A North East restaurant has spoken of its delight after winning an award for best restaurant.
Vadah, located on Castlegate Mill, Riverside in Stockton, haS been recognised with the Best Asian Restaurant honour at the Asian Restaurant Awards 2023 this week.
Ahmed Siddique, from Darlington, manager of Vadah, said the restaurant was shocked to learn they had been nominated for the award after being recommended by a mystery diner.
He said staff did not realise they were nominated until receiving a call from management at Asian Restaurant Awards.
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Mr Siddique said: "It came as a shock to be honest, it was a great feeling.
"This is the sixth award we've won since we've been nominated, it's just a great feeling all the time.
"Every single time we win, it just motivates us to keep going and keep bettering ourselves and the industry.
"Since we started, we've always been slightly different in terms of what we do, the food we provide, the quality, the ingredients that we source out, they're all fresh.
"We listen to what customers and sometimes we provide based on that as well. I think that brings a lot of success for us as well.
"We just hope we keep winning these awards that keep coming our way."
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He said the restaurant have been going strong for almost a decade, and puts the success down to being in a special area and the quality of service provided.
Vadah is currently ranked second out of 467 restaurants in and around Stockton on TripAdvisor.
The Vadah team thanked customers for their continued support in post online.
Customers and residents reacted to the news online by praising the restaurant for its "well deserved" award.
One said: "Congratulations, well deserved. Food [is] amazing
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Another happy resident said: "Congratulations and absolutely deserved, the best curries I've had since moving up from Birmingham years and years ago.
While another chuffed resident said: "Congratulations guys, a well deserved award.
"Food at Vadah is second to none, it’s fantastic."
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