| 8th November 2006 |
There's a new kid on the block when it comes to national awards for curry restaurants. Only in its 2nd year, The British Curry Awards has already attracted a huge number of nominations. Ordinary customers (a staggering 20,000 of them) first nominated their favourite restaurants and then a shortlist of 30 restaurants were visited by a panel of judges appointed by the organisers, Spice Business Magazine.
The founder of Spice Business Magazine, Enam Ali, set the scene for the awards by declaring that "curry has become a national dish because our pioneers established restaurants in every corner of the UK and, by doing so, contributed so much to British culture without achieving the personal recognition they deserved".
We are familiar with a couple of the winners - Tamarind in Mayfair and Juboraj in Cardiff have both appeared on these pages in the past. But it's nice to see a Best Newcomer Restaurant category whose coveted prize went to Itihass in Birmingham, the brainchild of 28 year old entrepreneur Raj Rana.
And the winners are....
| Category
|
Area
|
Winner
|
| Best Restaurant in London East
|
Moorgate, London
|
Mehek
|
| Most Innovative Restaurant in the South
|
Beaconsfield, Bucks
|
Spice Merchant
|
| Best Restaurant in the South
|
Cookham, Berks
|
Malik’s
|
| Best Restaurant in Wales
|
Cardiff
|
Juboraj Rhiwbina
|
| Most Innovative Restaurant in the North
|
Corbridge, Northumberland
|
The Valley
|
| Best Restaurant in The North
|
Quayside, Newcastle
|
Vujon
|
| Best Restaurant in The Midlands
|
Olton, Solihull
|
Rajnagar Tandoori
|
| Best Restaurant in Scotland
|
Edinburgh
|
Britannia Spice
|
| Best Supermarket Spice Starter Dish
|
n/a
|
Waitrose Vegetable Samosas
|
| Best Supermarket Spice Accompaniment Dish
|
n/a
|
Sainsbury’s Pilau Rice
|
| Best Supermarket Spice Side Dish
|
n/a
|
Morrisons Bombay Potatoes
|
| Best Supermarket Spice Main Dish
|
n/a
|
Asda Chicken Tikka Masala
|
| Most Innovative Restaurant in London
|
Great Smith Street
|
The Cinnamon Club
|
| Best Restaurant in London West
|
Mayfair
|
Tamarind
|
| Best Newcomer Restaurant of the Year
|
Birmingham
|
Itihaas
|
| Best Restaurant Group of the Year
|
Shipley, W. Yorkshire
|
Aagrah Group
|
 Raj Rana and family with the award for Best Newcomer - Itihaas
 The Juboraj team receiving their award
associated links:
The British Curry Awards
Spice Business magazine
Juboraj Group
Itihaas restaurant
Tamarind restaurant
|
UK Curry Scene