A restaurant in Rochdale has scooped the top prize at the ‘Curry Oscars’ to be named the best curry house in the UK.
The prestigious awards reveal the best of UK Asian cuisine from thousands of nominations, and celebrate the UK’s Curry Industry.
Categories include National Takeaway of the Year, Fine Dine Restaurant of the Year, and Street Food of the Year, as well as awards recognising the best in Korean, Japanese and Sri Lankan cooking.
But this year the big prize – the Champion of Champions Award – went to The Milnrow Balti Restaurant in Rochdale.
The Dale Street restaurant is loved for its authentic Indian cooking, and its neon-soaked restaurant space in the heart of the town.
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It’s an extra victory for The Milnrow Balti Restaurant, which last year received the Regional Restaurant of the Year award for the North West of England.
Speaking on the red carpet at the awards ceremony in London, which is nicknamed the ‘Curry Oscars’, a spokesperson for the restaurant said: “This is massive for us.
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“You know, to win an award today, but to win this one over everything else – it just goes to show that hard work and dedication that everyone’s doing, and how much the customers enjoy coming to the Milnrow Balti, it just goes to show the dedication that all the staff put in there. We’re really delighted and over the moon with this one.”
The restaurant has shared a heartfelt message today after receiving the huge award last night, thanking their ‘curry-loving community’ for their ‘unwavering support’.
They wrote: “This award belongs to each and every one of you, our amazing customers. It is a testament to your trust, loyalty, and love for our curry creations.
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The Milnrow Balti Restaurant in Rochdale has been named the best curry house in the UK. Credit: FacebookThe Milnrow Balti Restaurant in Rochdale has been named the best curry house in the UK. Credit: Facebook
“Your continued patronage and recommendations to family and friends have contributed significantly to our success.”
The Milnrow Balti Restaurant also said: “We are immensely proud of the hard work and dedication of our entire team, who consistently strive to bring you the best curry experience you deserve.
“From our talented chefs who skillfully craft each dish with passion, to our attentive staff who ensure your dining experience is exceptional, every member of our team goes above and beyond to make your visit memorable.”
The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu
Daisy Jackson
There’s a Peak District pub that’s turned one of Britain’s most beloved comfort foods into a full-on pick’n’mix.
Tucked away in the postcard-perfect village of Castleton, Ye Olde Nags Head is serving up a fully customisable menu of sausage and mash dishes.
We’re talking near-endless combinations of proper pub grub.
You start by choosing your sausages from a daily rotating selection (not a sentence you hear every day, but we’re into it).
Expect classics like Cumberland alongside more adventurous options like venison and mustard, or even wild boar and orange, plus a veggie sausage daily.
Then it’s onto the mash – you can go for flavours like cheese and onion, wholegrain mustard, or even black pudding mash.
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauceVeggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravyTucking in
To finish? A choice of rich, hearty gravies and sauces to bring it all together, whether that’s a classic onion gravy, a peppercorn sauce, or a creamy wild mushroom sauce.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can even upgrade your bangers and mash pick’n’mix by having it all served inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
Ye Olde Nags Head is a historic 17th-century pub, with a roaring fire in every room and cosy bedrooms upstairs.
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak DistrictYe Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
It’s one of those flagstone-floored, beamed-ceilinged, mismatched-furniture type pubs that welcomes everyone in every state, whether you’re caked in mud from a hike or popping in on a coach tour.
Another of the pub’s specialties is the Derbyshire Breakfast, a hearty plate of sausage, smoked bacon, black pudding, free range egg, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
The pub also offers takeaway breakfast butties, so you can use it for both a pre-hike stop and a post-hike pint.
Given it’s just minutes from the ever-popular Mam Tor hike, this is one pub you’ll definitely want to add to your next Peak District day out itinerary.
The hillside farm in the Peak District making its own ice cream
Daisy Jackson
Did you know there’s a 300-year-old farm in the Peak District serving up some of the freshest ice cream you’ll ever taste? And yes, you can meet the cows that made it while you’re there.
Welcome to Hope Valley Ice Cream, a family-run gem where things are kept refreshingly simple: happy cows, proper farming, and seriously good ice cream.
Set in the heart of the Peak District countryside, this place is about as wholesome as it gets.
The ice cream is made on-site in the farmhouse, literally just metres from where the dairy herd are out grazing.
You can watch the animals, wander around the farm, and then tuck into a scoop or three perched on a milk pail stool, or a picnic bench (or even a decorative tractor).
Hope Valley Ice Cream has some amazing seasonal ice creams, like lemon curd, elderflower, and blackberry, alongside all the classics and a rather delicious tiramisu.
You can grab a cone, sit down with a coffee (again, made with milk from the nearby cows), or go all in with a freshly-made waffle if you’re feeling fancy.
Takeaway tubs from Hope Valley Ice CreamYou can get a mini pail of ice creamMeet the newborn calves at Hope Valley Ice CreamTuck into your ice cream on a milk pail stoolHope Valley Ice Cream
And if you’re the type who really loves ice cream? You can actually order a full pail of it, with four huge scoops plus whipped cream and sauce.
The farm itself is run by the Marsden family, who’ve been working this land for generations. It shows in everything – they’ve created a place that feels genuinely welcoming, not just another tourist stop.
Beyond the ice cream, you’ve got plenty of reasons to stick around. There are calves (including the newest tiny arrivals), plus donkeys and pigs to say hello to.
Whether you’re heading out on a hike or just fancy a drive into the Peaks, this is one pitstop that’s absolutely worth it – and honestly, it’s worth the trip on its own.
Daisy Jackson -
9th October 2023 
