A popular restaurant is celebrating repeat success for culinary excellence after being awarded two AA Rosettes in the 2022 AA Restaurant Guide.

The Lord Bute Hotel & Restaurant in Lymington Road, Highcliffe, is one of 24 Dorset restaurants to feature in the prestigious food guide, now in its 28th edition.

It’s the 15th year in a row the Lord Bute has received Rosettes.

The long-established Rosette awards recognise successful cooking at different levels throughout the UK.

Each restaurant is visited by an AA inspector who judges and then awards the Rosettes.

Two AA Rosettes are awarded to restaurants deemed excellent that aim for, and achieve, higher standards and better consistency.

This includes a greater precision apparent in the cooking and obvious attention to the selection of quality ingredients.

Around 40 per cent of restaurants/hotels within the AA Restaurant Guide have two Rosettes.

Gary Payne and Simon Box, Proprietors of the Lord Bute, said they were delighted with the award.

They added: “This is an accolade for the whole team at Lord Bute.

“It has been a roller coaster ride for those in the hospitality industry, and it remains tough across the sector, but our team has remained upbeat and committed to offering the best quality in food and service.

“To maintain two Rosette status is testimony to the impeccable standards we always try to provide to our diners.

“The kitchen brigade is always looking to source the finest local produce and revise the menu accordingly.

“They used lockdown to design some new additions to our menu and we are really proud to be recognised for dining excellence.”

The award comes as the Lord Bute has enjoyed a busy post lockdown period in both the hotel and the restaurant as well as hosting re-scheduled weddings and busy preparing for festive celebrations.

Simon said: “We took the enforced closure as an opportunity to refurbish our bedrooms, suites and bathrooms, as well as give a New England style facelift to the exterior of the hotel.

“For a privately owned business this was a big investment, especially at a time of uncertainty, but one that has certainly paid off with excellent feedback from our guests.”

The boutique hotel has 13 bedrooms and suites.

From this year self-catering options were available which proved extremely popular for family staycations during the summer.

The Lord Bute restaurant is described in the 2022 AA Restaurant Guide as: ‘British, Mediterranean’ in a wonderful location, with the inspector highlighting menu favourites including the fillet of Jurassic Coast beef stuffed with mushrooms; pan-seared halibut, king prawns, garlic, and chilli; and the vegetarian choice, roasted vegetables, spinach, asparagus, and mozzarella.’

The 2022 AA Restaurant Guide is now on sale in all good book shops and online.