TWENTY-four dale eateries have been named among the top ten per cent of restaurants and cafes worldwide in the TripAdvisor 2020 Travellers Choice Awards which were announced last week.
The awards are given to venues that consistently earn great reviews and are ranked within the top ten per cent of properties on the TripAdvisor.
Valentine’s Restaurant, in Barnard Castle, was among the eateries to receive the coveted award and chef owners Mark and Arthur Sutherland, couldn’t be happier.
Mark said: “It’s 20 years to the day that we started the restaurant and this is just the icing on the cake.
“The first year we took over we were hit with the foot and mouth outbreak, then we’ve managed to get through the credit crunch.
“At the start of this year we thought great, we’ve got lots of bookings, but then the lockdown happened.
“But we’re all safe and since we reopened, we have been busy.”
He added: “When the notification came through from TripAdvisor, I couldn’t quite believe it. I had to reread the email a few times before it really sank in. It is just really humbling.
“For a little, 42-seat restaurant in Barnard Castle with four staff it’s quite something. We’re all really, really proud.”
During lockdown Mark and Arthur focused on revamping the restaurant, giving it a bright new look and even the Covid-19 secure barriers that have been installed have received rave reviews from diners.
He added: “We’ve been listed number one in our area on TripAdvisor for more than a year now and we get lots of five-star reviews. It really means a lot to us. The girls and Arthur work so hard and this place is our life so we get quite emotional.
“We’ve lost four tables in the restaurant due to social distancing, but everyone loves the new barriers as it’s created private dining booths.
“We are opening longer so we are getting the same number of diners each evening.
“We needed to focus on something during lockdown and this was an opportunity for us to change the decor, something we wanted to do for some time.”
Staff members Anna Maughan and Maisie Sanderson kept themselves busy completing allergen awareness and food safety courses during the lockdown.
He said: “We were a little worried about reopening and wondered if people would still want to come out and dine, but we have been rushed off our feet and it’s great as this place is our life.
“To receive this award from TripAdvisor a month after reopening is just wonderful and every customer review, we get we truly appreciate.”
Other eateries in Teesdale to have received the Travellers Choice award include The Crown, at Mickleton, Coghlans, at Barningham, both of the Asian restaurants in Barnard Castle – The Bengal Merchant and Babul’s, Clarendon’s Tea Room, Katie’s Fish and Chips, The Three Horse Shoes Hotel, Cross Lanes Organics and the Tees’pot cafe, at Middleton-in-Teesdale.
To find out which venues have been awarded the Travellers Choice award 2020 visit tripadvisor.co.uk.
