A Coventry restaurant celebrates after tasting success at a national awards ceremony. Blue orchid, in Les Buttes, was the only restaurant in Coventry and Warwickshire, out of eight finalists, to leave The Food Awards England 2022 with a trophy after being nominatedBest Oriental establishment in the Midlands.
The restaurant, which serves Thai and Indian cuisine, however, missed out on the national title of Zen Restaurant in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. Saif Ali, director and owner of Blue Orchid, said the price had almost made all the lockdown struggles worth it.
“We are very happy and it is just very nice to be recognized in this way,” Mr Ali told CoventryLive. “Lockdown was a very difficult time. But we did our best to energize the business afterwards and now we have this award to show for it.”
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Blue Orchid has been in the business for about 15 years, but Saif only took over running the restaurant from his cousin about four years ago when his relative started a business in Birmingham. “It’s the same name and in some ways the same restaurant,” Saif added.
“It’s popular in Coventry because there aren’t many Thai restaurants in the city. A lot of people asked if we could serve Indian food as well, so we expanded to cover Indian food as well. “
Sadly, the other seven finalists from our region left empty-handed from last night’s ceremony at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel. Nailcote Hall in Berkswell, on the outskirts of Coventry, Coventry-based Brackenwood and Selminas Restaurant & Bar in Spon Street failed in the Hotel Restaurant, Catering and Best Mexican Establishment categories respectively.
(Image: Coventry Live/Tristan Potter)
Like Coventry, Warwickshire had four regional finalists hoping to qualify for a shot at national honour. The Fourteas in Stratford, recently named one of the UK’s top ten tea rooms thanks to its five-star reviews on TripAdvisor, was featured in the West Midlands Café/Bistro of the Year section and The Pickled Crab in Warwick was in the running for the best seafood establishment in the Midlands.
Henley Ice Cream in Henley-in-Arden was hoping to win Dessert Outlet of the Year and Warwick’s Dough & Brew was aiming for a share of recognition as Pizza Restaurant of the Year. Now in its seventh year, the Food Awards England celebrate “everything about food by recognizing and rewarding the very best servers, specialists and manufacturing”.
Speaking ahead of the awards night, a spokesperson said: “The finalists were voted for by the public for providing authentic recipes and unique dishes to their diners, creating memorable experiences for residents and residents. visitors. Without a doubt, there are incredible specialists across the country, who know how to offer quality service, delicious cuisine and meet the expectations of their diners. It is these professionals that we wish to reward.”
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