AN Indian restaurant in Parkstone is celebrating after picking up a prestigious national award.

The 29029 - a reference to the height in feet of Mount Everest - was named one of the winners in the 'Best Restaurant Category' at this year's Curry Life Awards.

The awards, staged by Britain’s renowned curry magazine Curry Life, were announced at a glittering event at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square.

Speaking after the event on October 13, The 29029 Parkstone owner Utsab Vista Raju said: "I’m very excited about the award, it’s a great boost for the business and will attract more customers.

“I like to move forward and look towards the future and this is a great endorsement for new restaurants I have in mind.

“We’ve been so busy since we opened - we do close to 200 covers at the weekend. Our cuisine is based around Nepalese and modern Indian fusion and we love showcasing special dishes on the menu.”

Curry Life media group editor, Syed Belal Ahmed, said the awards aim to ‘highlight best practice going on across the country’.

He added: “Over the many years we have been staging the awards, we have seen major improvements in standards and quality being offered to customers, to the point where several restaurants are now in a position to challenge for accolades such as Michelin stars.

“The awards event is an annual celebration of British curry houses, which have an annual turnover of over £4 billion.”

Among the many guests and speakers in attendance at the awards ceremony was the secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting MP.

He said: “Congratulations to everyone for their success at these awards. The hospitality industry has an enormous contribution to make to our country.

"But there’s something more fundamental about what the hospitality industry does, and what curry houses across the country do, which is about bringing people together, making connections and creating communities.

"It’s about making sure our high streets are thriving, and where people want to spend time and money and enjoy family and friendship.

"In the budget and beyond we will be doing everything that we can not just to support our large businesses, but to support our SMEs too.”