Public voting now open 

The Rajdani near Sevenoaks, which was named the Best Indian Restaurant in the South East at the Asian Curry Awards last year, has been shortlisted for the Asian Restaurant Awards, which are being held next month.

The popular West Kingsdown venue is joined on the shortlist by three other Kent Curry houses: Taj Cuisine in Chatham, Everest Inn in Ashford and Sundar Rachana in Rainham. The winners will be revealed at a special ceremony at the Manchester Hilton on Monday 5th March.

Organised by the Asian Catering Federation (ACF), which represents the country's 30,000 ethnic restaurants, the awards are open to Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese restaurants and takeaways.

The full nationwide shortlisted, can be seen at www.asianrestaurantawards.org/asian-restaurant-awards-2018-shortlist

Members of the public can vote for their favourites at:

www.asianrestaurantawards.org/voting-form

“Being named Best Indian Restaurant in the South East, has been incredibly good for business,” said Rob Khan, owner of the 100-eater restaurant. “We've even been busy throughout January, which had traditionally been a quiet month, as regulars economised after Christmas, or recover from the festive excesses."

The Rajdani is now trialling new lighter, healthier recipes with more vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and fish options.

The Rajdani's head chef, Jimmi Shah, has also ben nominated for the Asian & Oriental Chefs Awards, which being hosted by ACF at the House of Lords on13th March.

Rajdani also hopes to defend its Asian Curry Awards title when the 2018 winners are announced at a star-studded gala dinner at London's Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair in November. Details at www.asiancurryawards.co.uk

ENDS

Editors' Notes:

The restaurant, which was opened by Rob's father, Abdul, and cousin Suna Miah, two decades ago, takes its name from the Bengali term for 'Capital City.' In days gone by, the finest spices and other culinary ingredients could only be sourced together in the capital's food markets. So this was where the best chefs and restaurants chefs were found. Today, 'Rajdani' is more commonly used as the colloquial Bengali term for 'town'.

Located just a few hundred yards from Brands Hatch motor sports circuit, The Rajdani, a roomy 100-seater venue with al fresco tables and a large private car park, attracts customers from around the country on event days.

It offers contemporary Indian dishes, with short, changing menu to appeal to all tastes. The chefs are currently developing a gourmet menu which will be released in the New Year, with a greater choice of fish, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan dishes.

The skills and dedication of Head Chef Jimmi Shah and his talented brigade was recognised at the Asian Curry Awards 2017, when Rajdani was named Best Asian Restaurant in the South East.

The restaurant holders of a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award for 2017.

A strong wine list includes Chablis, Pouilly Fumé, Chateau Neuf du Pape, plus Bollinger and Moet et Chandon champagnes. Beers includes the authentic Indian import – Goa Premium Beer – which is gluten-free.

The Rajdani is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week and kick start the weekend with live music every Friday night.

Media Contact: Photo, menus and competitions available.

To review call George Shaw at Avocado Media T: 01892 750851        E: geo@avocadomedia.co.uk

The Rajdani, 17-20 London Road, West Kingsdown, Sevenoaks, Kent

TN15 6ES T: 01474 853 501 W: www.rajdani.co.uk Tw: @therajdani