Asian Curry Awards 2026 Shortlist Announced as Sri Lankan Restaurants Win National Recognition

Asian Curry Awards 2026 Shortlist Announced as Sri Lankan Restaurants Win National Recognition

Sri Lankan cooking is gaining a stronger place in Britain’s food scene, with Colombo Kitchen among the finalists in this year’s national awards.

The shortlist for the 16th Asian Curry Awards was announced on Friday 9 October 2026, with 213 finalists recognised across more than 46 award categories. Among them is Colombo Kitchen in Putney, bringing a Sri Lankan restaurant into a national programme celebrating the UK’s Asian and Oriental food businesses.

The shortlist also includes six restaurants from Berkshire and the Thames Valley, and seven from south London. Winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Mayfair on Sunday 15 November.

For Sri Lankan readers, Colombo Kitchen’s inclusion is a welcome sign of the growing visibility of Sri Lankan food in the UK. It follows the restaurant’s earlier success at the Nation’s Curry Awards and comes as Sri Lankan restaurants across the country continue to attract diners and industry recognition.

A national awards programme with a broad culinary reach

The Asian Curry Awards recognise restaurants, takeaways and individuals working across a wide range of cuisines. The programme includes Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Pakistani, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese food.

That breadth matters. Recognition for Sri Lankan cuisine within a mainstream UK awards programme of this size reflects how the country’s distinctive cooking is moving beyond a niche offering and being acknowledged as a cuisine in its own right.

The Asian Catering Federation (ACF), which organises the awards, represents 35,000 caterers in the UK. Together, those businesses generate more than £60 billion for the UK economy. The awards therefore offer a platform for celebrating not only food, but also the people and businesses sustaining a major part of the country’s hospitality sector.

An AI-generated illustration of a Sri Lankan hopper and kottu bar; it does not depict a named restaurant.

Colombo Kitchen’s continuing recognition

Colombo Kitchen, with restaurants in Putney and Worcester Park, is among the shortlisted venues. The restaurant was named Sri Lankan Restaurant of the Year at the fourth annual Nation’s Curry Awards 2026, held at Cedar Court Hotel in Huddersfield on 9 February. It was selected from a shortlist of eight Sri Lankan restaurants from across the UK.

Executive Chef and Founder Sylvia Perera leads the restaurant. Its menu draws on family recipes, and the restaurants run a live hopper and kottu bar, bringing two well-loved parts of Sri Lankan food culture into the dining experience.

Reflecting on the Nation’s Curry Awards win, Perera said: “We are incredibly honoured that Colombo Kitchen has been named Sri Lankan Restaurant of the Year at the Nation’s Curry Awards. This recognition reflects the dedication of our passionate team across both restaurants and the continued support of our community, from loyal local guests to diners discovering Sri Lankan food for the first time. Awards like this inspire us to keep sharing the depth, warmth and vibrancy of Sri Lankan cooking through everything we do at Colombo Kitchen.”

That earlier award is separate from the Asian Curry Awards shortlist. Colombo Kitchen is a finalist in the 2026 Asian Curry Awards, and the winners have not yet been announced.

An AI-generated food image illustrating the variety of Sri Lankan cooking.

Finalists from Berkshire and south London

The shortlist places local restaurants alongside venues from across the UK. Six Berkshire and Thames Valley restaurants have been named finalists:

• Caversham Tandoori, Reading
• Chilis South Indian, Reading
• Chor Bazaar, Slough
• Crispy Dosa, Windsor
• Kohinoor, Bracknell
• Masala Maiden, Maidenhead

Twenty-one finalists are based in London, including seven across south London:

• Bengal Bliss, Coulsdon
• Colombo Kitchen, Putney
• Curry Leaf, Old Coulsdon
• Mumbai Delight, Vauxhall
• Samsara Restaurant & Bar: Croydon
• Spice Village, Croydon
• The Pepper Tree, Clapham

The wider shortlist also includes Sri Lankan achievement beyond London. As eLanka reported, Sigiriya in Knutsford was named among the UK’s Top 100 Curry Restaurants for 2026 by the ACF. Together, these milestones highlight the presence of Sri Lankan restaurants in communities across the country.

Recognising people and contribution

The awards programme also recognises individual achievement through honours including Asian Chef of the Year, Curry King, and Lifetime Achievement and Legacy Awards. The latter recognise charity work and efforts to raise standards across the industry. Last year, 46 awards were presented.

ACF chairman Yawar Khan said: “The Asian Curry Awards set the standard for excellence across all aspects of our industry. We celebrate with the best of the best and are delighted to see the public voting increase year-on-year. Alongside the excellent cuisine we champion with these awards, we also take time to celebrate the achievements of individuals and recognise the generous contributions they make to their communities through their charitable giving and their time. I look forward to meeting all the finalists in Mayfair on Sunday 15 November to present these awards.”

The event will be hosted by BBC news anchor Samantha Simmonds, joined by Anisa Khan, the 2025 runner-up on BBC television’s The Apprentice. The 16th Asian Curry Awards and ACF Gala Dinner is sponsored by Cobra Beer, Kingfisher Beer and Work Permit Cloud Ltd.

An AI-generated illustration of a welcoming restaurant interior, not a photograph of a shortlisted venue.

Event details and how readers can show support

Gala: The 16th Asian Curry Awards and ACF Gala Dinner
Date: Sunday 15 November 2026
Time: From 5pm
Venue: The Great Room, Grosvenor House, 86–90 Park Lane, Mayfair, London W1K 7TN

The shortlist is recognition of achievement, not a prediction of the final results. The finalists will be assessed before the winners are announced at the gala.

For Sri Lankans living in the UK, the presence of Sri Lankan restaurants in national awards is an opportunity to celebrate the cooks, teams and businesses sharing the island’s food heritage with new audiences. Readers are warmly invited to support Sri Lankan and other Asian restaurants in their area, whether by visiting, recommending a local favourite or sharing their experience.

Sources

• Asian Curry Awards 2026 official shortlist
• Your Local Guardian: South London restaurants shortlisted
• API Sri Lankan: Colombo Kitchen wins Sri Lankan Restaurant of the Year
• Original source: Bracknell News: Asian Curry Awards shortlist names six Berkshire restaurants

 

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