The winners of this year’s Asian Curry Awards – dubbed the “Curry Oscars” were
announced at a glittering gala dinner and presentation, organised by the Asian
Catering Federation and attended by 1200 VIP guests on Sunday 16 November.
Held at the Grosvenor House in London’s Mayfair, the evening was hosted by BBC
news anchor Samantha Simmonds with honourable guest speakers including
Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg Lord Mayor of Westminster, Bobby Dean Liberal
Democrat MP for Carshalton and Wallington, Councillor Eddie Hanson Mayor
of Camden, Councillor Ryan Hack Mayor of Brent, Councillor Amy Croft Mayor
of Hounslow, Councillor Adrian Garden Mayor of Lambeth, Councillor Anjana
Patel Mayor of Harrow, Councillor Ahmed Mahbub Mayor of Haringey, and
Foysol Choudhury Independent MSP for Lothian, Scotland.
Co-host Anisa Khan, owner of Bombay Pizza and finalist in this year’s BBC flagship
programme The Apprentice was also invited to help present this year’s awards.
L/R Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg Lord Mayor of Westminster, iNaga – Winners of Asian Restaurant
of the Year for Greater London, Yawar Khan, Samantha Simmonds
The winners were chosen from all over the UK by the Asian Catering Federation’s
esteemed panel of judges from a list of finalists voted for by the spice loving public.
The 46 awards covered fine dining, casual dining, street food, take away and many
more, and covered all Asian and Oriental cuisines. Top national accolades went to
Benares in Mayfair which was crowned London’s Fine Dining Restaurant of the
Year, Chakh Dhoom in Newcastle which was awarded Top Street Food Restaurant
of the year, Misio Asia in Chichester which won Japanese Restaurant of the Year,
and Kasa & Kin in London which won best Filipino Restaurant 2025.
L/R, Jing Griffin Secretary General, Asian Catering Federation, Host Anisa Khan, Sabbir Karim
founder of Namaaste in Highgate and winner for his outstanding contribution to charity and
community service, Host Samantha Simmonds
The individual chefs recognised for their outstanding skills in Asian and Oriental
cooking were Chef Saroj Thapaliya from Panas in Blackheath; Chef Irfaan Habib
Siddiq, and Chef Sahil Ahmed. Plus, special recognition for outstanding social
responsibility in hospitality was awarded to Mohammad Sultan from Glasgow, and
to Sabbir Karim founder of Namaaste in Highgate for his outstanding contribution to
charity and community service.
Regionally, the awards for best Asian Restaurant of the Year were scooped by some
of the nation’s favourites including Light of Bengal (Aberdeen) who was also winner
in 2024, Black Peppers (Wrexham), Rajbari (Bristol) Paprika Club (Lemington
Spa), and India Gate in Chichester.
Best newcomer voted for was Denley’s Essence of India in Cranbrook, and Event
Caterer of the Year was scooped by Spice Village in London.
Speaking at the awards The Lord Mayor of Westminster, Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg
said: “Like many people I love a good curry, so it is a privilege to join some of the
most talented chefs from up and down the country and celebrate their craft.”
“Congratulations to all this year’s winners, everyone here should be so proud of the
hard work and tireless effort they put into Asian cooking and hospitality.”
Chairman of the Asian Catering Federation Mr Yawar Khan added: “It is with
immense pride that we present these awards each year. The success of every
business here tonight is down to the passion, determination and culinary talent that
drives this industry forward despite the many challenges currently faced by the
hospitality sector, in particular the new immigration rules in the UK, and the fees
charged by online platforms. Congratulations, to all tonight’s winners and huge
thanks to everyone who invests in our industry which continues to contribute billions
to the UK economy each year.”
The 15th Asian Curry Awards and Asian Catering Federation Gala Dinner was
sponsored by Cobra Beer, Kingfisher Beer, Work Permit Cloud Ltd, Square Mile
Insurance Services and Mohammad Shah & Co LLP. The event was organised by
the Asian Catering Federation (ACF) which represents the nation’s 35,000 caterers
in the UK and together generate over £60bn for the UK economy.
Media Contact: Emma Henderson, Public Image PR, emma@publicimagepr.co.uk
07977134614
Asian Catering Federation, 145 Stafford Road, London, SM6
9BN, infos@acfederation.org, www.acfederation.org
Notes to Editors:
Asian Catering Federation
The Asian Catering Federation (ACF), which represents the nation’s 30,000 Asian
and Oriental restaurants organises the only awards open to all Asian
cuisines: Bangladeshi, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean,
Malaysian, Nepalese, Pakistani, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish and
Vietnamese.
The ACF strives to deliver real returns for its members within the Asian catering
industry, helping them to find financial success, achieve excellence, and build
customer loyalty. It aims to unite Asian caterers on one platform; campaign for
greater recognition; achieve members’ common goals through partnerships with
government and other organisations; provide help with training, and create rewarding
careers in Asian catering.
The sector employs over 100,000 people and contributes more than £7.5 billion to
the UK economy.
Samantha Simmonds is a journalist and broadcaster with more than 20 years at the
forefront of the news. She is currently presenting on the BBC, covering all the main
programmes for BBC World News including the agenda setting “The Briefing” news
and business programme on BBC 1 and Business Live on the BBC News Channel.
Anisa Khan founded Bombay Pizza in South London five years ago aged just 22.
