Asian Curry Awards 2023: Five Merseyside restaurants shortlisted for ‘Oscar’ of the curry world

Five Merseyside restaurants are in the running to scoop an ‘Oscar’ of the curry world after being shortlisted in the Asian Curry Awards 2023.

Organised by the Asian Catering Federation (ACF), the award now celebrates the complete range of Asian cuisines, including Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Pakistani, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese restaurants and takeaways.

The 200 nominees will now be whittled down by an online public vote on the Asian Curry Awards website, before visiting judges determine the eventual winners. The final awards will be announced at a gala dinner and ceremony in London on 19 November.

Here are all the Merseyside restaurants in the running.

Green Olive Italian & Indian Restaurant - George Street, St Helens

• 🍽️ The Green Olive is an Italian restaurant with a modern twist of serving the UK’s favourite Indian food alongside it. It’s an unusual combination but one that seems to go down well with diners.
• 💬 It has a four star rating on Tripadvisor, with one reviewer writing: “Had fabulous meal tonight with friends. Lovely restaurant, I went Italian friends had Indian. Really good choice of menu. Service was great, really friendly. I couldn’t do enough. Definitely going again.”
• 🍛 On the Asian side ofthe menu at the restaurant and takeaway serves up signature dishes such as South Indian Balti, Murgh Pallak, Honey Chicken Tikka and Cod Jalfrerzi.

Purple Olive - Speke Road, Liverpool

• 🍽️ The Purple Olive serves Indian and Sub-Continent dishes from an experience and award winning chef.
• 💬 It has a 4.5 rating on Tripadvisor, with one reviewer writing: “I’ve travelled all around the country and visited around 30-40 Indian restaurants - trust me when I say this place is the best out of all of them. We are so lucky this is our local Indian. The food is out of this world.”
• 🍛 The menu at the restaurant mixes classic dishes with chef specials such as Amiri Murgh (chicken cooked in mango pulp and double cream) and Chilli Chingri (Bangladeshi jumbo prawns stir fried in exotic mix of spices).

Purple Olive - Chester Road, Ellesmere Port

• 🍽️ This Purple Olive says their highly trained team of chefs serve fresh, tasty and spicy Indian food prepared using fresh herbs and garam masalas which are roasted and made in-house.
• 💬 It has a four star rating on Tripadvisor, with one reviewer writing: “Food is always exceptionally good! The staff are very friendly and helpful at all times . We have been visiting this restaurant for many years and can’t fault it in any way.”
• 🍛 Themenu at the restaurant mixes classic dishes with signature dishes such as Chilli Massala (cooked with fresh green chillies, ginger, garlic & tomatoes with our special mix of freshly ground spices) and Nepalese (cubes of chicken or lamb cooked in an exotic mix of spices, red and green peppers, tomatoes, green chillies and a special Nepalese chilli sauce).

Rosa Thai, Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool

• 🍽️ Rosa Thai is nominated as a UK chain. The Liverpool restaurant was the first venture outside of London and is located in the impressive Royal Albert Dock. It serves authentic Thai dishes.
• 💬 It has a four star rating on Tripadvisor, with one reviewer writing: “Fabulous find! Very cheerful and friendly staff. Food excellent, we had green curry, massaman & flat noodles. Really lovely. Great position too on the dock. Will definitely be back.”
• 🍛 The menu at the restaurant is filled with authentic Thai dishes and spices ranging from ‘Thai spicy’ like the famous Papaya Salad to completely mild like the Massaman Curry. If you’re meat-free, there is a very good veggie and vegan menu, and there are gluten-free and halal options too.

Yuet Ben - Upper Duke Street, Liverpool

• 🍽️ ‘Yuet Ben’ means ‘welcome honoured guest’. Established by Shandong chef Yuh Ho Yau in 1968, it is a long-running, simply-styled restaurant with columns and wall hangings, for Northern Chinese cuisine.
• 💬 It has a four star rating on Tripadvisor, with one reviewer writing: “What a beautiful clean and friendly place - menu was amazing, both the ribs and duck delicious not greasy or fatty at all. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit on our last minute booking. An extremely friendly host - photos included.”
• 🍛 The menu at the restaurant is extensive but the best sellers are the barbecue ribs and aromatic crispy duck and pancake, but both are served with a Yuet Ben twist.