SEVERAL of the region's favourite pubs and restaurants have made it into the the latest Good Food Guide, which launches its 2016 edition this week.

In the Top 50 Pubs section, The Star Inn at Harome, North Yorkshire, made the top 20, reaching number 17. The General Tarleton, near Knaresborough, came in at number 40, while perennial award winner The Bay Horse, in Hurworth, near Darlington, has been ranked number 43 on the list.

Moreover, in the restaurant section of the guide – the best selling in the UK – two more of our region’s eateries made the top 50, with The Raby Hunt in Darlington the 47th best restaurant in the country and The Yorke Arms in Ramsgill at number 44.

Marcus Bennett, chef proprietor of The Bay Horse, said he was "over the moon" to have made the grade.

He added: “It’s fantastic news.

“It’s always great to win awards; we’re always trying to push things for the North of England because we believe it has great food and great pubs, this will help put it on the map.

“It’s the quality of our food that has won us this award – I firmly believe we’re up there with the best in the country.

“I’ve got a great team behind me here, and this is a testament to all of their hard work.”

The Good Food Guide is compiled via a combination of anonymous inspections and a large volume of feedback from its readers – food is graded on a numerical scale from one to ten, with extensive guidelines provided to keep scoring accurate.

Craig Malcolm, restaurant manager of the Raby Hunt, was delighted that his venue cemented a place in the list.

He said: “It’s a massive achievement, we’re really quite proud.

“Awards like this make a big difference; I started here four years ago, when there were about three members of staff, two chefs and myself out the front.

“We’ve had our Michelin star for just over two and half years now, and we first broke into the Good Food Guide two years ago – since then we’ve had exponential growth, there’s about 15 or 16 of us now.

“It’s all been word of mouth – I’m sure there are probably still people who don’t realise we have a Michelin star restaurant in Darlington.”