Northampton restaurant 'extremely proud' to be named as one of the best curry houses in the UK

The country's leading Indian and Asian chefs and restaurateurs were celebrated at a prestigious ceremony at the House of Lords.

The prestigious event was hosted by Lord Kamall on behalf of the Asian Catering Federation (ACF) and presented by BBC news anchor Samantha Simmonds. Organised by Asian Catering Federation (ACF), the awards celebrate the curators of the tastiest Indian and Asian food in the UK.

Aramintas, in Wellingborough Road, has put Northampton on the map after being named in the exclusive top 100 curry houses in the UK.

Restaurant director Shohid Islam, aged 24, said: “To be recognised is great. We’re extremely proud. We won East Midlands Restaurant Of The Year last year too.

“We opened in 2022 as a restaurant in Northampton so to be recognised as the creme de la creme of our industry – it’s very tough. It is quite a strong sector with many restaurants trading longer than us.

"We celebrate 25 years in September, this just tops off an achievement which is good for the reputation of our business and , equally, for our community as well. It’s a big achievement.

"Our secret to success is putting the customer at the forefront of our business and our style of cooking is different to the normal style of cooking. I think that’s why we’re recognised as one of the best."

For anyone wanting to try Aramintas, Shohid recommends any dish of the exclusive section, a new dish called Lamb 71 which is ‘quite popular’, or the Chicken Shakora, made with a ‘treasured’ Bangladeshi citrus fruit only grown in Bangladesh.

The restaurateur added: “The Wellingborough Road market is increasing in footfall. We’re seeing people coming out more often than usual, especially during the weekdays."

George Shaw, director of communications at the ACF, said: "Announcing the Top 100 allows us to recognise more of the better venues in the UK. Not all restaurant-goers want, or can afford to eat in, fine dining establishments very often - if at all. This listing allows customers to also find very good local restaurants."

The family-run Aramintas has been in business since 1999 and was previously located in Wootton and Yardley Hastings before moving to Northampton.