Finalists have been unveiled for the annual Asian Restaurant and Takeaway Awards (ARTA), the most prestigious celebration of Pan Asian cuisine in the UK, which this year will be taking place on Monday 6th October 2025 at the London Hilton Park Lane.
ARTA 2025 will welcome a guest list of the nation’s most popular Asian restaurateurs alongside MPs, dignitaries and celebrities. The ceremony will be hosted by BBC journalist and broadcaster, Samantha Simmonds, and magician, Paul Martin.The finest Asian restaurants and takeaways from across the UK will come together in London in the hope of being recognised as the best restaurant in their region or nationally and honoured with a jewel in the crown of the UK Asian restaurant industry award sector.
This year, more than 1,300 restaurants and takeaways across the UK were put forward by diners and food enthusiasts, with a large share of entries submitted via ChefOnline; ARTA’s strategic partner and one of the country’s leading platforms linking customers to Asian dining establishments. With access to a nationwide customer base of over a million, ChefOnline played a key role in encouraging broad participation in the awards. The nomination process was further strengthened by robust social media engagement and supporting data, including Food Hygiene Ratings.
Speaking about the Asian Restaurant & Takeaway Awards 2025, Mohammed Munim, Founder Member and CEO of ARTA, said “Asian restaurants and takeaways have long played a vital role in the UK’s economy and culture. Their contribution through job creation, community impact, and culinary excellence, deserves to be recognised. Especially in today’s challenging climate, ARTA is proud to champion their achievements and support their continued success. Every nominee is a testament to the industry’s resilience and we look forward to celebrating them on 6th October.”
Although the UK’s curry industry has been thriving post the pandemic and the BREXIT impact of increasing costs of ingredients, currently contributing £4.5 billion to the economy in 2025, up from £4.2 billion in 2024, recent changes to immigration rules introduced on 22nd July 2025 pose a significant threat to the industry’s future. Under the Home Office’s latest immigration reforms (Statement of Changes HC 997, 22 July 2025), chefs have been entirely removed from all three official hiring lists: the Shortage Occupation List, Temporary Shortage List and General Work Visa List. This move effectively restricts the recruitment of skilled chefs from the Indian Subcontinent, regardless of the salary offered, a big challenge to an industry where approximately 90% of kitchen staff are skilled workers from the Indian Subcontinent.
The curry sector was already facing acute labour shortages, with just 9,300 Skilled Worker Visas granted to the entire hospitality sector in 2023 and a staff turnover rate of 52% across hospitality. A 2024 survey by an industry trade publication, Spice Business, found that 88% of Asian restaurant owners were struggling to hire skilled chefs due to rising costs and visa hurdles. With the new immigration rules now in place, the situation has dramatically worsened with an estimated 30–35% of curry restaurants forced to reduce opening hours or close temporarily in the coming months due to staff shortages.
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