Hidden gem Bangladeshi venue named ‘world cuisine restaurant of the year’ in Northamptonshire
A hidden gem Bangladeshi venue has been named the ‘world cuisine restaurant of the year’ in Northamptonshire, despite being a relatively new venture in the county.
Mooche Wala, located in Main Street, Denton, is a Bangladeshi and Indian grill – while also welcoming visitors to treat it like a pub and cocktail bar and pop in for a drink.
Customers can choose whether to utilise the dining area or takeaway from the menu, which includes a selection of tapas plates too.
This is the venture of brothers and business partners Bilal and Muhammad Hussain, who worked on the refurbishment from November 2023 before opening to the public in February last year.
The brothers grew up in the restaurant trade, with their father having been a chef since 1985. Bilal used to run a business in Birmingham city centre before deciding to start something closer to home in the right location.
Since launching a year-and-a-half ago, Mooche Wala has also added a “premium cigar experience” to their offering. They have a dedicated lounge accompanied with high quality beverages.
Having been named ‘world cuisine restaurant of the year’ at the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards last week, Muhammad told the Chronicle & Echo: “It feels good. We’ve been open for about 18 months now and a lot of hard work’s gone into the business.
“We’ve been focusing hard on all areas – not just the food, but the hospitality and keeping everyone happy. It’s a good feeling.”
Muhammad described their village location in Denton as “tucked away” and said this makes it feel even better to be recognised among all the world cuisine venues that entered across the county.
Word of mouth has been key to the growth of the business since February 2024, with their customer base now extending to people from villages surrounding Denton too.
When asked what he believes customers like most about the experience he and his brother Bilal have created, Muhammad said: “It is the food but a lot of it is the customer service.
“We don’t want diners to come in, eat and go home, we focus on building relationships and friendships with them and letting them come to a restaurant where they can relax. We’re not here to take their money.”
As an award-winning business, Muhammad hopes they can continue on the trajectory they are on – with a dream of opening a larger second branch to cater for more people across Northamptonshire.
Mooche Wala already got booked out, and that was before it became an award-winning venue, so the brothers would like to expand in the near future.