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Britons vote for curry, South Asian restaurant tops
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Sep 28 (IANS) A South Asian restaurant in Birmingham has been named as the top curry house in Britain.

Rajnagar International, in Olton in the West Midlands, was voted the best restaurant in the Midlands and one of the best in Britain at a glittering awards ceremony here over the weekend. 

More than 1,000 restaurateurs, celebrity patrons, ambassadors and VIP guests attended the presentation dinner of the first British Curry Awards - the biggest event ever held for the Asian restaurant industry. 

Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy hosted the event at the Grosvenor House Hotel. 

Rajnagar International's owner, Moula Miah, opened the restaurant in 1987 with his brother Mumit as chef, and much of the same team still works there.

He said: "It is great news. We have won many awards before, but we are especially proud of this one. It is very unusual.

"I am really delighted because we were the only Midlands restaurant to be commended and we were up against some of the big chains. I am so proud of all my staff."

Miah is vice-chairman of the Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs of Great Britain and founder of the Dine Bangladeshi Campaign, which aims to help diners distinguish between different types of cuisine from the Indian sub-continent.

More than 2,800 restaurants were nominated for the awards by 13,000 individuals, making the British Curry Awards the largest in the industry.

Enam Ali, publisher of Spice Business, which ran the awards, said: "Just 30 years ago, there were fewer than 500 curry restaurants in the UK. Today there are more than 9,000."

The 10 award winners were chosen from a final shortlist of 30 restaurants including Shimla Pink in Birmingham and The Lodge in Shenstone, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.