A NEW Forest restaurant once favoured by the Duke of York has been named Hampshire Restaurant Of The Year in the Which? Good Food Guide 2006.

The duke and his bodyguards visited the Three Lions at Stuckton, near Fordingbridge, several times in the mid-1990s, shortly after chef Mike Womersley and his wife Jayne bought the village pub.

Ten years on, Mike and Jayne have three children, a loyal band of regulars and the occasional celebrity visitor.

Madonna has dined there and it was a favourite of the late Ted Heath, a short hop from his home in Salisbury.

The couple are no strangers to awards. The Three Lions won the Hampshire Restaurant Of The Year back in the mid-1990s, has also been commended in the Which? guide and in 2002 earned the award National Newcomer of the Year in the Good Hotel Guide.

It is now more of a restaurant than a pub, but there is still a bar with Ringwood Best and Warsteiner lager on tap.

The secret of their success, says Mike, is: "Good produce, good staff and consistency really. The standards don't fluctuate. Oh, and good veg."

He and head chef Danny Mackintosh buck the two-veg-only trend the AA inspectors prefer and provide a good selection.

"It's normally five or six and they are always locally produced in the summer. It's what the customers want."

First published: October 24