The UK’s best curry houses have been revealed as restaurants across the country battle it out to secure the coveted top title at the Asian Restaurant & Takeaway Awards (ARTA).
Beloved hubs for Thai, Japanese and Punjabi food are completing the line-up for 2025 – with the mouthwatering selection spotlighting venues across the country.
The celebration of British-Asian cuisine has seen 950,000 food lovers vote for their favourite local diner.
The competing eateries are chosen based on customer nominations – and two lots of scoring phases.
Prospective winners will be scouted for quality of food, customer service and value for money – before being invited to a cook off which shall see their dishes marked on flavour, appearance, texture, aroma and hygiene.
More than 1,300 establishments are in the running, and the winner will be unveiled in a ceremony on October, 6.
There is fierce competition amid a myriad of categories, including Newcomer of the Year, Streetfood Restaurant of the Year and Asian Fusion Restaurant of the Year.
Curry houses battling it out to take home the coveted title of Newcomer of the Year come from across the UK including Solas-Kitchen just outside Fife and MITR Restaurant, Royston.
The UK’s best restaurants, takeaways and chefs (including Mango Tree in Cardiff, pictured) have been revealed
And regional standouts include Himalayan in Belfast, Mango Tree, Cardiff, and Indian Queen, in the small Cornish town of Saint Columb.
One of the front runner in the newcomer category, Solas-Kitchen in Dalgety Bay, Dunfermline, offers afternoon tea, breakfast, lunch and dinner with some of its star plates including a paneer sandwich and saffron cod.
Elsewhere, the pan-Asian eatery MITR Restaurant in Royston, Hertfordshire, features Paneer Kadhai made with cottage cheese along with Sichuan chicken to start.
Zaap Thai Street Food, Nottingham, in the running for Streetfood Restaurant of the Year, offer a £15 lunch menu with a side and a drink and diners can choose from traditional Thai corn fritters and spring rolls or Thai green curry and Pad Nam Prik Pao – a creamy stir fry with rice.
Up against the Thai street food restaurant is Mr Chaat in Bolton which has a huge offering including samosas, bhajis, wraps to go, biriyanis and sambars.
In the Asian category award is Yakitori House in Glasgow which offers tempura vegetables and meat along with bao buns and and some exciting dishes such as curry udon eel along with classic ramen meals.
For those wanting to sample the menu at the diners in the running of Turkish Restaurant of the Year, then London is the place to go with three out of the four nominees hailing from the capital and just one from nearby Brighton.
Nova Park Royal in London describes itself as ‘gastronomy meets entertainment for an unparalleled experience’ and offers everything from a 24 karat gold Tomahawk steak costing £200 to vegetable samosas with chili sauce.
More than 950,000 food-lovers voted for their favourite local curry house and eateries such as MITR in Royston have made the cut
On the more luxurious side, the eatery offers vegetarian, vegan and meat dishes with salmon, aubergine and whole chickens featuring on the menu.
While SAVCI Turkish Mediterranean in Luton is a little more affordable with a range of seafood, meat and vegetarian platters including lam shish, sea bass on the bone and hot mixed mezze platters all for under £25.
Speaking about the Asian Restaurant & Takeaway Awards 2025, Mohammed Munim, Founder Member and CEO of ARTA, said that curry has ‘truly become a national institution’.
‘It’s something that brings people together across Britain, whether it’s a family enjoying a weekend meal or colleagues grabbing a quick takeaway,’ he shared.
‘Dishes like chicken tikka masala have become as familiar on British dining tables as a Sunday roast, and that’s a testament to how deeply Asian cuisine is embedded in the culture here.
‘The Asian Restaurant & Takeaway Awards are about shining a light on the restaurants and takeaways that deliver this beloved food every single day.
‘From small family-run kitchens to established dining rooms, they are the heart of so many communities, offering not just meals but a sense of belonging.
‘This year’s finalists include some real surprises alongside long-time favourites, which makes the celebration even more exciting.
Silchar in Hinckley, which serves a range of Indian foods (pictured), is nominated for the Regional Restaurant of the Year in the East Midlands category
Bao To The Broth (pictured) in Hereford is up for the Regional Restaurant of the Year in the West Midlands category
Bolton’s Mr Chaat, which serves Indian dishes such as a vada pav burger (pictured), will face a string of other restaurants for the Streetfood Restaurant of the Year title
‘At its core, ARTA is about honouring the hard work, creativity, and resilience of the industry – recognising the chefs, entrepreneurs and teams who keep Britain’s love affair with curry thriving.’
Over in the West Midlands, there’s four restaurants facing off for the title of Regional Restaurant of the Year.
In Hereford, Bao to the Broth, which was created in 2022 as a food stall in Hereford’s Buttermarket, is up for the award.
The restaurant is competing with Birmingham’s Millennium, an Indian restaurant, for the coveted title.
Also in the category and serving Indian food is Monsoon Majestic Indian Dining in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Newcastle, and Tamarind in Balsall Common, Coventry.
Over in the East Midlands, there’s another four restaurants competing for the Regional Restaurant of the Year title.
First in the list is House Boat Restaurant in Derby, and its staff will no doubt be hoping that their South Indian cuisine is enough to trump the category.
Elsewhere, Shapla Spice in Ripley, which is known for its authentic Indian food, including meat and vegetarian dishes, is in with a chance of scooping the award.
The final two restaurants in the category are Silchar Indian Dining in Hinckley and Spice Lounge in Brackley.
