SAFA Belfast scooped the prestigious Readers’ Awards at the YES CHEF Awards at the Hodson Bay Hotel and Spa in Athlone recently.
It was one of 36 winners on the night which saw chefs from across the island of Ireland gather for what has become one of the highlights of the Irish culinary calendar. There were more than 5000 award nominations.
SAFA Indian restaurant is situated above Kelly’s Cellars on Bank Square in Belfast City Centre. Chef/Proprietor Ali Askir has been at the helm of this extremely popular place for more than five years.
He trained under Master Chef Guru Alok Das and like him, he freshly grinds all of his spices and cooks everything to order. It’s the closest thing to Indian home-cooking you can get.
“We’re so delighted to get this award because it’s voted for by thousands of YES CHEF readers. Of course, we cook for the love of it, but it’s so nice to get this recognition” said Ali.
“Although the recipes are Indian, we use local suppliers wherever possible. That’s important to us to support the agri-food industry and to cut down on food miles. We’re particularly excited about the local goat kid meat we use in our Goat Tikka. It’s really popular.”
SAFA Belfast is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.