COMMENT - 17th February 2008
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| It's now 4 years since our last Restaurant Website Awards and many of the winning restaurants' websites (and some of the restaurants themselves) have closed down. So the information below is shown here merely as a record of the event. We do not plan to run any more Awards.
We will shortly be replacing this page with a directory of South Asian cookery courses. The directory will be free to enter and published as a public service. It will not be a list of courses recommended by The Curry House.
So, if you run a South Asian cookery course please let us know and we'll add you to our directory. |
RESTAURANT WEBSITE AWARDS 2004
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Here are the results of the curryhouse.co.uk Restaurant Website Awards. Visitors to The Curry House were able to nominate their favourite websites during the year. A shortlist of 10 top sites was then drawn up by The Curry House from hundreds of nominations received. Finally, a panel of judges assessed the shortlisted sites and awarded marks for quality and depth of information, style and design and ease of navigation
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The judges were particularly looking for sites which gave the visitor plenty of information; not just about the restaurant itself but also about its food, history and cultural context. Slick presentation and cutting edge effects were not as important in the scoring as interesting and varied content. To find out more about the judging and the judges click here.
The Awards are purely honorary so the only prize is the opportunity for the winners to proudly hang our "virtual plaque" on their website wall. Congratulations to our winners and to all the Highly Commended websites rounding out our Top 10.
12th January 2004
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1st place
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© The Red Fort
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The Red Fort
There is a huge amount of information on this site and excellent navigation to make sure you can find it all. Good design permeates the website and the discreet use of Flash animation gives a warm glow to the titles on each page. There are many tasteful photographs to illustrate the descriptions of the restaurant and the menu. But the informative content doesn't stop there. You can also find out about the chef, Mohammed Rais, his cultural heritage and the inspiration for the design of the restaurant derived from the Moghul 'Lal Quila' (Red Fort) in Delhi. The site scored well in all categories and so secured its top place in our Awards.
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2nd place
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© The Parsee
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The Parsee
This site is not the most extensive and it doesn't use flashy graphics but, my goodness, it has style. Judge Xtina summed up the Parsee as "a really warm and welcoming site with a nice informal writing style". Another of her comments was that "the site made me excited about the food" which is right on the mark. The menu descriptions are so good they sound like they've come from a cookery book. That's probably because the owner, Cyrus Todiwala, is not only one of the UK's top chefs but is also an accomplished cookery writer. The profile of Cyrus Todiwala and the section on Parsee culture make this so much more than just another restaurant website.
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3rd place
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© Aakash
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Aakash
Mohammed Iqbal Tabassum came up with the idea of locating a south Asian restaurant in a disused English Congregational chapel. The building, dating from 1859, is magnificent and the website carefully charts the restoration of the chapel and its conversion into an enormous restaurant. Although the building plays a big part in the website the food has not been neglected. There are comprehensive descriptions of the dishes on the menu and many relevant photographs. Judges Shelley & Phil commented that the website has "clear, intuitive navigation, easy to read text and good use of technology". The video clips in the Gallery section are a novel feature.
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and the runners up, all of whom are highly commended, are...
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© Tamarind
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Tamarind
A classy website for a classy restaurant. The site provides a wealth of information about the menu and, adding a welcome human touch, the staff. Nicely illustrated with well chosen photographs.
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© Café Lazeez
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Café Lazeez
The site is driven by Flash animation which may not suit everyone but there's no denying that Café Lazeez have got themselves an elegant and attractive website. Descriptive menus are available for each of the restaurants in the Lazeez group.
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© the Punjab
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the Punjab
The very first Punjabi restaurant in London dates back to 1951 but their Web site is a much more modern affair. There's a history of the restaurant and the family who own it, extracts from their house magazine "Punjabbers" and a selection of Punjabi recipes.
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© the Bombay Brasserie
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the Bombay Brasserie
Head straight for the Menu pages where you'll find mouth watering descriptions of the food served at the restaurant. Also includes some sample recipes from the Bombay Brasserie Cookbook.
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© Bengal Cuisine
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Bengal Cuisine
Bright and cheerful site using hot colours to good effect. There is some interesting background information on the owners and details of how to enrol for the "cook your own curry" lessons given by the chef.
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© Chutney Mary
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Chutney Mary
If you enjoy top quality pictures of well presented food then this is the place for you. The "recipe of the month" section is a must especially as some of the recipes are written by the fabulous Camellia Panjabi who is the sister of Namita Panjabi, one of the owners.
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© Kipling's Restaurant
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Kipling's
The site uses warm colours and a simple design. The menu descriptions are a foodie's dream and a strong feature of the site.
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