An Asian restaurant in Surbiton has been named the best in London's suburbs for the third year running.

Thali Ho on Brighton Road in Surbiton scooped the gong at the recent Asian Curry Awards 2019 on November 17.

Opened in 2017 by brothers Shamim and Shah Malek, who grew up in the area, Thali Ho has won the award every year since they founded the restaurant.

The judges, which included chefs and food critics reportedly commended Thali Ho for its emphasis on little-known dishes based around the Thali format — a round platter featuring various dishes that's popular in Southern Asia but rarely seen on UK high streets.

"We were quite chuffed. It was electrifying, really amazing," Shamim told the Comet after receiving the award.

"The judges told us that we stood out because when you look around the high street, there are a lot of Indian and Asian restaurants but about 80 per cent are basically similar menus and concepts.

"What we've done is completely change the concept of how we do things by basing it around the Thali," he added.

Your Local Guardian: The Thali The Thali

Stripping down the over-crowded format of South Asian food menus often found in similar restaurants was also commended in that it helped customers clarify what they were ordering and chefs focus more on what they were cooking.

Overall, though, Shamim said Thali Ho's success owed much to his own family, whose heritage comes from the Sylhet region in Bangladesh.

"My Mum is here cooking with my wife, my Dad, my brother, brother-in-law and myself.

"We cook here and we eat here and our friends and family come and eat here too.

"It's food we're really proud of and food that we've grown up eating. My Mum and Dad cooked it at home and that's what we've brought to the restaurant," he said.

So does Thali Ho's decorated co-founder have any advice for other restaurateurs out there?

"I think a lot of restaurateurs in the industry have sat on their laurels and stuck to a particular formula so nothing's changed.

"The advice I would have to anybody who's a restaurateur or chef would be to serve food that you would actually eat yourself with your family — food that's cooked from the heart," he said.