Rivaaz wins accolade 4-years in a row at Asian Curry Awards 2021

History was made at the Asian Curry Awards this year when a restaurant in Lymington retained its coveted title a record four years in succession.

Rivaaz was the undisputed ‘Asian Restaurant of the Year South Coast of England’ with the eatery proudly announcing on Instagram: “Never been done before!! 4 YEARS IN A ROW BABY!!!”

The event, which attracted over 800 guests to Grosvenor House in London’s Mayfair yesterday, saw one of only three restaurants rated 5/5 by FtLion this year also win an award.

Chef Dayashankar’s debut eatery Heritage Dulwich was voted London’s ‘Asian Restaurant of the Year’ with Benares in Mayfair winning ‘Fine Dining Restaurant’.

Benares’ Executive Chef Sameer Taneja was also recognised for his ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Culinary Arts Through Innovation and Inspiration’.

Another curry house that has seen its fortunes turn around recently is Haweli in Ealing which received the ‘Asian Restaurant of the Year London Suburbs’ award.

Having earlier in the year reportedly been in heavy debt due to Covid restrictions and customer no-shows, the venue has since won numerous awards.

These have included ‘Chef of the Year’ and ‘Business Man of the Year’ at the Euro Asia Curry Awards last week, as well as ‘Best Customer Choice’ at the Curry Life Awards.

Spice Village’s well known founder Suleman Raza was also designated ‘Champion’ in the category of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility & Food Innovation’.

The following is a complete list of the winners at this year’s Asian Curry Awards 2021 (FtLion has not verified the Halal status of the following restaurants):

Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year – Navadhanya, Cambridge
Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year London – Benares, Mayfair
Asian Restaurant of the Year London – Heritage, Dulwich
Asian Restaurant of the Year London Suburbs – Haweli, Ealing
Asian Restaurant of the Year South Coast of England – Rivaaz, Lymington
Asian Restaurant of the Year South East of England – Tarana Bar & Restaurant, Turners Hill
Asian Restaurant of the Year South of England – India Gate, Chichester
Asian Restaurant of the Year Home Counties – The Rajdani, Sevenoaks

Fine Dining Delivery Kitcheon of the Year – Ambrette Kitchen, Ashford, Kent
Takeaway of the Year South West of England – Rajastan Royal, Bristol
Takeaway of the Year South of England – Hot Spice, Whitchurch
Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurant of the Year – Vegetarian Food Studio, Cardiff
Newcomer of the Year – Anokha, Bromley
Nepalese Restaurant of the Year – Panas Gurkha Restaurant, Lewisham
Filipino Restaurant of the Year – Romulo Café & Restaurant, Kensington
Middle Eastern Restaurant of the Year – Ottoman Kitchen, Southampton
Street Food Restaurant of the Year – My Delhi Indian Streetery, Newcastle
Asian Fusion Restaurant of the Year – Hakkaland, Harrow
Entrepreneur of the Year – Muhammad Sultan, Charcoals, Glasgow
Community Hero of the Year – Sujan Katuwal, Panas Gurkha Restaurant, Harrow
Young Chef of the Year – Sahil Ahmad, Spice I Am, Worthing

CENTRAL ENGLAND

Asian Restaurant of the Year Warwickshire – Millennium Balti, Royal Leamington Spa
Asian Restaurant of the Year West Midlands – Maya Bar & Restaurant, Atherstone
Asian Restaurant of the Year East Midlands – The Raj, Kettering

EAST OF ENGLAND

Asian Restaurant of the Year East Of England – Prana Indian Restaurant, Cambridge

SOUTH WEST OF ENGLAND

Asian Restaurant of the Year Devon & Cornwall – Denley’s Essence Of India, Topsham, Devon
Asian Restaurant of the Year South West of England – Maha Bharat, Kingsbridge

NORTH OF ENGLAND

Asian Restaurant of the Year North of England – Delhi 6, South Shields
Asian Restaurant of the Year Merseyside – Purple Olive, Liverpool
Asian Restaurant of the Year North West of England – Al Maidah, Manchester

WALES

Asian Restaurant of the Year – The Grand Sultan, Port Talbot
Asian Restaurant of the Year – Jashaan, Cardiff
Asian Restaurant of the Year Scotland – Panache, lgin

THAI RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Thai Restaurant of the Year South East of England – Tarana Thai Lounge, ingfield
Thai Restaurant of the Year South Coast of England – Spice I Am, Worthing
Thai Restaurant of the Year London – YUM-YUM, Stoke Newington, London

GROUP RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Local Restaurant Group of the Year – Kushi, Essex
Thai Restaurant Group of the Year – Lemongrass Group, Hove

ASIAN CHEFS OF THE YEAR

Fardous Ahmed Bablu – Curry Leaf, Coulsdon
Atik Sheikh – Purple Olive, Ashton-under-Lyne
Rahman Shah Ataur – Shampan Indian Restaurant, Cowbridge
Md. Kayrul Islam – House Of Spice, Raynes Park

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS

Nazim Khan (Executive Chef), Bryan Health, USA – SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION: Outstanding Contribution To The Culinary Arts Through Innovation and Inspiration
Shakawath Hossain (CEO), Starktree Group, Bangladesh – SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION: Outstanding Contribution To The Hospitality Industry Through Leadership and Inspiration
Suleman Raza (Founder), Spice Village – CHAMPION: Corporate Social Responsibility & Food Innovation
Sameer Taneja (Executive Chef), Benares – SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Outstanding Contribution To The Culinary Arts Through Innovation and Inspiration
Nobab Uddin (Chairman), Easthands (Former President, London Bangla Press Club & Former Editor, Janomot) – SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Outstanding Contribution To Journalism & Charitable Work
Kishwar Chowdhury (MasterChef), Australia – SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION: Outstanding Contribution To The Culinary Arts Through Innovation and Inspiration
Mahee Ferdous Jalil (Founder), Channel S Television – SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Outstanding Contribution To Raising Funds For Charitable Causes
Shah F. Athar MIH (COO), UK Curry Connect – SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Outstanding Contribution To The Catering Industry Through Leadership And Inspiration