Best curry house of the year is in West Sussex - This is what we thought of the food

Reema Restaurant – an Indian/Bengali curry house in the heart of East Preston – was chosen as the 'best restaurant of the year' in the Curry Life Awards’ national best category.

Former taxi driver Abubakr Siddiq took the brave step to change his career and open the Sea Road restaurant because of his passion for food and his desire to start a family business.

Abubakr’s brother works alongside him as chef whilst his son and daughter help manage front of house. When he took over the running of Reema, Abubakr reinvented and modernised many of the restaurant’s existing dishes, blending spices to create new and different flavours.

The restaurant website states: “Our aromatic flavoursome food is different from other restaurants. We have been serving authentic Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine since 1991. The combination of spices is an art, which can only be achieved after many years of studying blending, cooking and testing.”

This was my first visit to Reema and I was blown away by the experience. I brought my mum along with me and we were both instantly impressed by the hospitality and homely feel of the restaurant. It is beautifully decorated with stunning paintings including one of the Taj Mahal by regular customer Linda Barton-Towers.

There was a lovely atmosphere inside the restaurant, which opens from 5pm from Tuesday to Sunday. All the food is homemade and fresh – prepared throughout the day.

As is customary at curry houses, freshly made poppadoms were brought to our table with the traditional condiments including *very* moreish mango chutney.

For the starters, we shared the onion bhaji and vegetable samosa – staples of an Indian meal and you cannot go wrong. Both were beautifully presented on our plates, with a lovely salad dressing, and were equally delicious.

For the main course, I went for the Shaslick Bahar. You can choose chicken or lamb (I chose the latter) – spiced and marinated, cooked in the tandoor with barbecued onion, tomato, green peppers & green chillies, then cooked in a slightly hot sauce.

The mouth-watering dish was still sizzling as it was brought to the table – along with a homemade naan bread – and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

This was among the more spicy dishes on offer and I needed a refill of my orange juice to get through it! The lamb was so tender and excellently complimented by the array of spies.

If you are looking for something milder, the chicken biryani – which my mum chose – was equally flavoursome and fragrantly cooked to perfection. This went well with the Bombay potatoes, which are always a crowd pleaser.

We saved room for something sweet to finish off the meal. I went for the hazelnut flavoured ice cream, topped with a Ferrero Rocher – the dream dessert for a chocoholic like me.

Reema Bengali has been part of East Preston’s scene since 1991 – and is now well-established in the community, having built up a loyal customer base in the area.

Abubakr said: “Our customers really enjoy spicy food and they’re happy to try our suggestions around spicing, we’ve built up a loyal following. They keep coming back and trying new dishes.”

The restaurant can also adapt spices to suit customers’ tastes. making dishes more spicy or mild depending on customer choices.

With its location by the coast, many of Reema Bengali’s most popular dishes feature fish. These include Pangus Mas, chunks of boneless fish fried in herbs and spices in a thick sauce of tomato, onion and coriander and a Goan Fish Curry with fish cooked in a buttery creamy coconut sauce.

Reema Bengali’s Railway Tava Chicken – modelled on a classic spicy dish once served on first-class trains in India – is also popular.

For those who like it hot, Reema specials include Chicken Calcutta Naga, an extremely hot dish flavoured with Bengali naga chilli, and cooked Bhuna-style. Another special is Chicken Khadary, a medium curry sauce cooked with mince lamb, tomatoes, onions, peppers and light turmeric spices.

During our visit, we struck up conversation with guests on the table next to us, including the aforementioned artist Linda Barton-Towers. Her family regularly visit the curry house because the ‘cracking restaurant never disappoints’ and the food ‘satisfies every taste bud’.

After our experience on Sunday evening, we can only agree and will be back in the near future to try more dishes on the menu.

Curry Life Awards celebrating 15th anniversary

This year, the awards hosted the 15th edition of the Curry Life Awards. The event has ‘come a long way’ since its inception in 2009, when it was known as the Curry Life Chef Awards and it has taken place every year since – apart from during the Covid pandemic in 2020. A total of 51 awards were handed out this year.

Syed Belal Ahmed, editor of the Curry Life Media Group, said: “Our awards not only shine a light on curry houses across the whole of the UK, they also highlight the personalities and the entrepreneurs behind them, as well as the sheer hard work that goes into running these businesses.

"It is inspiring to meet these businesses and hear their stories – what stands out in particular is their passion for the industry and for their customers. It is a time for resilience too, particularly as the curry industry continues to face an uncertain future – a fact that will certainly not come as a surprise. The high cost of living is still impacting the hospitality sector, while others are facing additional pressures with regards to staff shortages. Changes in immigration policy that came into force earlier this year, including an increase to the minimum salary for a skilled worker visa, have only served to compound the situation.

“It remains to be seen what the new Labour government can offer but Curry Life, as it has done since its inception, will continue to lobby on behalf of the industry.”

Reema Bengali Cuisine is based at 130-132 Sea Road in East Preston, Littlehampton, BN16 1NN.