A.fine dining Turkish and Mediterranean restaurant in Royton, Oldham, has won big at this year’s British Kebab Awards.
Istanblue Royton took home the gong for the Best Fine Dining Restaurant at a glitzy awards ceremony held in London on Tuesday night.
Impressively, it was the only restaurant in the north to be acknowledged with a win at the London-dominated event.
Sharing the news to social media, the restaurant was flooded with congratulations from a host of loyal customers.
Image: Istanblue Royton
One customer wrote: “Well done, love your food you really do deserve it x”
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Another said: “Brilliant, so well deserved. Our favourite restaurant x
A third added: “Nice one well done love your food”
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The annual awards ceremony is the only one of its kind to recognise the British kebab industry, which supports 200,000 jobs up and down the country spanning restaurants, suppliers and the wider food industry.
The ceremony, now in its tenth year, celebrated the £2.8 billion contributions the kebab industry brings to the British economy every year.
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Every day, more than 1.5 million kebabs are sold across Britain.
Image: Istanblue Royton Image: Istanblue Royton
The British Kebab Awards, sponsored by Just Eat, were held in the ballroom at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel, with an audience of over 1,200 guests including more than 150 MPs and Lords.
Guests were treated to a cocktail reception with a three-course Anatolian-style meal.
Winners took to the stage triumphing in 18 categories, including Chef of the Year, Kebab Van of the Year, Just Eat Best Delivery and eight regional awards for recognising the best kebab restaurants across the UK.
Image: Istanblue Royton
Thousands of members of the public voted for the 180 finalists to face the judges who included Labour MP Carolyn Harris; Conservative MP David Warburton; James O’Brien of LBC, Adil Ray; and Cobra Beer aSales Director, Samson Sohail.
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Andrew Kenny, Managing Director of Just Eat UK, said: “It’s been an honour for Just Eat to support the British Kebab Awards for the past decade; the event is always a highlight of our year.
“After an undeniably difficult period for the hospitality sector, there’s never been a better time to recognise the resilient and hard-working individuals across the kebab industry, who are making an invaluable contribution to both their local community and the UK economy.
“Huge congratulations to all the winners and finalists on their incredible achievement.”
Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, speaker of the House of Commons, Nadhim Zahawi MP, Secretary of the State for Education, David Lammy MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary, Lord Karan Bilimoria, President of CBI, Kate Nicholls, CEO of UK Hospitality, Andrew Kenny, Managing Director of Just Eat, Paul Scully, the Business minister attended and addressed the event.
All Brewers Fayre and Beefeater locations across the UK are closing down
Danny Jones
It looks to be the end for not one but two of Britain’s best-known and long-running restaurant franchises, as Brewers Fayre and Beefeaters will be closing down all of their locations.
Dating back to the mid-1970s, there will soon be none left anywhere in the country
The pair of recognisable chains, owned by parent company Whitbread PLC – who also own Premier Inn, hence why they usually come as a joint package – have nearly 200 sites across the UK, but they are already in the process of a wholesale shutdown.
News of the impending closures first began circulating back in April, but now the process is said to be fully underway, with multiple Greater Manchester names on the chopping block.
A real shame all brewers fayres are closing down. As a member they’ve sent me a last free main. So enjoying a mixed grill pic.twitter.com/EIHMZ7LCvv
— Daniel Turner⚽️ 🏟️ 1️⃣1️⃣5️⃣8️⃣ (@puffpuff65) August 4, 2026
With roughly 3,800 staff set to be made unemployed as part of the major restructuring by Whitbread, the job cuts will see approximately 12% of their workforce laid off from a total of around 30,000.
One local duo due to face the music is the soon-to-close Stable Gate in Denton and Wheatlea Park in Wigan – both of which are Brewers Fayre branches.
89 of the brand’s boozers have been given until early September (some dates may vary) to shut up shop and hold not just their last orders, but their final dinner service full stop.
The rest of the venues closing next month are Beefeater pubs, including the Heaton Park one in Crumpsall, The Quay House at Salford Quays, and the Whitgate Inn over Oldham way.
As for others nearby, Macclesfield’s Springwood Park is also set to close.
The older of the two British mainstays is Beefeater, which was founded by Whitbread back in 1974 when they opened their first pub, The Halfway House, down in Enfield.
Brewers debuted up North in ’79, with a maiden watering hole called The Farmers Arms in Preston, before going on to open several locations around Lancashire and eventually nationwide.
Most of you will likely have visited or at the very least passed one of those food and drink spots in your time, and while they may be more associated with hotels and service stations these days, they still served as regular haunts for plenty of people who will no doubt be gutted to see them go.
Speaking of services, another big name is expanding further into the North West.
Police order two Oldham brothels to close following reports of ‘suspicious activity’ by neighbours
Emily Sergeant
Two properties in Oldham have been ordered to close after being identified as brothels.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that closure orders were granted by Tameside Magistrates’ Court at the end of last month following enforcement action by the Oldham neighbourhood policing teams working in collaboration with GMP’s legal team.
Officers received information from residents, councillors, and partner agencies regarding ‘suspicious activity’ linked to the addresses.
Some of the concerns included men arriving throughout the day and night, staying for short periods of time before leaving again, all causing significant distress to those living nearby – subsequently leading to police investigation.
First up, on Monday 27 July, neighbourhood officers attended an address on Balfour Street in relation to a concern for welfare, but upon entering the property, they identified a brothel operating at the address, and then, on the evening after (Tuesday 28 July), officers executed a Section 8 PACE warrant at an address on Miriam Street.
48-hour closure notices were authorised for both premises at first, but now following an application to the court, three-month closure orders have been granted.
It is now a criminal offence to enter or remain in either property during the period of the closure orders.
“These two premises had a significant impact on people living nearby, with men attending the addresses throughout the day and night and loitering outside neighbouring homes while waiting to enter,” commented Amie Whitehead, Neighbourhood Inspector for Oldham South & West at GMP.
“Residents told us this behaviour was causing considerable distress within the community and affecting their quality of life.
“We’ve responded to reports, worked with partners and gathered evidence to take enforcement action, and have now secured closure orders to prevent further criminality and protect the local community.
“I would like to thank residents who came forward with information, as community intelligence is vital in helping us identify and address this type of offending.”
Georgina Pellant -
3rd March 2022 
