Best Indian Restaurant was awarded to Kohli’s Indian Restaurant and the best BYO Restaurant went to Red Raven at Monday nights’s gala dinner.

Brinley Sheppard and Heidi Gulliver said they thought the award was a fantastic highlight in their second year of business.

The Red Raven, which opened in September 2006, last year won the Best New Restaurant category.

They said apart from being a great morale boost the awards are a good barometer of how they are doing as a business.

“It’s great to get the recognition for all our hard work, and it tells us we’re on the right track,” Ms Gulliver said.

All restaurants entered in the awards were nominated by diners and then given a blind review.

“Having a blind review meant there was no way of knowing when the reviewer was going to be dining, so we just had to keep doing it the way we always do.

“And this result from a secret review says to us that we’re being consistent.”

Mr Brinley said their first award was fantastic but to win in the BYO category was even better. “It’s the next step,” he said.

They both said credit must go to their staff, a “pretty young and energetic bunch”.

Joint owners of Kohli’s Indian Restaurant Harpreet Kohli and Navjot Singh Kohli are also relative newcomers to the local restaurant scene but have already bagged two awards.

They have been in business for two-and-a-half years and won the same award last year.

Navjot Singh Kohli said winning the award meant a lot to them.

“It means somebody voted for us so people obviously like our food and our service.”

“Our restaurant is a family business and we put our heart and soul into it for each other.”

“The quality of our food and our service are the backbones of our business so it is very rewarding to be recognised for that,” he said.