 10 course tasting menu and wine pairing. The atmosphere was cosy and the staff were all very friendly and not pretentious. The tables are well spaced, providing privacy whilst keeping a nice atmosphere. Neither of us are huge fans of fizz, but after a recommendation, we did try some of the english sparkling wine while we read through the menu and actually thoroughly enjoyed it. The three apetisiers at the start come out together and they were tasty, but it wouldve been nice to have a more exciting start as the following dishes were all superior. Following this, with the pairing option, a wine is paired with each course. We found all the food super flavourful (old Winchester custard & langoustine were a couple of favourites) and the menu provided good variety. The wine pairing was nice, good to try some new wines and each glass was a decent size. It would have been nice for another dish to pair with a red, but I understand that white appeals to more people. At the end of our meal we were talking to one of the staff who recommended some port, which we tried and have since bought a bottle. Overall, we had a lovely evening and in fact spent 5 hours here! Will definitely go back for a special occasion in future.