Teesside curry houses scoop top foodie gongs - as takeaway boss reveals exciting expansion plans

The boss of two Indian eateries on Teesside shared exciting news of branching out after collecting two top curry awards.

Anisa’s Street Food, in Gilkes Street, Middlesbrough, bagged the Best Indian Restaurant in North England award at this year's Euro Asia Curry Awards. The sister branch, Anisa’s Curry and Pizzeria in Oxbridge Lane, Stockton, took home the Best Takeaway in North East England accolade.

It was the first time Anisa's had entered the awards and owner Mohammed Ali said the wins were testament to the sterling efforts of the whole team. "It was hard work but we got there and I'm delighted," he said. "I'm treating them next week, taking all the 25 staff members to a restaurant. They're waiting for their bonus as well!"

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The Middlesbrough street food restaurant has been open 16 years now while the Stockton branch opened in 2022. Mohammed, who lives in Acklam, said he now plans to take the name to other towns in 2025.

"We are opening more branches next year," he said. "We're looking at Guisborough, Northallerton, Stokesley and Hartlepool as a lot of our customers come from there. I had a restaurant called Delhi Lounge in Linthorpe Road for 12 years and then decided to sell it and opened the takeaways. It's become very popular."

Hundreds of businesses and individuals were nominated for the awards. The winners received their gongs at a ceremony at Mayfair in Romford, London, on November 26.

The Euro Asia Awards, now in their eighth year, were founded by Bangladeshi chef, Shorif Khan. He said: "Annually, the industry contributes more than £5m to the country’s economy and 2024 has been a particularly strong year."

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