A Sidmouth eatery’s ‘casual but clever Med-accented cooking’ has won it a place in the 100 best restaurants outside of London.

The Loft came out a delectable 83rd in rankings compiled by foodie website Square Meal after readers, bloggers and reviewers cast their votes.

But the news caught owners John and Katrina Lort unawares – and they think the ‘organic’ response of the customers is a real testament to what they and their staff are doing.

“We don’t know how we got it – it came out of nowhere,” said Katrina.

“These are genuine, legitimate reviews, completely independent.”

She added that some schemes you can sign up to are more contrived as you pay a fee to be reviewed, whereas their reviewers paid for their meal and were treated like any other customer.

Katrina hopes the listing will give the business a boost and attract more people to Sidmouth as she has already had contact with the owners of some of the other restaurants.

John and Katrina opened their Old Fore Street eatery last summer after moving from Selleys in Libra Court.

The Loft is also currently rated 18th out of the 3,200 dining establishments in Devon, according to consumer review site TripAdvisor.