Indian on menu at food awards

A restaurant offering a twist to the usual Indian fare has scooped two of this year's most prestigious food awards.

Amaya, which calls itself the first Indian bar and grill, was named London Restaurant of the Year and New Restaurant of the Year at the Tio Pepe ITV Restaurant Awards.

And the choice of Standard readers was revealed: Ma Cuisine in Twickenham won The Evening Standard London Tonight Award - voted for by readers from a list of 60 restaurants where a meal for two costs less than £60.

Surprise guest at the Grosvenor House hotel yesterday was Jamie Oliver, who presented the best Italian restaurant award to his "mentor" Gennaro Contaldo, owner of Passione in Fitzrovia.

Belgravia-based Amaya is owned by sisters Camellia and Namita Panjabi and Namita's husband Ranjit Mathrani. Camellia said: "This is beyond my wildest dreams. I never imagined we'd win because London has some great restaurants which have opened in the last year."

The trio, originally from Bombay, also own Chutney Mary in Chelsea, which the Good Curry Guide voted best Indian restaurant twice.

Namita said: "We regard ourselves as running good restaurants which serve good food which happens to be Indian, because that is what we know best. This is one of the most special days of my life."

Evening Standard food critic Fay Maschler, one of the judges, praised this year's winners for not being obvious choices. "Amaya is a different kind of Indian restaurant. It has cracked the crowd that [Japanese restaurants] Zuma and Nobu might attract.

It has raised the whole game for Indian food." There was consolation, however, for Amaya's Chelsea rival Rasoi Vineet Bhatia, which won Indian Restaurant of the Year.

A highlight of the evening was Oliver's appearance in honour of Passione's Contaldo. The TV chef said: "This is my mentor's restaurant and he gave me my first job in London. I'm really proud of him." Contaldo, who later helped Oliver train 15 jobless youths as chefs in Jamie's Kitchen on Channel 4, said: "Jamie was the cheekiest boy you could ever imagine. I did not realise he was here at all."