A CHARD café has been presented with the award for being the Best in the South West at a London ceremony.

Eleos, based in Fore Street in Chard, was in the running for Britain’s Best Café as well, and held top spot nationwide in the voting shortly before the final count.

However, the café, which has a cult following in the town, missed out on the top nationwide prize.

But it still received its award for being the best café in the region.

Owners Nat and Sarah Thomson attended the award presentation ceremony at London’s Chiswell Street Brewery, where representatives from 14 regional finalists gathered to receive their awards from Andrew Wakelin, managing director of contest organiser SIG Roofing.

Mr Thomson said he was delighted with the win, despite the disappointment of missing out on the top spot nationally.

He said: “It gives us great pleasure to announce that Eleos café has been crowned as the South West of England regional winners.

“This is an amazing achievement for a small, independent café in South Somerset which was only possible through the votes of the local, loyal customers.

“There were more than 500 cafes nationally that entered this competition and only 14 of them got the regional titles for their areas.”

He added: “Eleos café is now just four years old and over that time has seen a steady growth in trading.

“We now employ 11 staff in total.

“The café is open long hours – Monday to Saturday from 8am to 10pm – and has the most extensive range of GF/NGCI (gluten-free and no gluten-containing ingredients) meals in the area.

“For just under four years now Eleos has also enjoyed the number one spot on Tripadvisor in the Chard area thanks to lots of satisfied customer reviews.

“A massive thank you once again goes out to everyone who took the time to vote and support Eleos through this competition.”

The competition attracted entries from 500 cafes across the UK and more than 25,000 votes from the public.

The final result was announced at a presentation lunch held at the Chiswell Street Brewery, where representatives from 14 regional finalists gathered to receive their awards from Andrew Wakelin, managing director of contest organiser SIG Roofing.

For more information on Eleos, visit eleos.org.uk, email eleos.chard@yahoo.com or call 01460 239994.

For further information on Britain’s Best Cafe, visit www.britainsbestcafe.co.uk.