Eaton Bray's Café Masala named Best Indian Restaurant in London and South East England

An award-winning Eaton Bray restaurant has been named the best Indian restaurant in the London and South East England area.

Café Masala co owners Taraque Uddin (left) and Firuzul Haque | Café Masala

placeholder image — Café Masala co owners Taraque Uddin (left) and Firuzul Haque | Café Masala

Café Masala, in Bower Lane, picked up the impressive title at the London and South East England 2026/27 Prestige Awards, which celebrates small and medium-sized local enterprises across the region.

Director Taraque Uddin and head chef Firuzul Haque, who co-own the restaurant, received their accolade at a ceremony held at Gorse Hill Hotel in Woking on September 9.

Café Masala is well known for its giant onion bhajis | Café Masala

Taraque said the pair were “over the moon” when they found out they had won the title.

“It’s a wonderful recognition of all the hard work we and the rest of the team have put into the restaurant every day,” he added. “It means a lot.”

Taraque and Firuzul started Café Masala together in 2003.

“We’d worked together in the industry, but this was the first business that either of us had run ourselves – so it was both exciting and a little scary at the time,” Taraque explained.

Great service is a big part of the restaurant's success, says Taraque | Café Masala

“However, we’re still going strong 23 years later so I think that’s a good sign it’s gone well!”

Asked the secret to such enduring success, Taraque said: “Fantastic food and service is obviously at the heart of what we do and one of the reasons people keep coming back.

“Our ever-changing menu draws inspiration from all 22 regions of India and Bangladesh, every spice blend is hand-ground and freshly prepared by our chefs and all the ingredients are of premium quality. A lot of love goes into our dishes.”

Co-owner Firuzul’s culinary talents were recognised last year when he won Best Chef in the UK at the Euro Asia Curry Awards.

The restaurant serves a wide variety of dishes from across India and Bangladesh | Taraque

Taraque also believes the sense of community at the restaurant is part of its appeal.

“Everyone in the area knows us here, and we’re now getting second generations of families coming which is lovely,” he said.

“We’re also very involved with local charities, and always keen to give back to the community.”

The restaurant has hosted a number of charity dinners and supported several local and national organisations including Kids in Action Dunstable, Rotary Club of Dunstable, Unity Hands, CAP Foundation and the British Heart Foundation.

One of the Prestige judges, Andrew White, said this year’s awards have highlighted “an exceptional standard of talent, dedication and achievement”.

“The quality of the nominations made selecting the winners particularly challenging, but each recipient has demonstrated a genuine commitment to excellence,” he said.

Winners were chosen on their marketing and branding, business growth methods, customer experience, and approach to new ideas.