Clay Oven in Dagenham wins Best Takeaway of the Year at curry awards
An Indian takeaway in South Dagenham has been named one of the best in the country after winning a top title at the 2026 Currylife Awards. The Clay Oven, on Whalebone Lane South, picked up Best Takeaway of the Year at this year’s awards, beating off competition from hundreds of kitchens across Britain.
The win puts the Dagenham business in elite company. The Clay Oven was named alongside four other takeaway winners: Taj Mahal Night in Chelmsford, Henlow Tandoori in Bedfordshire, Little India in Bolton and Bayleaf Takeaway in Whetstone, north London. With two of the five national winners sitting in London, the capital’s curry scene has plenty to celebrate this week.
For the Clay Oven’s owners and staff, the award is recognition of the kind that money cannot buy. National titles in the takeaway world are won on consistency — turning out great food, night after night, to customers who know exactly what they like and are not slow to complain when standards slip.
A neighbourhood favourite
The Clay Oven sits on Whalebone Lane South in Dagenham, in the borough of Barking and Dagenham, and has built its name as a go-to for Indian food in the area. It is open seven days a week, serving from half past five until half past ten at night, and has earned a solid reputation among regulars who rate it highly on review sites.
Diners praise the restaurant’s Indian cooking, from tandoori grills to classic curries, and it holds a strong rating from customer reviews. In a part of east London where takeaways compete fiercely for Friday-night orders, the Clay Oven has clearly found a formula that keeps customers coming back.
That loyalty is exactly what awards like this are designed to reward. The Currylife Awards, organised by Currylife Magazine, celebrate the restaurants, takeaways and chefs shaping Britain’s curry industry. This year’s awards drew entries from across the country, with winners named from Cornwall to Greater Manchester, and the takeaway category is one of the most hotly contested of all.
Judged on what matters
Takeaway awards are not won on marketing. Judges look at the fundamentals: the quality of the food, the reliability of the kitchen and the value for money. A takeaway that wins nationally has to deliver week in, week out, through busy Saturday nights and quiet Tuesday evenings alike.
The Currylife winners’ list shows just how broad the competition is. Alongside the Clay Oven, the 2026 roll of honour includes best restaurants of the year from Shropshire to Kent, best chefs from Rugby to Leicester, and editor’s choice picks from Surrey to Cardiff. To be the takeaway name that comes out of South Dagenham in that company is no small achievement.
It is also a timely reminder of the role independent takeaways play on Britain’s high streets. In a year when rising employment costs, food prices and energy bills have squeezed hospitality businesses across the country, awards that spotlight independents doing it well matter more than ever. Recognition at national level can bring new customers through the door and give a kitchen’s team a lift at the end of a long week.
A good week for London
Dagenham will not be the only part of the capital celebrating. Bayleaf Takeaway in Whetstone, Barnet, took the same honour, meaning London accounts for two of the five national best takeaway titles this year. For a city that eats out — and orders in — as enthusiastically as London does, it is a result that will surprise few regulars.
For the Clay Oven, though, the week belongs to them. Whalebone Lane South has a national champion in its midst, and anyone in Dagenham who has not yet tried the kitchen that beat the rest of the country will want to find out what all the fuss is about.
