WINDERMERE’S popular Italian San Pietro restaurant has been named as Best in Cumbria at the England business awards.

San Pietro, located on Birch Street, was awarded for the second consecutive time as Best Italian Restaurant Cumbria on November 16.

The award saw hundreds of entries and the Windermere business was shortlisted for the top three.

During the evening held in Carlisle, San Pietro was named as the winner.

The San Pietro Restaurant has previously been honoured by TripAdvisor as being in the top ten per cent of restaurants in the world, two years running, and made it to the finals for the Best Restaurant in Cumbria 2019.

Owner Jason Turner said: “We’re absolutely chuffed about it. We’re over the moon.

“We couldn’t believe it. We’re absolutely made up and we’ve worked so hard for it.

“It’s great for the staff and also really good for the area.

“I’ve been through some medical issues recently and it’s been a lot with recovery for the last few weeks, but what a result this whole thing has been.

“The staff should be so proud because without them we wouldn’t be able to do any of this.

“It’s been a good time for us. A lot of places are struggling with staff but we’ve actually got a shortlist of people wanting to work with us.

“The team are like family here. We’re currently shut for seven weeks to give them some time off.

“It’s been two years now we’ve been named as best Italian restaurant. I’m absolutely made up about it.

“The credit goes to our staff, and all the hard work with the front of house run by Yui.

“The staff are our family.”