THYME Restaurant is officially the best restaurant in the North West.

The Hoghton eaterie received the accolade this week at a glitzy awards ceremony, beating other large city establishments to the title.

Owner Wayne Keogh and his wife, Alison, pride themselves on making Lancashire food for Lancashire people.

They say the secret to their long-running success — Thyme was also voted last year’s best restaurant in Lancashire — is constantly tweaking the menu to suit the ever-changing trends in local produce.

The couple were presented with their award — which came as a total surprise — at the 25th anniversary Hi-Life Dining Awards, voted for by its 80,000 members.

Wayne said: “We were up against big city restaurants and we weren’t expecting to win.

"We were very pleased to even be nominated for this award. It is all down to our dedicated team.”

Thyme, which has been running for the past six years, is also on the map on a wider scale, already listed among the top 1,000 restaurants in Europe in the renowned Egon Ronay Guide.

And with two restaurants, The Sirloin Inn, at Hoghton, and another in Longridge, plus an off-site catering arm called Thyme-Out, the couple’s empire is growing further still.

The business has plans to open a cafe-style branch at Oswaldtwistle Mills later this year.