EASTERN EYE BEST IN THE WEST
Winner of the British curry awards Top 30 UK’s Restaurants 2005

The Eastern Eye consolidated its status as the best Curryhouse in the west after being awarded a top thirty finish nationally in the inaugural British Curry Awards 2005. The event took place at the glamorous Grosvenor House, Park Lane last Sunday and welcomed an array of restaurateurs and celebrities numbering 1000, including such luminaries as Heston Blumenthal, Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Theresa May MP.

Managing Director of the Eastern Eye, Mr A. H. Choudhury said, "This is a tremendous accolade for all of us at the Eastern Eye and the City of Bath. With over 38,000 restaurants nationwide it is a fine achievement to be placed in the top thirty nationally and the top five in the very competitive Southern Region."

Of course the restaurant has been awarded many gongs before, but what makes this award stand out is the fact that the selection process has been so meticulous. Firstly, all restaurants were nominated by their customers for a place in the top one hundred and then that list was whittled down by a panel of seven experts, following anonymous visits to those restaurants that made the short list. Criteria for the judges included cuisine, ambience and customer service.

Mr Choudhury explained, "The fact that we have satisfied our customers and impressed a very professional panel makes this award all the more satisfying. This is now the Rolls-Royce of curry awards organised by an independent body and hopefully we can improve our standing when the next ceremony takes place in 2007."

Mr Choudhury's restaurant on Quiet Street can cater for up to 170 covers, nearly three times as many as his old restaurant on Argyle Street, which he moved from in 1997. Every week he welcomes between 1000-1400 customers through his door, however he acknowledges that to maintain that level of success his restaurant needs to be constantly looking at new ways of innovating, "We continue to evolve. We will look to refit the bar and alter the seating plan in January or February '06. Also, we are regularly updating the menu and experimenting with different combinations in our sauces and marinades."

Recent additions to the menu include Lamb Tikka Nowabdar, King Prawn Jhol and Chicken Tikka Taka Tak. Mr Choudhury himself is a fan of the spicier dishes, preferring a fiery Chicken Tikka Jalfrazy to a more placid Korma.

As well as the cuisine it is also the ambience of the Eastern Eye with its famous ornate domed ceiling in a building designed by Bath architect Henry Edmund Goodridge in 1824 that make the restaurant stand out from the crowd.

Mr Choudhury entered the family business in 1969 in Leicester, before moving to Portsmouth and then finally Bath in 1984, when the Eastern Eye was in its first incarnation on Argyle Street. For someone who has been involved in the industry for so long he is amazed at the way Indian and Bangladeshi Cuisine has progressed in that time, "Back then I would have never predicted how curry has become the number one culinary choice of the British people. In the seventies menus were restricted to a very basic formula in plain surroundings, but now people eat curries in superbly decorated interiors and their taste buds are far more refined.

"We have worked extremely hard to get to where we are, at the forefront of the industry and achievements such as this make us very proud. We are in essence a family business, my brother Suhan is the manager of the Restaurant and most of our extended family is involved. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking all of them and our wonderful team of chefs, Head Chef Abdur Rashid, Assistant Chef Nagendra Kandal, Tandoori Chef S. Ali and his assistant Mohamed Zamal for all their hard work. This award is a credit to them all."

The saying goes that the British took gunpowder to India and that the sub-continent brought curry powder to Britain in return. Certainly there is some truth in that, although judging by the plethora of spices in and the gorgeous aroma emanating from the Eastern eye's kitchen the secret of what goes into their own curry powder in particular, is something that will remain top-secret for a long time to come!

Tom Hannell
5th October 2005
Bath Chronicle



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