THE JAR restaurant in Douglas has achieved the prestigious two rosettes award from the AA Restaurant Guide.

The venue, situated in Admiral House Hotel, Loch Promenade, received the accolade for its culinary expertise and the very high levels of service required for fine dining.

A spokesperson said: "The JAR team is very proud and really excited to have been recognised in this way.

"The award is a great reflection of all the hard work and talent the team has invested in making the restaurant a desirable place to visit.

"The AA Restaurant Guide is an established and well respected scheme and to have received two rosettes on first inspection puts JAR in a very elite group of restaurants."

The long-established rosette scheme aims to recognise fine dining establishments throughout the British Isles.

As part of the award scheme, restaurants are visited by an AA inspector to be assessed on their ability to create fine cuisine with impeccable service.

The AA define restaurants awarded two rosettes as: "Excellent restaurants that aim for and achieve higher standards and better consistency.

"A greater precision is apparent in the cooking, and there will be obvious attention to the selection of quality ingredients. Around 40 per cent of restaurants/hotels within our AA Restaurant Guide have two rosettes."

The maximum number of rosettes a restaurant can achieve is five - but it is difficult to achieve even one rosette. The AA state: "About 10 per cent of restaurants nationwide are of a standard that is worthy of one rosette and above. This is indeed a huge achievement, and something not to be underestimated."