A restaurant owner is 'overfilled with joy' after his business was crowned the best for street food at the English Curry Awards.
Dhaba at 15 in Magdalen Street took home the top prize at the award ceremony on Monday night, which was held in Birmingham, and they were up against nine other restaurants across the country.
Other categories included best fine dining, takeaway and restaurant which was won by Spice Lounge in Mildenhall, Suffolk.
The win came as a shock to owner Jahangir Ali as Dhaba at 15 opened less than a year ago in September 2018 and he didn't even prepare a speech.
Mr Ali said: "When they called the award my whole body went numb and I didn't expect to get something like that within my first year.
"I was overfilled with joy when I went up on stage, we have such an amazing customer base who are really supportive and nominated us.
READ MORE: New restaurant rated best in Norwich on TripAdvisor"Within your first year you don't expect anything and you just want to settle in and create a base so to get something like this is phenomenal."
After the public nominations, the judging panel then decided the winner by looking at factors including the food, service and reviews and they can also conduct secret visits.
This isn't the first time the family-run business has won an award as they were also named the best new Indian restaurant in Norfolk in lifestyle magazine LUXlife's Bar and Restaurant Awards 2019 in May. Mr Ali previously ran Dhaba at 15 with cousin Juned and they decided to open the restaurant as there was nothing like it in the city.
Diners are encouraged to sample traditional starters such as Gol guppa and Patha Chaat alongside authentic curries including Mandarin chicken, Persian beef curry and a Bangla fish curry with pan fried sea bass.
READ MORE: Dhaba 15, Norwich, food review: 'Innovative dishes without a chicken korma in sight'Mr Ali added: "I think the cuisine we do is completely different to other restaurants in Norwich and you can see the passion we have for food.
"Me and my previous business partner are massive foodies and the whole idea started because me and my cousin were going out of Norwich to eat at Inidan restaurants and wanted to do something here we could enjoy ourselves.
"We are now focusing on new dishes and bringing greater variety to the menu and hopefully we will win some more awards doing what we do best."
Dhaba 15 is open at 15 Magdalen Street Tuesday to Sunday evenings from 5pm.
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