A NEW Indian restaurant is celebrating after being named among the top restaurants and takeaways in the country.

Family run Bombay Quay, which overlooks the River Weaver on Hayhurst Quay, beat more than 1,000 entrants to be shortlisted for the best curry restaurant in the UK in the annual Curry Life National Awards.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on October 7.

Just two years after opening, customers have nominated the London Road restaurant for the national accolade.

Judges made unannounced visits and said they were very impressed by the food, service and hospitality.

Restaurant manager Jangir Alam said: "It makes me very happy, we're thrilled to be heading into the finals of the competition. The judges came unannounced, tried our dishes and said our curries were incredible.

"We only opened two years ago yet we are busy almost every day. The community spirit here has really helped and supported us.

"We have received loads of votes from our customers. The whole team is very excited."

He said it was a great achievement for all 29 employees who have worked at the restaurant from day one.

"Our style of cooking comes from Bangladesh in northern India." said 25-year-old Jangir, who runs the family restaurant with cousins Joyrul Alom and Chand Ullah.

"Our chef Shishu Ahmed went home and brought back some new dishes which are going down really well.

"We have plenty of signature dishes and a curry which we all eat at home is now on the menu. Desi lamb is cooked on the bone and takes three hours to prepare with special spices."

The restaurant buys their aromatic spices and specialist ingredients from Oldham where Jangir and his relatives live.

Bombay Quay is proving even more popular than the family's first restaurant Bombay 8 in Warrington, run by Jangir's brother Mofzul Meah.

"We are right in the heart of Northwich," said Jangir. "We took on this unit not knowing how it was going to turn out. We knew we had to offer something different to other curry houses. It has worked really well for us, thanks to our customers.

"We are now looking further afield to expand. We have seen a couple of sites but not found anything yet that meets our needs."

Another new development could see Indian cookery classes take off.

"We hope to try building classes so people can see how curries are made and cook them at home," added Jangir.

The restaurant, which seats 130 customers, will be hosting two Bollywood nights to celebrate its second anniversary on October 29 and 30.