A Darlington restaurant is celebrating after receiving national recognition at the British Curry Awards in London.

Bombay Gate on Skinnergate has only been in business since October 2019, however, before that the family ran Duke Bombay Café on Duke Street.

Syed Ahmed is the chef at Bombay Gate and is over the moon that the eatery was runner-up for National Chef of the Year, following on from success at the English Curry Awards

The experienced chef, who has lived in Darlington all his life, thanked the public for their support over the years and for their repeat custom.

The Northern Echo: Syed Ahmed at the British Curry AwardsSyed Ahmed at the British Curry Awards (Image: Syed Ahmed)

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The restaurant was also shortlisted for Best restaurant in the North East, but the team missed out on the title.

Syed said: “The atmosphere at the awards was buzzing, everyone was having a really good time. There was music, good food, celebrities, and we even took a couple of our most loyal customers, and they loved it.

“It’s the Oscars of the curry world and although we didn’t win, it’s a great achievement anyway so we’re happy.

“I think it’s the customers who keep us going. We haven’t put prices up because we know that people are struggling with the cost-of-living so we’ve decided to just keep prices at the level they’re at.

“Obviously Covid did affect the business massively like all of us in the industry but we’re glad that our customers have stuck by us.

Nevertheless, the team at Bombay Gate has done themselves proud and the restaurant has its place on the Darlington eating-out scene.

The Northern Echo: Bombay Gate on Skinnergate in DarlingtonBombay Gate on Skinnergate in Darlington (Image: Aja Dodd/Newsquest)

The Northern Echo: Hugh Dennis at the British Curry AwardsHugh Dennis at the British Curry Awards (Image: Syed Ahmed)

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Syed puts the popularity of his food down to incorporating spices and flavours from other parts of the world from Italy, France, even Thailand, and said that by

Bombay Gate was also shortlisted for Best Indian Restaurant in the North East. The public voted on the night of November 28 for the Diners Choice Award, but unfortunately, the Darlington curry house fell short by a narrow percentage.

Nevertheless, the team at Bombay Gate has done themselves proud and the restaurant has its place on the Darlington eating-out scene.”

The Northern Echo: Nina Wadia at the British Curry AwardsNina Wadia at the British Curry Awards (Image: Syed Ahmed)

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