TASTE of the West judges who visited the Riverside Restaurant at West Bay sent a rave review, awarded the restaurant a gold star and concluded “this place should have a Michelin star.”

Arthur Watson, who this year celebrates 50 years of running the Riverside with his wife Jan, was understandably thrilled: “It is a wonderful accolade for all the Riverside team. The quality of the food and the service that we provide is very important to us. It is excellent news to have it confirmed that what we are doing is meeting and exceeding expectations.”

The Watson family have owned the Riverside restaurant for 52 years and during that time have won a reputation as one of the country’s leading seafood restaurants, appearing regularly in the top 10 chosen by leading chefs and food writers.

They specialise in the freshest and best seafood with the menu, prepared by head chef Tony Shaw and his team, changing to reflect what is available and local landings on the day.

The judges commented that the vast majority of the menu was sourced locally and that the extensive fish selection was predominately sourced locally, from Lyme bay/Bridport and reflected the day’s catch.

The quality of the meal was outstanding, they said: “Simply put, if you love food there was something special on the menu for everyone…. we both had Brill which was presented in a delicious sauce served with amazing sauté potatoes. This dish lived up to its name; it was Brill-iant!”

The dessert selection was both varied and tasty. The cheese selection sourced mainly from Somerset was also very good.

The staff were described as very polite and friendly, with an evident passion for good food and with good knowledge of the source of the produce.

And they summed up: “Fantastic food, location and service; this is simply a great place for a special occasion. It’s a lovely place to spend an evening, not to mention the food which was outstanding. This place should have a Michelin star!”

For more information on the Riverside Restaurant, please visit www.thefishrestaurant-westbay.co.uk

For more on Taste of the West and the regional awards scheme, visit www.tasteofthewest.co.uk