Cardiff, Llanymynech and Prestatyn battle it out to be crowned Welsh Curry House of the year 2012.

The Festivals Company is proud to announce that the three Indian restaurants through to the final of the 2012 Welsh Curry House of the year are:

• The Suhail, 12 Bastion Road, Prestatyn. LL19 7ES (NORTH WALES WINNER)
• Bengal Spices, Ashfield House, Llanymynech. SY22 6ER (MID WALES WINNER)
• Purple Poppadom, 185 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff. CF11 9AJ (SOUTH WALES WINNER)

The three exceptional restaurants impressed the regional judges who have been visiting the top 30 restaurants in Wales over the past five weeks.

The Purple Poppadom was described by the regional judges as “A very high quality dining experience, fine dining that one would ordinarily expect in a world capital. A pleasure and the best Indian Restaurant I’ve eaten in Europe.”

Bengal Spice was described as “small and cozy with some nice touches including complementary bottles of Welsh water on each table. The menu included all the usual dishes but the tastiness of each dish was exceptional and quite a surprise.”

The Suhail impressed the regional judges “The internal décor of this converted school and chapel was stunning, a lot of thought and attention gone into it. The waiters were friendly and made useful recommendations. It is no surprise they’ve been trading for 20 years.”

“We have 280 Indian Restaurants in Wales and to make the final three is a huge achievement. We received more votes this year than ever before (12,893 to be exact) which confirms that the people of Wales are passionate about Indian cuisine and have a huge affection for their local Indian Restaurant,” said Berwyn Rowlands form the Festivals Company.

“It was important for the regional finalist to embrace their role as ambassadors for fine Indian dining but also to demonstrate their desire to use locally sourced Welsh produce. Welsh Lamb Curry has played a significant role in the competition to date and we hope that many of the restaurants will continue to offer the dish to their customers,” he added.

The names of the national judges who have been tasked with choosing the National Winner have also been announced. They are:

• Graham Titchener from Meat Promotion Wales
• Niaz Taj is the Jury Chair and Manager of the Spice Route.
• Shuel Mahal, winner of the competition in 2009 and 2011 from the Sheesh Mahal in Llanelli.
• Bonny Young from London returns as a judge having travelled extensively in India.
• Sirajul Islam returns as a judge having spent 40 years in the Indian Restaurant sector.

“This is my first year judging the awards and I have been impressed with the standard set by the restaurants; it was a really tough process deciding on our final three. We are excited to be hosting the Awards Gala Dinner at The Red Dragon Centre right next to the Spice Route and I can’t wait to share the enjoyment and experience of eating food made out of the best locally sourced produce. It’s going to be a fantastic evening and we owe it to the 280 Indian Restaurants in Wales to celebrate the nation’s skills & talents,” said Niaz Taj, Jury Chair and the Manager of the Spice Route at The Red Dragon Centre.

The national winner will be announced by the First Minister for Wales, Carwyn Jones AM during the Awards Gala Dinner at the Red Dragon Centre in Cardiff Bay on Monday 23 April 2012. Tickets are available for the event priced at £45 inc VAT. BUY TICKETS HERE.  The evening will also be a fundraiser for Help for Heroes.