Worthing restaurant Shaan scoops accolade at Curry Life Awards

Worthing's Shaan scooped the accolade at the Curry Life Awards 2023, held in London’s West End on Sunday.

The awards celebrate the elite in the UK's multi-billion-pound curry industry and featured 44 awards across five categories: Editor’s Choice, Best Restaurant, Best Takeaway, Best Chef and Best Recommended Restaurant.

Owner Syed Shamim Ahmed said: “We’re thrilled to have won this award, it feels great to be recognised in this way.

“We are very grateful to all our customers.”

Syed started the restaurant, which is in Tarring Road, after a long-desired ambition to run his own hospitality operation.

The family business features a well-organised team, including Syed's son, Minhad, who works front of house.

The chef team is made up of Ana Miah, Mohammed Akikul Islam and Fahad Khan, who are kept busy throughout the week, managing the restaurant and takeaway service.

Chef specials are a hit with customers, including the chatga, king prawns in a spiced sauce, and the classic tandoori mixed grill.

The Shaan team from Worthing receiving their best restaurant award (Image: Curry Life Awards)

Guests on the red carpet event included MPs Paul Scully, Steve Double, Rushanara Ali and Sir Peter Bottomley, MP for Worthing West.

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The event was also an occasion to mark the 20th anniversary year of Curry Life magazine, the promoter of the awards.

They were created by brothers Syed Pasha and Syed Ahmed, who came to the UK from Bangladesh in the 1970s and were surprised by the British appetite for curry. They launched Curry Life magazine 20 years ago, and the debut awards were held in 2009. The brothers also organise an annual British curry festival promoting Angrezi (English) curry worldwide.

Syed Pasha said: "From our humble beginnings, here we are today, the voice of a billion-pound, entrepreneurial and innovative industry, and one which contributes significantly to the UK economy.

“We travelled thousands of miles this year visiting restaurants up and down the country, and it made me realise precisely why the curry industry will not only survive, but also thrive. It is the sheer determination, hard work, and a positive attitude from employees and employers alike and their sheer commitment to what they do.”