A SMALL family restaurant tucked down a small side street has been crowned best restaurant in Essex.

Thai up at the Quay, in Eastgate Street, Harwich, was announced as the winner of the award at a glitzy ceremony in London.

The family-run restaurant was nominated and voted for by the public before it was chosen as the winner of 11 finalists.

Andy Mear, who runs the Thai up at the Quay with wife Pom and son Pat, said: "Three weeks ago we were told we had been nominated for the British Restaurant Awards in the best in Essex category.

"I check out the other nominees, which were all good restaurants in Essex. "We didn't expect to win, we thought we would go along for the evening.

"Then we won it.

"They read the nominees out and then said 'the winner is...'

"We were blown away and so chuffed.

"I had half thought about something to say but you just blurb something out on the stage on the day."

The couple, who used to live in Singapore, moved to Harwich in 2007 and opened Thai up at the Quay in 2008 in a historic former pub.

The Grade II listed building was previously the Half Moon pub, which dated back to 1753 and closed its doors in the 70s before becoming Half Moon Antiques.

Andy added: "We like to think of ourselves as a community restaurant and 90per cent of our customers are local.

"I joke with people who get lost and thank them for finding us.

"The first few years after opening was a challenge like a lot of little businesses, but the community has been amazing.

"We wanted to open a little family business and this is a team effort here." Andy and Pom have no idea who nominated them for the award but said the response on Facebook has been overwhelming.

Andy added: "We put it on social media and a lot of our regulars voted for us, we are really chuffed.

"The response has been fantastic."

The family were among about 300 people at the award ceremony, which included performances by singers and a magician.