TWO HAMPSHIRE restaurants have been named award winners at the 'Oscars' of the curry world.

More than 800 guests attended the Asian Curry Awards 2021 awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House in London’s Mayfair on Sunday, November 22.

In the Middle-Eastern Restaurant of the Year category, Ottoman Kitchen in Southampton claimed the coveted crown.

This is the third time the popular Turkish restaurant in the high street has been awarded this coveted title

Ottoman Kitchen opened in the summer of 2019, in the former Ferryman and Firkin pub, and is an independent, family-run restaurant, led by restaurateur Niyazi Kaya.

The menu is built around the charcoal grill in the restaurant's open kitchen, and the chefs use traditional Turkish family recipes.

Niyazi Kaya, owner of Ottoman Kitchen, said he was "delighted" with the national award win.

He said: "When we first opened the restaurant we knew that we could bring a restaurant to Southampton with a great quality of food, the smoky taste from the charcoal grill combined with our family recipes is hard to match.

"But to win a national award against the best middle Eastern restaurants in the UK is amazing."

Further afield, Lymington's award-winning Indian restaurant Rivaaz fended off competition from across the UK to be named Asian Restaurant Of The Year in the South Coast of England category.

Established in 2007 by restaurateur Shah Malek, Rivaaz has become the "premier dining destination for Indian food lovers" on the south coast of England, and has won the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for seven years in a row since 2013.

Speaking about the win, Shah said: "The biggest thing this year was that nobody has won the award four years in a row in their category.

"We were just ecstatic we could break that record and make history within the industry. Everybody at Rivaaz has worked really hard in the past year and it is their award. We work really, really hard.

"It would be really nice to win half a decades worth of awards if we win again next year."