At the Scottish Asian Restaurant Awards 2025, Shezan on Union Place won the accolade of Asian Restaurant of the Year in the capital.
Macau Kitchen in Edinburgh also won in the heritage cuisine of the year category for their Macanese Cuisine & Luso-Asian Cuisine. Bayleaf Express won the Asian Takeaway of the year.
Standout winners included Shimla Dining who won Curry Champion of the Year, and Muhammad Sultan who was awarded special recognition for his charity work with the homeless in Glasgow, and his international aid work year-round.
The awards were presented at a ceremony in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow on Monday night recognising the outstanding culinary excellence and “sumptuous creativity” from the winners.
Asian Catering Federation Chairman Yawar Khan said: “The Asian Restaurant Awards in Glasgow are a key event for our industry. Not only do they recognise the excellence of Asian and Oriental restaurants in Scotland, but they also celebrate the significant contribution our industry makes to the economy thanks to the hard work of all the businesses involved.
“The Asian food industry continues to thrive in 2025, despite the many challenges it currently has to face, in particular the fees charged by online delivery platforms, rising food costs, high energy bills, and the damaging new immigration rules in the UK. Should the new immigration rules go ahead, I believe the high standard of authentic Asian cuisine produced in the UK, will be hit hard, as these rules will make hiring chefs from overseas almost impossible.”
The awards are organised by the Asian Catering Federation (ACF) which represents the nation’s 30,000 Asian and Oriental restaurants in the UK and employs over 100,000 people, contributing more than £7.5bn to the UK economy.
The event was attended by 400 guests and hosted by Dr Zubir Ahmed, Labour MP for Glasgow South West, and UK Minister for Health and Social Care. It was organised by the Asian Catering Foundation. The awards were presented by BBC News Presenter Samantha Simmonds and the 2025 runner up in the BBC’s hit series, The Apprentice, Anisa Khan.
