By Tom Little

Last updated at 16:43, Thursday, 06 December 2012

Carlisle is still home to the best curry house in the north west after The Viceroy picked up yet another award this week.

Sukur Ali

It has been named ‘Best Restaurant in the North West’ for the seventh year running in the annual Spice Times magazine awards.

The award process is thorough and requires hundreds of testimonials to be sent in from happy customers.

It also involves collecting pictures, sending menus, reviews, press cuttings, to a judging panel of some of the most prestigious food critics in the country.

Mystery diners are even sent in to the shortlisted restaurants and videos of select dishes being cooked are taken and shown to the judging panel.

As well as this, The Viceroy is competing in a very strong north west region with Manchester, Liverpool and Bolton all renowned centres for spicy cuisine.

The award is testament to Sukur Ali and his son Alamgir, who run the restaurant in Shaddongate.

Mr Ali said: “Our secret is hard work. That’s what we do. We have a very good chef and staff and we work so hard together.

“Our customers say the food and service is the best in Carlisle. Also our car park is especially handy with all of the rain we get here!

“We make everything fresh, and this makes a very big difference.”

All of Mr Ali’s four sons are involved in running The Viceroy, which has built a loyal following since it was opened in 1991.

The Spice Times awards are well respected in the world of Asian cuisine, gaining stock every year thanks to endorsements from the Queen and the Prime Minister among others.

Last year, over 42,000 restaurants entered the awards and that number was exceeded by this year’s competition.

The Viceroy will be celebrating its 21st anniversary and awards success with loyal customers this Sunday at a celebratory lunch.

First published at 16:42, Thursday, 06 December 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk