A town's top-rated venue has more than doubled in size after staff were forced to turn customers away at the door.

The Dog House micropub on Evegate Business Park in Smeeth has reviews so good it is considered Ashford's best “restaurant” on TripAdvisor.

It now has 12 extra tables and a new stage to cope with demand but owners Duncan and Claire Randall hope the “vibe” will stay the same.

Specialising in vinyl, the site is described as “your not so local local” as it is tucked away among offices, shops and other establishments.

Mr Randall, who took over the business in 2019, says expanding into the neighbouring unit has "always been on the cards".

“We spent a lot of evenings at the beginning of 2023 turning customers away and announcing we were fully booked on social media," the 49-year-old said.

"Business has most definitely been on the up and we hope it continues.

"We have really tried hard to replicate the same feel in the extension, using the same Singer sewing machine bases as decoration and utilising scaffold boards for table tops.

“We have sliding doors so on quiet nights we can revert back to the micropub everyone falls in love with.”

The Dog House gets its name from the fact it is housed in what was originally a barn for canines recovering from veterinary treatment.

New and bigger events are now on the cards to make the best use of the extra space at the site, which is located off Station Road not far from the A20.

Mr Randall added: “Our quiz, bingo and open-mic nights will now be bigger for sure meaning the charities we support will also benefit.

“We hope that during the day the space will be utilised for meet-ups, workshops, training and meetings where possible. The list is endless.

“I really hope we can add an original music night for local musicians to showcase the high standards we have locally.

“Music is most definitely the heartbeat of our not-so-local local so it seems crazy not to do more.”

The Randalls managed to keep costs down thanks to up-cycling furniture and receiving help from other local businesses.

“The project has been possible thanks to the support of Evegate who have been amazing from the first day we became tenants here,” Mr Randall explained.

“WBM Scaffolding also helped us and our good friend Jim Knight adapted and made everything for us out of the scaffolding boards provided.

“We have a lot of people we need to thank.”

An unveiling of the extension was held on Saturday.

Earlier this year, our reviewer hailed The Dog House as a hidden gem which is well worth a visit.

It is currently ranked as the best out of 101 restaurants in Ashford and has 198 five-star reviews.

Only nine customers marked them below a four, with happy visitors mentioning the friendly staff, live music and selection of local beers.