Yarrow: Gordon Arms Restaurant wins AA awards in first year open

The Gordon Arms Restaurant with Rooms at Yarrow was taken over by Bryn and Oxana Jones in April after the couple relocated from Oxfordshire.

And last year chef Bryn and his wife Oxana, who creates the restaurant’s desserts, were pleased to be awarded four-stars from the AA for the rooms at the restaurant and an AA Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence.

After applying to the AA for a listing, the couple were told an inspector would visit the restaurant soon.

Upon the inspector’s visit, the restaurant was given an AA rosette for its food, however, Bryn explained there was a funny reason they missed out on a second rosette.

He said: “It was quite a funny incident actually.

“The inspector checked in, we didn’t know anything about him, and he was about to award us two rosettes for the food, but we only got one because the dessert we were making that day was still in the oven.

“So, we couldn’t get the two rosettes we wanted, but still we’re very happy.

“We had a custard tart in the oven which wasn’t ready, and if you’ve ever made custard tart you know the time when it’s ready and the time when it’s not.

“But he said he’ll come back again and we’ll have another go.”

Bryn, an award-winning chef, said that following the decision to move, he and Oxana had looked at relocating to Wales or Hereford, but fell in love with the Borders.

He said: “I’ve been in this business more years than I care to remember. We just fell in love with this place and the area and the people.

“We stayed up here a few days and did some trips and liked it very much.”

The Gordon Arms prides itself on using locally-sourced ingredients, some of which are right on the restaurant’s doorstep.

Sustainability is also key for the restaurant with rooms.

Bryn added: “Our focus was, is and will be on local produce that we are strong advocates of using – it’s more expensive than to buy frozen produce but we strongly believe that local foods and manufactories support your local economy as every pound spent generates twice as much income for the local economy.

“We are also very conscious of our environment and carbon footprint.

“We are endeavouring to achieve sustainable tourism for our guests, employees and local community.

“And as a result, we were chosen one of the five UK nationwide finalists for the Boutique Hotelier Award 2022 in the category “Best Sustainable Achievement” in October 2022.”

Visit The Gordon Arms Restaurant with Rooms website for more information, menus or to book.