Lark in Bury St Edmunds and Watson and Warpole in Framlingham are among eateries named as front runners in the Good Food Guide’s Best Local Restaurant competition

Two restaurants in Suffolk are celebrating after finding out they are among the front runners for the region in a national competition.

Lark in Bury St Edmunds and Watson and Warpole in Framlingham are among the front runners in the Good Food Guide’s Best Local Restaurant competition for central and East of England.

Customers are able to nominate their favourite restaurant on the Good Food Guide’s website and eateries with a high number of nominations have been named as front runners.

Sophia Carn, who runs Lark with her husband James, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled that our customers have put us forward. It’s a real compliment to what we’re trying to achieve.

“I think we’re about 11 weeks in so it’s really early but we couldn’t ask for a better start. The feedback has been very complimentary and we’re always trying to improve what we do.”

Once nominations close on May 24, restaurants will be shortlisted from each region which will then be inspected by Good Food Guide judges.

Winners of the competition will win a £250 restaurant voucher or one of five annual memberships to The Good Food Guide Club.

For Sophia though, the most important thing is providing good service.

She said: “We really want to focus on what we offer. That’s our main goal – not just being consistent but keep improving.

“If on the side we win awards and get recognised for what we do then that would be amazing but that’s certainly not our first and foremost goal.”