Indian restaurant Babuls wins at prestigious awards night

Babul’s of Barnard Castle won Innovative Restaurant of the Year at the Asian Restaurant Awards last Monday (July 31), standing out from other Indian restuaurants in the UK.

Originally named Spice Island, the restaurant was well-known across County Durham and Darlington for 25 years before it was re-branded as Babul’s in 2019.

Now, the restaurant has been recognised for the team’s ability to adapt to meet the needs of the market and the cost-of-living crisis while still delivering first-class service.

Chef Jahad Khandaker & Manager Foy Ahmed from Babul's of Barnard Castle. Picture: Asian Restaurant Awards (Image: Asian Restaurant Awards)

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Zak Amed, creative director of Babul’s, told The Northern Echo: “It’s great that we’ve been recognised for all the work and how we’ve adapted recently.

“We won the award back in 2020 during lockdown and obviously things have changed since then, so it’s a big achievement.

“It’s a good award for us because it shows that we’re willing to change and adapt in the new difficult climate for restaurants.

“We’ve tried to streamline processes because it’s so hard for restaurants and everything going through the roof. We’ve had to look at how we can be more cost-effective but still giving customers the highest quality food and best service. The customers don’t see all the hard work from behind the scenes.

The Babul's of Barnard Castle team is over the moon with the award. Picture: Zak Ahmed (Image: Zak Ahmed)

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“We’ve reduced the pressure on our staff by using the tablets on the tables for people to order. Hospitality is hard work so we want to make the jobs of our waiting staff easier.”

Mr Ahmed said he was dedicating the award to his dad, Rafique Uddin Babul, who set up Spice Island in Barnard Castle.

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Mr Ahmed continued: “It’s definitely for our dad. He was our biggest supporter. When we opened the Darlington restaurant he was in every day and he was immensely proud of us. He was in awe of what we had done.

“He watched us struggle for a long time and he was so happy when we made a success of both restaurants. Even though he was ill, he really wanted to see us succeed, so this is definitely for him. Every award we ever win will be dedicated to our dad. We miss him a lot.”