A Woking gastropub has won the title of best restaurant in Surrey at the British Restaurant Awards.

The Bird in Hand in Mayford, won the award for its 'cosy atmosphere and delicious food' at a ceremony at The Crown Hotel in London.

Places are voted for by customers and co-owner Michael Cumberland told the News and Mail that the team didn’t know about the nomination at first.

“It was a bit out of the blue to be honest,” he said.

“Was actually a customer of ours that notified us that we'd been nominated. It wasn't until a week later that we were actually notified officially.

“It's based on customer reviews. So there's obviously a number of customers that must have gone on to the website to nominate us. It was quite a nice surprise.”

Michael along with co-owner Imogen Riley, took over the lease back in 2015 and completed an extensive renovation to revive the pub to its former glory.

The pub serves a seasonal and fresh menu of light lunches, small plates, sharing platters and main courses. The emphasis is on quality and the service aspect, to ensure the business is always a step above the rest and to keep drawing customers back.

Michael added: “We change the menus quarterly in line with the seasons as much as we can do. Use seasonal produce and use local guides as much as we can with our suppliers. Our fruit, fish, veg and meat deliveries are all daily and we keep everything as fresh as it possibly can be.”

Everything is done in-house and some items are homemade such as the aioli and barbecue sauces. The bar and garden are dog-friendly for people who bring along their canine companions and there is a warm fire going in the colder months.