After months of assessment by top culinary experts, seven Rotorua restaurants have been awarded the 2014 Beef & Lamb Excellence Award.
The prestigious award is only given to restaurants whose beef and lamb cuisine reaches the highest standard of New Zealand fine dining.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive Rod Slater said the Excellence Awards had a respect which came from their longevity.
"This programme has been running for 17 years now, the fact restaurants still take such pride in being named an award holder is testament to the programme's credibility," Mr Slater said.
The restaurants in the Rotorua region to receive the award are: