Asian Curry Awards 2023 shortlisted London restaurants

The 2023 Asian Curry Awards have unveiled a 200-strong UK-wide list that will now be whittled down to the top 100 restaurants and take-aways by public vote. 

A judging panel including chefs Tony Khan, Ken Wang, and Steve Gomes, Good Food Guide inspector George Shaw, and food critic Ria Amber Tesia will then visit candidates to decide on category winners.

The awards cover the range of Asian and Oriental cuisines: Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Pakistani, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese.

"We’re seeing some remarkable innovation by pioneering restaurateurs, adapting to challenging trading conditions and more sophisticated customer preferences,” said Yawar Khan chairman of AFC, which is behind the awards.

“Afternoon chai, weekend brunch, more use of quality local produce – especially seafood and game, are now being widely served."

On the shortlist are:

Namaaste Highgate in South Grove. Founded by Sabbir Karim, it serves home style modern Indian street food and has twice won chef of the year, and earned Evening Standard critics choice status. Specialities include Goan sea bass and Manalorean chicken curry with coconut, mustard seeds, tamarind and chili.

Yum Yum in Stoke Newington High Street (Image: Photozzy 2007)Yum-Yum Thai restaurant has been a Stoke Newington favourite for nearly 30 years. The scene of many group celebrations in its exotic outdoor garden, it is famed for its authentic, award winning food, including scallops with Thai basil, and fish with the chef's special three flavoured sauce.

Indian Veg has been a value vegetarian Indian in Islington's Chapel Market since 1985 (Image: Archant)Indian Veg in Islington's Chapel Market has been a renowned spot for a great value veggie Indian since 1985, including the popular all-you-can-eat buffet. Tuck into curries, salads, bhajia, featherlight paratha, and bhelpoori surrounded by posters extolling the virtues of vegetarianism.

Smoking Goat is a modern Thai restaurant in Shoreditch High Street serving creative, seasonal dishes from meat to seafood. Favourites include a 12-hour smoked short rib and a Tom Yum crab soup, but there's also BBQ beef heart with a peanut and coriander salad, or Kra Pow smoked mutton.

Ritu Seasons of India is an upscale Indian on Blenheim Terrace St John's Wood (Image: Courtesy of Ritu Seasons of India)Ritu Seasons of India is on Blenheim Terrace in St John's Wood and serves up dishes inspired by 'the six seasons of India' in upscale surroundings. Authentic spicing meets fine dining with the likes of gunpowder prawns, Kolkata chicken lollipop, and a dreamy monkfish tail curry with coconut and mango.

Chili Tuk Tuk in Woodside Road, North Finchley is an award winning take-away founded in 2014 that only delivers to certain N and EN postcodes or around their King's Cross kitchen. They don't have specials because 'every dish is special' but you might want to try their Bollywood masala or Lucknow bhuna.

Rapsa Filipino restaurant is based in Hoxton and Archway but runs pop ups around London (Image: Courtesy of Rapsa)Rapsa in Hoxton and Archway invites you to 'say Halo Halo to Filipino Fusion' and has pop ups and parties going on all over London including their legendary ‘boodle fights’, a military style of eating, with dishes such as roasted lechon crispy pork, oxtail croquettes, and braised pig’s head laid out on banana leaves. At the signal, the ‘eating combat’ begins - with bare hands.

Rosa's Thai restaurant in Spitalfields (Image: Archant)Rosa’s Thai is a growing restaurant chain at various locations including Baker Street, Angel, Finsbury Park, West Hampstead, London Fields and Westfield serving reliable quality Thai favourites from Pad Thai to Green curries.

Cirilo Filipino Kainan in Cable Street is a family-owned restaurant bringing hearty Filipino food to Whitechapel. Try Lechon Paksiw, a crispy pork belly with chicken liver soy and wine, or Pancit Singapore, rice noodles with Malayan curry.

Royal China in Harrow on the Hill Royal China started from humble beginnings in 1996 serving authentic Dim Sum. It now has a mini chain of high end Chinese restaurants including the flagship Royal China Club in Baker Street, a venue in Harrow-on-the-Hill, and an outlet in Bang Bang Asian foodhall in Colindale.

Hakka Garden in Harrow serves up the unusual blend of Indo-Chinese food. Inspired by the Chinese community in Kolkata, where the cuisine was born, chef Steven Lee blends deep fried spicy Indian flavours with a Chinese twist in dishes like Hakka chicken, crispy okra pepper salt, Tai Pai paneer, and soya chilli fish.

The Cinnamon Club offers fine dining in the Grade II listed surroundings of the Old Westminster Library (Image: Newquest)The Cinnamon Club in the grand surroundings of Westminster's Old Grade II-listed library was a trailblazer in marrying Indian cuisine and fine dining. Open since 2001 you can rub shoulders with movers and shakers from the nearby Houses of Parliament while dining on the likes of clove smoked Anjou pigeon, or Hyderabadi black spiced lamb escalope.

Masala is an award winning Indian restaurant that bills itself as the largest in the Spitalfields' famous Brick Lane, serving up all the favourites from chicken tikka masala to seafood and superb vegetarian thaali.

Winners of the 2023 Asian Curry Awards will be unveiled at a gala awards ceremony at Grosvenor House London on November 19.