Friday July 31st 2026
Chair of Asian Catering Federation Yawar Khan
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
The 10th Asian Restaurant Awards Scotland sees six Midlothian restaurants shortlisted for the prestigious award.
Organised by the Asian Catering Federation, the awards return to Glasgow on 21 September with over 250 restaurants and takeaways across the nation nominated.
The winners will be announced at a glittering award ceremony at The Crowne Plaza, in Glasgow hosted by broadcast journalist and BBC TV News anchor Samantha Simmonds,and Anisa Khan, owner of Bombay Pizza and last year’s finalist in the BBC’s flagship programme The Apprentice.
The awards recognise outstanding culinary excellence, innovation, endeavour, and sumptuous creativity, and are one of the most sought after hospitality awards in Scotland.
The shortlist, which covers the entire range of Asian cuisines including: Bangladeshi, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Nepalese, Korean, Malaysian, Pan-Asian, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese and Middle-Eastern cuisine) is compiled by popular vote, with the final winners chosen by the Federation’s esteemed panel of judges.
The most prominent individual award is the Federation’s Local Community Champion Award which was won by Muhammad Sultan (Charcoal’s Restaurant) from Glasgow in 2025. Plus, there are awards for Curry Champion of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Best Heritage Cuisine, Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year, most Family Friendly Restaurant; and Best Restaurant, Asian Buffet, or Takeaway in different regions across Scotland.
Among this year’s nominations are:
– 11 city centre restaurants and takeaways in Aberdeen and 11 in the surrounding towns in Aberdeenshire
– 47 in Glasgow City
– 41 in Edinburgh City, plus 6 in Midlothian, 6 in West Lothian and 1 in East Lothian
– 30 from across Fife
– 9 in Dundee, 5 in Paisley, 8 in Falkirk, 4 in Stirling, 5 in Perth, 5 in Ayr, 4 in East Kilbride, 3 in Galashiels, 3 in Elgin
– 20 from across the Highlands and Islands including 5 in Inverness, 3 in Kirkwall, 1 on the Isle of Barra, 3 in Stornoway, 3 in Lerwick, and many more.
Chair of the Asian Catering Federation, Yawar Khan said: “I am delighted to be presenting the 10th edition of these awards in Glasgow – a city that truly knows how to celebrate and has had a huge amount of nominations from the public this year. Despite the many challenges, including high fees from online delivery platforms, high food prices, and many employment issues resulting from the changes to the ILR visas in the UK, our industry still produces incredibly high standards of Asian cuisine and this is what our awards celebrate each year.”
The full list of restaurants and takeaways included in this year’s shortlist is available online.
The Asian Catering Federation’s esteemed panel of judges, who decide the winners are:
– Chef Tony Khan
– Chef Binod Baral, Global Goodwill Ambassador for the Gurkha Centre charity and Brand Ambassador of Gurkha Beer
– Thomas Chan, Chairman of the Chinese Catering Association
– Rajesh Suri, Restaurateur and Food and Beverage professional
– Shahagir Bakth Faruk, Restaurateur
– Chef Ken Wang, Chinese cuisine master
– Teddy KC Chen, Serial entrepreneur and restaurateur
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