London’s Benares Mayfair has been named as the FINE DINING RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR, taking one of the top honours at this year’s Asian Curry Awards.  Staged in partnership with Just Eat, the awards were announced at a glittering ceremony hosted by broadcaster Samantha Simmonds for more than 800 guests held at London’s Grosvenor House.

Other big winners included Newcastle establishment My Delhi Indian Streetery, which won the STREET FOOD RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR category; and Cardiff’s Anna Loka which took the honours in the BEST VEGETARIAN & VEGAN RESTAURANT category.

Spice I Am in Worthing was named as the UK’s THAI RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR; Pinwei in Manchester was awarded CHINESE RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR; London’s Kasa & Kin won FILIPINO RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR; while the NEPALESE RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR category was jointly won by Pahuna in Portsmouth and Everest Lounge in Market Harborough.

The ceremony also featured a number of Special Recognition categories including a memorial award for former Asian Curry Awards judging chairman Pat Chapman, who passed away in July, and another in honour of the late Lord Sheik, a longstanding patron of the Asian Catering Federation.

Other Special Recognition Awards went to chefs Sameer Taneja and Jeff Tan for CULINARY CONTRIBUTION TO THE INDUSTRY. Sabbir Karim was also awarded for OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE INDUSTRY AND CHARITY while Chad Rahman was recognised for OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE CULINARY ARTS, and Muhammad Sultan for SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR CHARITY. Meanwhile Scotland’s Foysol Choudhury MSP was also honoured for his work in supporting the UK Asian restaurant industry.

There were additional awards for the leading Asian establishments in the English regions and across the three other home nations.  The full list of this year’s winners can be found below.

A record number of nominees were whittled down by online public vote prior to the award judges visiting shortlisted premises and determining the eventual winners.  

The awards are supported by Cobra Beer and Work Permit Cloud.

This year winners will also be included in the ACF’s new ‘One Hundred Top Curry Restaurants’ guide, which is being published currently, region–by–region across the UK, at www.Top100curryRestaurants.co.uk, with a printed version being available next year.

The event, organised by the Asian Catering Federation (ACF), which represents the nation’s 30,000 restaurant and takeaways, are the only accolades acknowledging the full panoply of Asian cuisines, is widely regarded as the sector’s most prestigious.

Yawar Khan, Chairman of the Asian Catering Federation (ACF), said: “I warmly congratulate all of this year’s winners. These awards come at a difficult time for many in the Asian restaurant industry but through their participation, many establishments will see a significant boost to their bottom line.

“I would also to particularly thank to UK public for their overwhelming support. Tens of thousands of people voted for their favourite restaurants this year. We are all grateful for this high level of interest and engagement which underlines the importance of the Asian restaurant industry and its social, economic and cultural impact across the UK.”