A SOUTH Devon restaurant has been awarded four yellow stars by the AA – the highest award possible without the business becoming a 24-hour serviced hotel.

The classification is designed to highlight the quality of the Turtley Corn Mill's en-suite letting rooms and the service at the operation near Avonwick.

Sam Colton, who oversees the day to day running of the business with her husband Scott, said: "We are absolutely thrilled with this as it means we are the best we can possibly be without being a hotel. We are renowned for the dining experience we are able to give here where we use locally-sourced food of the very best quality and freshness, but this also means our guest rooms are now gaining the recognition they deserve.

"Every aspect of the rooms are inspected and assessed from the bedroom furniture to the type of breakfasts we are able to offer, the ingredients we use and how it is presented. This is a real honour and we are extremely proud."

Once a working corn mill with its origins dating back as far as the early 1600s, the Turtley Corn Mill has been restored and is now one of the most popular eating places in the South Hams.

Sam said the Turtley Corn Mill champions local food which provides value for money and means food miles are low while standards are high.

She added: "We have great suppliers and producers who make our job a lot easier in producing local food for which we have become renowned. But receiving this rating is something we are delighted about and it means people really know they can enjoy the whole experience of dining and staying in the South Hams."

The Turtley menus changes daily but typically features starters such French onion soup with Gruyere toast, beetroot, grilled Devon cheese and green bean salad, Dartmouth smoked fish, and Brixham crab with pickled cucumber salad. Prices range from £4.50 to £6.75.

Main courses feature a daily catch of the day board, rump of west country lamb on spring onion mash, local sea bass, Cornish scallop salad, local haddock, west country ham and eggs and west country rib eye steak. Prices begin at £8.65 and rise to £16.95 for the steak.

There are also lighter bites, sandwiches and paninis and ample vegetarian options plus a range of sweets which include sticky toffee pudding, crème brulée, strawberry pavlova, plum and greengage crumble and chocolate brownies at £5.95 apiece.

The restaurant has a good quality, keenly priced wine list. There is a tempting selection of houses wines, most of which come in at less than £15 and interesting bottles on the main list which won't break the bank.