BEING part of the Thornbury community has been the “greatest privilege”, says the owner of an award-winning restaurant celebrating 10 years in the business.

Ronnie’s of Thornbury, which has been a popular part of the Thornbury dining scene over the past decade, was the creation of owner Ron Faulkner after coming to Bristol with the intention of setting up a new restaurant that could give him the freedom to try new thing.

Referring to the restaurant’s early years as being like a “chameleon”, Ron said they started off trying to cover the full spectrum, offering a range of services for what the customers wanted at different times of the day.

“If you were wanting a coffee and cake in the morning, a big lunch, or to celebrate your anniversary in the evening then we would cater for that,” he said.

“But after a while we realised the ambiguity was confusing to our customers and chose to focus on the fine dining side.”

That decision saw immediate success with the restaurant having received the prestigious AA double rosette award for nine successive years as well as a surprise victory in 2009 when they were named the best restaurant in the UK by the Good Food Guide.

“It has been wonderful to be part of the Thornbury community, I really love that part, that people can come and share their celebrations with us. Whether it is a wedding, a birthday or an anniversary, it has been the greatest privilege.

“As such we plan to continue down the fine dining route, focusing on our tasting menus and the quality of the food, as that is where we have been recognised and seen our success.”

Ron said it was rewarding to know that many of the aspiring chefs that have worked under him in the kitchen have gone onto careers in cooking and including running restaurants and venues in the likes of London, Slovakia, and even the Caribbean.

“With the catering experience they got here, they were able to get other work in catering, and as we would set the bar quite high for them here, they would be competent as they moved on.”

To celebrate their decade of success, the restaurant are running a competition where the public can win one of 10 prizes over the next 10 months. 

To find out more, visit facebook.com/RonniesOfThornbury.