Her stand-out leadership skills and commercial mindset, earned her a place in the
final of this year’s BBC flagship show The Apprentice and a five-star review by Mike
Soutar one of Lord Sugar’s trusted aides.
www.bombaypizza.co.uk
LINK TO IMAGES
LIST OF WINNERS
ASIAN CURRY AWARDS 2025
BEST THAI RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR – LEMONGRASS BY NASIR, RUSTINGTON – NATIONAL WINNER
JAPANESE RESTAURANT – MISO ASIA, CHICHESTER – NATIONAL WINNER
FILIPINO RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR – KASA & KIN, LONDON
NEPALESE AND INDIAN RESTAURANT – EVEREST GURKHA, YORK – NORTH OF ENGLAND
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – DENLEY’S ESSENCE OF INDIA, CRANBROOK – SOUTH WEST OF ENGLAND
EVENT CATERER OF THE YEAR – SPICE VILLAGE, LONDON
FINE DINING RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
LONDON – BENARES, LONDON – FINE DINING RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
LONDON SUBURBS – PANAS BY SUJAN KATUWAL, MBE BLACKHEATH – FINE DINING RESTAURANT OF THE
YEAR
NORTH OF ENGLAND – YUVRAAJ, SUNDERLAND – FINE DINING RESTAURANT
AUTHENTIC RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
SOUTH EAST OF ENGLAND – SHOZNA, ROCHESTER – AUTHENTIC RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
NORTH OF ENGLAND – KEBABISH ORIGINAL, BLACKBURN – NORTH WEST OF ENGLAND – AUTHENTIC
RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
CASUAL DINING RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
SOUTH WEST OF ENGLAND – MAHABHARAT – CASUAL DINING RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
NORTH OF ENGLAND – BABAJI, SUNDERLAND – CASUAL DINING RESTAURANT – NATIONAL
SOUTH EAST OF ENGLAND – THE 1971, HERTFORDSHIRE – BEST BANGLADESHI RESTAURANT
STREET FOOD RESTAURANT
STREET FOOD RESTAURANT – CHAKH DHOOM, NEWCASTLE – NATIONAL
BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT
NORTH OF ENGLAND- DOSA VILLAGE, PRESCOT – LIVERPOOL, BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
BEST SOUTH ASIAN RESTAURANT
NORTH EAST OF ENGLAND – MY DELHI, SUNDERLAND, BEST SOUTH ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
BEST BUFFET RESTAURANT
NORTH OF ENGLAND – AAGRAH, SHIPLEY – BEST BUFFET RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
GREATER LONDON – iNAGA, BROMLEY
LONDON SUBURBS – NAMAASTE HIGHGATE, ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
EAST OF ENGLAND – LALBAGH RESTAURANT, BOURN, CAMBRIDGE
WEST OF ENGLAND – RAJBARI, BRISTOL – COUNTY OF AVON
CENTRAL ENGLAND – THIRD PLACE, SHREWSBURY – WEST MIDLANDS
CENTRAL ENGLAND – PAPRIKA CLUB, ROYAL LEMINGTON SPA – ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR – MIDLANDS
SOUTH EAST OF ENGLAND – INDIA GATE, CHICHESTER – ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
SOUTH WEST OF ENGLAND – DENLEY’S ESSENCE OF INDIA, TOPSHAM – ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
CORNWALL AND DEVON – TAMARIND BAY, HEAVITREE , EXETER – ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
WALES
SOUTH WALES – MY INDIAN, AMMANFORD, ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
NORTH WALES – BLACK PEPPERS, WREXHAM – ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
MID WALES – SPICE UK, WELSHPOOL – ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
WALES – VEGETARIAN FOOD STUDIO – VEGETARIAN/VEGAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
SCOTLAND
SCOTLAND – OBSESSION BY SHABAZ, WISHAW -NORTH LANARKSHIRE HIGHLY COMMENDED – ASIAN
RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
SCOTLAND – LIGHT OF BENGAL, ABERDEEN – ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR – NORTH OF SCOTLAND
SCOTLAND – OBSESSION OF INDIA, GLASGOW – ASIAN RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
SCOTLAND – CHARCOALS , GLASGOW – CASUAL DINING RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
SCOTLAND – ZAIKA TAAL, GLASGOW – NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
SCOTLAND – NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – CELESTIA – EDINBURGH, NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
SPECIAL RECOGNITION – MOHAMMAD SULTAN – GLASGOW – FOR OUTSTANDING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN
HOSPITALITY
SPECIAL RECOGNITION – SABBIR KARIM – FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO CHARITY AND COMMUNITY
SERVICE
CHEF OF THE YEAR
CHEF SAROJ THAPALIYA, PANAS, BLACKHEATH -ASIAN AND ORIENTAL CHEF OF THE YEAR
CHEF IRFAAN HABIB SIDDIQ – SOUTH EAST OF ENGLAND – ASIAN AND ORIENTAL CHEF OF THE YEAR
CHEF SAHIL AHMED – NATIONAL – ASIAN AND ORIENTAL CHEF OF THE YEAR
TAKEAWAY OF THE YEAR
ASIAN TAKEAWAY OF THE YEAR – HUMAYRA, SITTINGBOURNE, SOUTH EAST OF ENGLAND
ASIAN TAKEAWAY OF THE YEAR – SPICE PLUS, PONTYCLUN, SOUTH WALES
ASIAN TAKEAWAY OF THE YEAR – DALCHINI, TONBRIDGE, SOUTH EAST OF ENGLAND
ASIAN TAKEAWAY OF THE YEAR – SHELFORD SPICE, GREAT SHELFORD, CAMBRIDGE, EAST OF ENGLAND

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