Bedford curry house Deshi Spice voted UK's best Indian restaurant

A Bedford Indian restaurant has proved it's second to naan after picking up a top gong at this year's Curry Life Awards.

Deshi Spice, on Tavistock Street was voted the nation's Best Curry Restaurant at the awards staged by magazine Curry Life, in partnership with Just Eat.

And owner Surman Ali and his team were over the moon - as it's the first time the restaurant has entered the annual national awards.

Mr Ali said: "What a great tribute for us to be recognised in this way. The past couple of years have been extremely challenging for businesses like ours – and it is marvellous to

emerge from such difficult times with such a top award.

He added: "Our success is very much a team effort – and is all about giving our customers the quality of service that they demand and deserve. I'd like to thank everyone who has played a part in achieving this top honour."

They picked up the award at an event at London's Royal Lancaster Hotel.

Commenting on the importance of the awards, President of the CBI and Chairman of Cobra Beer, Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, said: "Like many business sectors over the past couple of years, the hospitality industry has been through the ringer because of the Covid pandemic.

"It is great to see it not only emerging from this dark period but also leading the way for other business sectors. Now that the economy is gathering momentum, it is truly heart-warming and instructive to hear of some of the stories of innovation, and pure hard work, emerging from this year's Curry Life Awards."

The Curry Life Awards celebrate the unique fusion cuisine of Indian food in the UK and are part of a wider organisation that organises the British Curry Festival around the world.

Editor of Curry Life Media Group, Syed Belal Ahmed, said: "Over the years we have been staging the awards, we have seen a major stepping up of standards and quality being offered to customers - to the point where several restaurants are in a position to challenge for accolades such as Michelin stars."

Other guests at the event included: Gagan Mahindra MP, Aaron Bell MP, Greg Smith, Angela Richardson MP, Charlotte Nicols MP, Wes Streeting MP, Celebrity Chef Atul Kochhar, Dominic Chapman and Mridula Baljekar.

The Curry Life raised just over £2,000 for the British Asian Trust at this year’s Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner.