THE owners of an a la carte restaurant in Hawkshead are celebrating after winning an RAC award for good food despite being open only a year.

The four-diamond Ivy House Restaurant, within the Ivy House Hotel, earned a blue ribbon dining award after a routine inspection.

Owner Rob Treeby said it was a pleasant surprise: "The restaurant has been a huge success since we opened last year and business has been really great but this still came a bit out of the blue. We were hoping to go for the award next year but we were told the restaurant was already up to scratch so we will be going for a higher award then instead."

The silver service eatery offers traditional home cooking alongside Japanese cuisine.