A hotel restaurant has been awarded a highly coveted two AA Rosettes for its culinary experience.

The Ferry House in Harty Ferry Rd, Leysdown-on-Sea, joins just 21 others in Kent to achieve such a feat.

The award marks another milestone in the establishment’s history with the accolade now sitting alongside its two Taste of Kent awards, won in both 2014 and 2018.

AA rosettes are a highly sought-after award in the hotel and restaurant industry.

Those boasting the mark are described as: “Excellent restaurants that aim for and achieve higher standards and better consistency.

“A greater precision is apparent in the cooking, and there will be obvious attention to the selection of quality ingredients.”

The former pub turned-restaurant has been run by a family for three generations with current owners, Victoria Burden, and her husband Alex Burden, thrilled by the result.

They raised a toast in celebration of the milestone, marking the achievement with a glass of gin made from the grain grown at the family farm.

Victoria said: “The report highlighted everything that’s important to us – the quality of our homegrown produce, a relaxed dining experience and warm and friendly service.

“Most of all we’re happy for our team and proud of their contributions - every element of the AA report touches someone’s role here. Hearing the cheers and seeing the emotion among the team when we gave them the news was a great feeling. We are especially proud of and happy for head chef, James Pilcher.

“We are passionate about home-growing produce that is not easily available – perhaps because it’s perishable or is best handpicked to order. With our own kitchen garden, we don’t have that challenge.”

The restaurant has a reputation for producing a lot of its own ingredients on its menu from its 1.5-acre Kitchen Garden, pairing it with salt marsh-grazed beef, wild game, and foraged produce from the shoreline and Harty estate.

AA inspector Salvatore Scotti described the dining experience as one of the highlights of his stay, noting” great pride taken in quality produce from the estate and vegetable garden”.

“The hands-on team showed wonderful hospitality from making my reservation to the time it came to leave,” he said.

Also praised was the experience of the luxury hotel rooms.

The inspector added: “The rooms are filled with coordinated style, elegance, comfort and quality. The bathroom displayed clear sparkle!”

About 10% of restaurants nationwide are of a standard that is worthy of one or more rosettes, according to AA.