Established April 2002 (2002-04) Food type Indian cuisine | Head chef Aktar Islam | |
Current owner(s) Aktar Islam
Jabbar Khan Chef Aysan Shaikh
Muraliraj Narashimaraj
Khalid Sami Khan Street address 3-4 Dakota Buildings, James Street, St Paul's Square | ||
Lasan (Hindi: लसन) is an award-winning Indian restaurant located in St Paul's Square, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, England, and was co-founded by Aktar Islam and Jabbar Khan in 2002. In 2009, it became the first Indian restaurant in the United Kingdom to be selected as the "Best Local Restaurant" by Gordon Ramsay on Channel 4's The F Word.
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History
In April 2002, Aktar Islam and Jabbar Khan co-founded Lasan in St Paul's Square, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham. Islam is the head chef as well as the director. The 64-seater restaurant serves modern, contemporary Indian cuisine with modern and minimalist décor and was the first Indian restaurant in Birmingham that did not serve Balti.
In 2010, Islam and sous chef, Aysan Shaikh, won the "Best Local Indian Restaurant" category for Lasan on Channel 4's The F Word after beating Curry Corner from Cheltenham in the semi-final. They then went on to win the overall final, after beating The Pheasant from Keystone. Islam and Shaikh cooked a selection of three dishes for 50 food critics, scoring 70 out of 100 to The Pheasant's 61.
Awards and recognition
In 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, Lasan was awarded first place in the Midlands category at The British Curry Awards.
In 2008, the restaurant was awarded Best Hospitality Business of the Year at the Asian Business Awards and Best Service and Rising Star at Taste of Birmingham. In 2009, it was awarded Healthiest Restaurant Awards and the Institute of Asian Business Award. In the same year, it was awarded the Taste Award for Best Service in the West Midlands by Men's Health magazine's Healthiest Restaurant Awards for its healthy cooking techniques and aromatic flavours with fresh spices and herbs rather than fat. In 2013, it was awarded Best Restaurant at Asian Business Awards.
Lasan was voted one of the Top 10 Indian Restaurants in the UK by The Independent and The Times. It was listed on 'The Sunday Times 100 Restaurants in Britain' at no. 49, becoming the first Indian restaurant outside London to be included. It was also included in the Michelin Guide. In 2010, it was cited by The New York Times as one of the reasons why Birmingham was one of its must-visit cities. In March that year, it was listed as one of the Top 10 restaurants in the Midlands by The Guardian. In January 2012, it received the No.1 spot in Birmingham Mail Top Ten of the best curry houses in Birmingham. In 2014, it was listed as one of the top 10 Indian restaurants in Birmingham by Birmingham Mail.