There are many plates at this month's featured Lincolnshire restaurant, The Bustard Inn, but one is of particular interest to owners Alan and Liz Hewitt and their head chef Phil Lowe.

It's the plate bearing a newly acquired 2011 AA?Rosette award for Culinary Excellence. It hangs next to the 2011 Michelin commendation which applauds the venue in the Good Pub Guide and in its famed red book.

Considering just a year or so has elapsed since our last visit to the Bustard Inn, a good deal has been going on. During that visit we discovered the venue's new Civil Licensed status and found that the restaurant, located between Sleaford and Grantham, was already being warmly received by brides-to-be.

The venue was also preparing to launch its jazz nights and gourmet evenings, which are now in full swing... and those changes were just a taste of what was to come.

The venue was part of the Rauceby Hall estate and was created in the mid-1800s for its workers. Grade II listed and enjoying an elevated position with a large beer garden, the venue is constructed of Ancaster stone and Welsh slate.

Inside, a full renovation was completed in 2006 when Alan and Liz came to the venue having met three years earlier.

"We left absolutely nothing of the original building apart from the stone walls and beams," says Liz. "And even they were sandblasted to restore them to their original glory."

The pub had, for a long time, been allowed to fall into a tatty state, rendering it somewhat of an anachronism inside, it certainly remained oblivious to the revolution in pub dining that had ensued.

The couple chose Phil Lowe as head chef, and immediately set about creating menus of robust English dishes that exploited the full potential of local suppliers.

Brand new for 2011 is the main à la carte menu, which comprises six starters, nine main courses and four desserts plus a Lincolnshire cheese board. The new menu is an amalgamation of the previous à la carte menu and popular favourites from the blackboard based bar menu, which Liz and Alan discovered was almost too popular for its own good, leading to requests from diners wanting to enjoy these dishes in the restaurant.

A new table d'hôte menu runs alongside it, but rather than providing less complicated dishes or smaller portions of the main menu's offerings, this is designed to offer the full dishes at off-peak times. The new menu can be enjoyed from Tuesday to Saturday during lunchtimes and from Tuesday to Thursday evenings, from 6pm-7.30pm.

The limited menu offers a choice of two starters, two main courses and two desserts from £12.95 and features favourites such as Lincolnshire Sausages with Mash, Spinach & Onion Gravy or Cod Fishcakes with Grain Mustard Sauce, as well as puddings including Lemon Cheesecake with Late Summer Berries and Warm Chocolate Brownie with Chocolate Sauce & Malted Milk Ice Cream.

Further menus from which diners can choose include a Sunday lunch menu from £13.20 and wine list with bottles from £16-£99, including 13 wines by the glass and 46 by the bottle.

Dishes throughout the menus are constructed with a wealth of local suppliers, and in this respect The Bustard Inn really does exploit the best the county has to offer.

Millstream Butchers in Sleaford provide the venue's meat, in particular local pork and the finest cuts of well-hung Lincolnshire Red beef, whilst sausages arrive in the kitchen courtesy of Grasmere Farm near Market Deeping.

Vegetable such as asparagus come from Abbey Parks and salads comes from Freshdrop. Peterborough Game and M&J Seafood also provide The Bustard Inn with local ingredients, whilst Welbournes of Navenby and Lincoln cheese suppliers Ulceby Cross and Cote Hill provide freshly made bread and cheeses respectively.

"We're really proud of our relationship with suppliers," says Liz. "It's really important to ensure you can achieve the best quality at the best prices to ensure you can keep the quality of your food high but prices reasonable for diners."

If this is the foundation of good dining, then the next most important aspect is skilful implementation. Phil and his brigade of two other full time chefs ensure plenty of attention is paid to the high quality food that leaves the kitchen destined for the 66 covers in the main restaurant and 25 covers in the bar.

The Bustard Inn also hosts live jazz nights on the last Wednesday in the month with Tony Giles's All Stars. This month at The Bustard Inn sees Game Night on the 14th October, offering three courses to celebrate the beginning of the shooting season for £40.

November, meanwhile, sees magician Bertie Pearce on 4th November, fresh from an appearance at the Osbournby Fine Art Society which impressed Liz so much she immediately booked him too. Later in the month the 19th

November sees a Food and Gift Fair designed to appeal to Christmas shoppers. Remaining with the seasonal theme, Christmas Lunch at The Bustard Inn, a five course luncheon for £65, is already proving popular, as is the venue's Christmas Party Menu from 1st December.

With the venue's fourth year punctuated by accolades, new menus and a well-thought-out events diary, there's plenty to appeal to Lincolnshire diners, but first and foremost the restaurant offers quality dining.

As nights draw in and the game season begins, there's simply never been a better time to discover one of Lincolnshire's best quality pub restaurants.