The top ten shortlisted Asian restaurants and takeaways across UK regions have been revealed for the annual Asian Restaurant and Takeaway Awards (ARTA), the UK's most prestigious celebration of pan-Asian cuisine, and three Kingston restaurants are among them.

Taking place on Monday, 6 October 2025 at the London Hilton Park Lane, ARTA will once again honour the very best of Asian cuisine across national and regional categories.

This year's event will be hosted by BBC journalist and broadcaster Samantha Simmonds alongside magician Paul Martin.

Over 1,295 restaurants and takeaways from across the UK were nominated by diners and food lovers, with many nominations coming via ChefOnline, ARTA's strategic partner, and one of the UK's leading platforms connecting diners to Asian eateries.

With a customer base of over one million, ChefOnline helped drive strong national participation, supported by social media engagement and insights such as Food Hygiene Ratings.

And among the top ten shortlisted for The Regional Takeaway of the year is Khasturi Indian takeaway in Surbiton.

Moreover, Bay Leaves restaurant in Ewell and the Red Rose of Chessington are both in the top ten shortlisted restaurants for the Surrey Regional Restaurant of the Year award.

Red Rose of Chessington has been shortlisted for the Surrwy Regional Restaurant of the Year Award (Credit: Red Rose of Chessington)

According to Asian Standard, although the UK's curry industry has been thriving post COVID-19 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 22 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.

Asian Standard writes: "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."