Winners of 2015 British Kebab Awards announced

Best kebab shops and restaurants lauded at third edition of annual awards.

Kebabs are often associated with late-night snacking, particularly after a few drinks. But there’s more to them than their existence as a post-pub treat, and the British Kebab Awards want to make sure everyone knows that by honouring the top kebab houses across the land.

The winners

The inclusion of a ‘Fine Dining’ category among the awards is telling in terms of the competition's aims of improving the public image of the kebab industry. That image has previously been damaged by accusations of misleading practices, with shops selling ‘lamb’ kebabs which are actually mixed cuts to save money.

But the awards, which are only in their third year, might help to turn things around. Let’s just hope that they don’t encourage the good shops to lose the essential qualities that make a good kebab the original street food, or worse go the way of the hipster burger.

Right now, the awards are more than a little London-centric, but it is still early days, and hopefully more businesses from further afield will be up for nomination as the competition develops in the future.

The winners are as follows. 

Best Delivery

• Winner: Kebabalicious, Manchester
• Highly Recommended: Istanblue, Rochdale

Best Takeaway in London

• Winner: Super Kebab/Ocakbasi, Stoke Newington, London
• Highly Recommended: Archway Kebab House, Archway, London

Best Takeaway Outside London

• Winner: Botan Kebab House, Liverpool
• Highly Recommended: The Kebab Shop, Birmingham

Best Value

• Winner: Selale Restaurant, Harringay, London
• Winner (outside London): Wood Oven, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire
• Highly Recommended: Stone Cave, Dalston, London

Fine Dining

• Winner: Sheesh, Chigwell, Essex
• Highly Recommended: Sarastro, Drury Lane, London

Best Newcomer Kebab Restaurant

• Winner: Pivaz, Hackney, London
• Highly Recommended: Diyarbakir, Haringey, London

Best Kebab House in Northern Ireland

• The Sphinx, Belfast

Best Kebab House in Wales

• Pizza Choice, Cardiff

Best Kebab House in Scotland

• Javit’s, Edinburgh

Where’s your favourite kebab shop?

Personally, the best kebabs I have ever had were from a takeaway in central Exeter called Raj India. When I lived in the city, the shop was open until the early hours of the morning, and I found that after a long shift, there was no better comfort food than juicy kebab meat smothered in garlic yoghurt sauce, a sting of extra hot chilli and crispy lettuce, all wrapped up in soft pitta bread.

The thought of the first bite of tender meat and creamy sauce that a top kebab offers is making me crave one as I write this.

But what do you think of takeaway kebabs? Comfort food or to be avoided? Do you have a favourite shop? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments below.

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