A popular County Durham restaurant has been crowned the best Indian restaurant in the North East after wowing judges at the prestigious industry awards.

Spice Lounge, which is just off Market Place in Durham is regarded as a hidden gem within the historic city and the wider County Durham region, with the venue being hidden from view behind St Nic’s Church.

Despite its ‘hidden gem’ status, it has now been named as the Best Restaurant in North East England at the Asian Restaurant Awards after an impressive run of beating bigger restaurants to the top accolade. 

As part of the award win, the team, including owner Akram Miah, picked up the award for their specialist Indian cuisine, inspired by traditional dishes from every corner of India to the city.

Mr Miah said: “We’re thrilled to win this award.  We’re in this position because of the hard work of our staff, as well as the support of customers and friends.  It’s lovely to have everyone’s hard work at Spice Lounge rewarded in this way.”

Read more: The Farrier in Scarborough is AA Inn of the Year 2022

This is the latest of a long line of accolades for the Durham restaurant, which welcomes numerous guests per evening to dine with them.

Alongside the award win, Spice Lounge has hit headlines over the last 18 months for very different reasons – having been the restaurant that provided Labour leader Keir Starmer’s meal in the now infamous ‘Beergate’ incident.

At the time, restaurants and other businesses could be open but people couldn’t meet indoors in groups of more than six.

Mr Starmer is currently under investigation from Durham Police for the incident and has pledged to step down if fined by the police force.

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