Lala's Restaurant in Pudsey named best Asian restaurant in the north of England for second year running

The restaurant is based on Bradford Road and opened in January 2020, shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic descended on the United Kingdom.

Despite operating through turbulent times, Lala's has earned recognition at the Asian Restaurant Awards once again.

Owner Junior Rashid said: "We won it last time and we've maintained our standards, we've upped the game.

"We've got a fantastic following, it's all because of our customers, where we are today. Through difficult times, they've supported us. We've maintained our standards to the highest level - the food, the service.

"We want to thank all our customers. We're forever grateful - especially in the current climate, with the current competition, and with us being new."

Junior also won Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the ceremony in Manchester but made sure to pay tribute to his staff following the double victory.

He said: "We've got a brilliant team - it's the teamwork that makes the dream work. They work very hard, they work tirelessly to provide the service.

"It's not just another run-of-the-mill curry house, it's luxury dining. Once you come in, you'll realise, you're taken aback, you can be anywhere in the world, any major city in the world."

Also in news: Archive review: Here's what I thought of lunch at the trendy multi-use space on Kirkstall Road in Leeds

Junior, who also owns Lala's branches in Huddersfield and Wakefield, is keen on expansion and there are plans in place to open a Lala's branch in Bradford.

The planed site for the new branch was once the Grove Library, an art college which revered artist David Hockney studied at.

He said: "There's a site we've acquired, a cracking site.

"The famous artist David Hockney studied there so it's got a bit of history in the building and we're hopefully going to pursue that in early 2023."