Two wins for Sunderland and one for Newcastle at Asian Restaurant Awards

Two restaurants in Sunderland and one in Newcastle, run by the same company as a Wearside winner, were left celebrating on Tuesday night, when they picked up trophies at this year's Asian Restaurant Awards.

A judging panel including a number of noted chefs and former BBC journalist, restaurant critics and editor of Taste London, George Shaw, were given the job of choosing the winners of this year's accolades from a shortlist of worthy contenders; with categories for every region in the UK.

And the North East specific awards brought success for both My Delhi Sunderland and Newcastle, as well as Babaji, also from Sunderland, which received the Best Newcomer in the North East title. My Delhi Sunderland, opened in 2022 after the huge success of the business' Tyneside restaurant, picked up the silverware for Streetfood Restaurant of the Year, with a double win for My Delhi coming when the Newcastle venue won Asian Restaurant of the Year for the North East.

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There were victories for restaurants all over the North East at the Manchester ceremony, with Middlesbrough's Balti Hut voted Best Takeaway and Stockton based Vadah also on the list of 2024 champions.

Other restaurants from the region to be in contention at the Asian Restaurant Awards this time round included Barnard Castle's Babul's, Dhamaka in Cramlington, Khai Khai, the Newcastle haunt loved by Gordon Ramsay and stars like Alan Shearer; Lal Khazana in Shilbottle and Morpeth Tandoori.

The shortlist also featured Raval, another celebrity favourite at the end of the Tyne Bridge in Gateshead, Whitley Bay's Shampan, the Soho Tavern in Gateshead and Zeera, one of the popular Indian restaurants on South Shields' famous Ocean Road.